2021 · Based on 1 season, 6 episodes through June 11, 2021 ·
Alexandra Trese is a private detective and a guardian of Manila. Humans and Filipino myth creatures share the city, but murders and other crimes threaten the fragile peace between the two worlds. Alexandra works with the police, her twin assistants called the Kambal, and a group of strange helpers. The six episodes move from separate cases into a fight with Talagbusao, a war god tied to Alexandra’s family. The tone is dark, violent, and often frightening.
The show places a highly skilled woman at the center of every case. Alexandra leads fights, solves clues, and gives orders to male partners. A short background appearance of a gay man in drag adds limited LGBTQ+ representation, but it does not drive an episode. The main themes are family duty, inherited power, fate, and the protection of Manila’s human and supernatural communities. The series draws its world from Filipino folklore and local city life.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Trese.
Woke representation / casting
The English voice cast includes many Filipino and Filipino-American performers for a Manila story. The creators publicly linked those choices to Filipino visibility and representation. The choice also fits the setting and source, so the diversity message is mild rather than a mismatch. The Filipino voice cast includes Liza Soberano as Alexandra, while Shay Mitchell voices the English version.
10%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. The characters talk about crime, magic, family duty, prophecy, and keeping peace. The dialogue does not build a modern activist or identity-politics argument.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
The show centers every episode on Alexandra, a highly skilled female detective who leads the Kambal and directs male allies. Alexandra wins fights, solves cases, and carries the family duty while the men support her. A short background role is labeled a gay man in drag, which adds limited LGBTQ+ presence. The season mainly uses these elements in its hero design rather than in a modern political plot.
18%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Not present. The season shows corrupt officials, police attacks, supernatural rules, and family conflict. Those events support the crime and fantasy plot, but they do not become a modern activist attack on family, religion, capitalism, or gender roles.
0%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The published comic already presents Alexandra as a woman. The show adds backstory and compresses comic cases, but no established character is changed around race, sex, or sexual identity.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. Public complaints focused on Liza Soberano’s Tagalog accent and flat delivery, plus rushed adaptation. Those complaints did not accuse the show of pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics.
0%
Creator track record context
Cached creator scores for key writers, directors, casting director, and producer range from 0 to 16/100. Tanya Yuson has a limited link to stories about women in male-led societies, and Mihk Vergara has a gender sensitivity award. Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo focus on Filipino mythology, while the directors show mainly animation and action work. The available record gives little support for an activist reading of the show.
10%
Production
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