Plot

Carlos in Ukraine is a 12-episode mockumentary TV series that tells the story of Carlos, an American journalist of Ukrainian heritage who came to Ukraine during war to film a documentary about Ukrainians experiencing the hardships of war.

"Carlos in Ukraine is a 12-episode mockumentary TV series that tells the story of Carlos Smith, an American journalist of Ukrainian heritage, and his cameraman Hugh, who came to Ukraine during the war to film a documentary series about ordinary Ukrainians experiencing the full brunt of 2023. In the first episode, called Air Alarm, Carlos and Hugh come to Ukraine for the first time. They want to make a documentary about ordinary Ukrainians during the war, their lives, struggles, hopes and aspirations, and find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of emotion, compassion and love. Carlos meets his characters for the first time, gets to know them and experiences his first air raid with them. It is also their first live meeting with the heroes of their documentary:

• Alina and Yura, forcefully displaced couple from Mariupol, who were running a successful clothing business at home but had to abandon everything and flee as soon as russians started bombing the city;
• Rayisa Romanivna and Viktor Mykolayovych, retirees who wanted to enjoy their pension and tend to the garden but had to meet with worries for their son, an AFU scout, wartime complications and even a drone hit nearby;
• Marichka and Vlad, bar workers who are secretly (or, in case with Vlad, much less so) enamored, but war brings even mote obstacles for their love to overcome;
• Andriy Báyda (not Baydá!) and his subordinate Vitalik, volunteers who do their best to help AFU and other people by making organized effort to gather supplies and so. However, that can be tricky at time, and Vitalik's inexperience often leads to comical and unforeseen solutions;
• and, finally, Kateryna and her son Vadik. Kateryna is a doctor, a beautiful woman and a single mom, her life devoted to Vadyk's upbringing. Meeting with Carlos breaks the ice on her heart...will it break her or his heart as well?

We follow those characters with Carlos and Hugh, who can't help themselves and engage in their lives, breaking the unwritten laws of documentary creators and discovering Ukrainian people and spirit.