Netflix is closing the circle on one of its most internationally recognized Portuguese originals. As global crime series continue to break out on the platform — from European dramas to titles like Netflix’s Turkish crime thriller Who Were We Running From? — Turn of the Tide Season 3, known locally as Rabo de Peixe, returns for its final chapter with the weight of everything that came before it. Inspired by real events and shaped by the raw, wind-beaten landscape of the Azores, the series has never chased spectacle. It has always been about pressure, loyalty, and the irreversible cost of a single opportunity.
Now the story moves into its endgame. Power is contested, alliances are strained, and justice begins to blur into something far more dangerous. As the final season approaches, expectations are centered on how this tightly bound community will reckon with the consequences it set in motion. Here is everything to know about Turn of the Tide Season 3 before it arrives – from the plot and cast to themes, early buzz and release details.
Turn of the Tide Season 3: all the key details
- Title: Turn of the Tide (Season 3)
- Original title: Rabo de Peixe
- Format: Series
- Genre: Crime drama
- Country of production: Portugal
- Original language: Portuguese
- Release date: April 10, 2026
- Creator: Augusto Fraga
- Directors (Season 3): Augusto Fraga, Patrícia Sequeira
- Writers (Season 3): Augusto Fraga, Hugo Gonçalves, Tiago R. Santos
- Produced by: Ukbar Filmes, RB Filmes
- Platform: Netflix
What Turn of the Tide Season 3 is about
Turn of the Tide began with a twist of fate that shattered the rhythm of a quiet fishing village: a massive cocaine shipment washing ashore in the Azores. What might have seemed like an impossible windfall quickly became a catalyst for risk, secrecy, and irreversible choices. A group of young friends, led by a fisherman with more ambition than options, find themselves pulled into a world far larger and more dangerous than their island home.
From the beginning, the series has drawn its strength from contrast. The vast Atlantic horizon sits against the claustrophobia of a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone, and every secret carries weight. Opportunity and desperation collide, and each decision tightens the net. The tension does not come from spectacle, but from watching ordinary lives bend under extraordinary pressure — and realizing there is no easy way back.
Season 3 re-enters the story after a major shift. Eduardo returns to Rabo de Peixe after three years in prison, arriving in a town shaken by economic and political interests that threaten to push families out, damage the fishing industry, and change the island’s future. The four friends respond by creating “Night Justice,” a clandestine vigilante movement rooted in the community and designed to return power to those who have felt silenced. But as the uprising grows, the season draws its central line in the sand: the boundary between resistance and violence becomes fragile, and the cost of what happens at night does not stay in the dark.
Turn of the Tide Season 3 cast: the main characters
José Condessa returns as Eduardo, the series’ anchor and the character most shaped by the collision between loyalty and ambition. Netflix has confirmed the core ensemble is back for the final run, led by Condessa, Helena Caldeira, Rodrigo Tomás, and André Leitão. They are joined again by Maria João Bastos, Salvador Martinha, Afonso Pimentel, Kelly Bailey, and Victoria Guerra, preserving the show’s emphasis on ensemble dynamics rather than a single hero narrative.
The final season also adds notable new faces. Netflix lists acclaimed Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida among the new cast members, alongside Ângelo Rodrigues and Inês Castel-Branco. In a story built on pressure inside a close-knit community, new arrivals often matter less for spectacle and more for what they disrupt: alliances, leverage, and the fragile balance that lets people believe they can control the fallout.
Is Turn of the Tide based on a true story?
Yes, the series is inspired by real events. Its premise draws from a documented incident in the Azores in which a large shipment of cocaine washed ashore, disrupting the balance of a small coastal community. While the characters and storylines are fictionalized for dramatic purposes, the narrative is anchored in that factual moment.
The show uses this real-world spark as the foundation for a broader crime story about youth, temptation, and consequence. What begins as an unexpected opportunity gradually exposes the illusion of control, exploring how quickly a community can fracture when sudden wealth collides with limited options and fragile loyalties.
Behind the scenes and production notes
Turn of the Tide was created by Augusto Fraga. For Season 3, Netflix credits the season as directed by Fraga and Patrícia Sequeira, and written by Fraga, Hugo Gonçalves, and Tiago R. Santos. Netflix also lists the series as produced by Ukbar Filmes and RB Filmes. Those credits matter because the show’s identity is closely tied to a consistent creative voice: the same steady, place-driven realism that made earlier seasons feel specific rather than generic.
Why Turn of the Tide Season 3 is worth adding to your watchlist
If you enjoy Netflix crime dramas that trade flashy twists for lived-in tension, this final season should be on your radar. The hook is not just the true-event spark that set everything in motion, but the way the story treats consequence as cumulative: every choice stays in the room. With “Night Justice” pushing the community toward vigilante action, Season 3 promises a sharper moral conflict, higher emotional stakes, and the kind of ending that has to account for everything that came before.
Turn of the Tide Season 3 release date and platform
Turn of the Tide Season 3 arrives on Netflix on April 10, 2026. As the third and final season, it is positioned as a definitive conclusion, with attention likely driven by both the returning ensemble and the story’s move into a vigilante-shaped endgame. Watch on Netflix.
Watch the trailer
The official trailer for Turn of the Tide Season 3 has not been released yet. As Netflix builds toward the final chapter, viewers can revisit the atmosphere and rising tension of the series by watching the trailer for Season 2. In the meantime, Seasons 1 and 2 are already streaming on Netflix, offering a full recap of how the story reached its final turning point.
