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A telenovela (/ˌtɛlənoʊˈvɛlə/ or /ˌtɛlənəˈvɛlə/;^[1]Spanish: [telenoˈβela], European Portuguese: [ˌtɛɫɛnuˈvɛɫɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [ˌtɛlenoˈvɛla]) is a type of limited-run television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America.^[2] The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão (Spanish and Portuguese words for television), and novela, a Spanish and Portuguese word for "novel".^{[note 1]} Similar genres around the world include teleserye (Philippines), téléroman (Canada, specifically Quebec), or simply dramas (Asia and the rest of the Arab World). In Spain, they are also called culebrones ("long snakes") because of the convoluted plots.^{[citation needed]}

Commonly described using the American colloquialism Spanish soap opera, many telenovelas share some stylistic and thematic similarities to the soap opera familiar to the English-speaking world. The significant difference is their series run length; telenovelas tell one self-contained story, typically within the span of a year or less whereas soap operas tend to have intertwined storylines told during indefinite, continuing runs.^[3][4] This makes them shorter than most other television series, but still much longer than a miniseries. This planned run results in a faster-paced, more concise style of melodrama compared to a typical soap opera.^[5]Episodes of telenovelas usually last between 30 and 45 minutes, and rarely more than an hour, except for final episodes. The telenovela combines drama with the 19th-century feuilleton, and naturally evolved from the Latin American radionovela, according to Blanca de Lizaur.^[6]

The medium has been used frequently by authorities in various countries to transmit sociocultural messages by incorporating them into storylines,^[7] which has decreased their credibility and audiences in the long run^{[citation needed]}. By the 1970s and 1980s Mexico became a world pioneer in using telenovelas to shape behavior, particularly successfully in introducing the idea of family planning. Mexico and Brazil later, in the 1990s, played a key role in the international export of telenovelas, while Asia overtook the role in the 21st century, thus the so-called 'Telenovela Craze' that spread in many regions in the world until today.^[8]

Over time telenovelas evolved in the structure of their plots and in the themes that they address. Couples who kiss each other in the first minutes of the first episode sometimes stay together for many episodes before the scriptwriter splits them up. Moreover, previously taboo themes such as urban violence, racism, and homosexuality were later incorporated into telenovelas.

In the 2000s, Latin America and Asia altogether emerged as the biggest producers of telenovelas, which evolved out from soap operas to form another category of television drama, and were one of the most common forms of popular entertainment in the world.

By 2018 some signs of fading popularity emerged.^[9]

Evolution

Telenovelas, which are sometimes called "tassels" or "comedias," are produced primarily in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries and are usually shown during prime time. The first telenovelas were produced in Brazil, Cuba and Mexico: Sua vida me pertence ("Your Life Belongs to Me", Brazil, 1950) was shown twice a week, and Senderos de amor ("Paths of Love", Cuba, 1951) and Ángeles de la calle ("Angels of the Street", Mexico 1951) were shown once a week. Between 1957 and 1958 Mexico produced its first drama serial in the modern telenovela format of Monday to Friday slots, Senda prohibida ("Forbidden Path"), written by Fernanda Villeli.

The first global telenovela was Los ricos también lloran ("The Rich Also Cry", Mexico, 1979), which was exported to Russia, China, the United States and other countries. Countries that produce well-known telenovelas are Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Germany, Portugal, the Philippines, Spain, Vietnam and the USA.

Genres

Telenovelas tend to fall within these seven categories:

• 
  Working-class melodrama, which is the most popular to date, easy to understand and contains less explicit content. This is heavily reliant of the common rags-to-riches plot, typically featuring a poor woman who falls in love with a rich man whose family spurns her, such as the Las Tres Marias ("Maria Trilogy", 1992, 1994 and 1995).


• 
  Historical romance is set in the past, such as the colonial period (Martín Garatuza, 1986), the restoration of the Republic (El carruaje "The Carriage", 1972), the late 19th Century (El vuelo del águila "The Flight of The Eagle", 1994) the Mexican Revolution (Bodas de odio "Weddings of Hate", 1982), and the 20th-century military dictatorships (such as Anos Rebeldes "Rebellious Years", 1992)


• 
  Teen drama, which portrays the lives of high school teenagers and their issues with sex, drugs and other coming-of-age topics. This genre started with Quinceañera in 1987.


• 
  Mystery/thriller is a category of telenovela that is more cold-hearted than the other subgenres. It may portray a mysterious death or disappearance, which may tear couples, even families apart, such as Cuna de Lobos ("Wolves Crib"), La Casa al Final de la Calle ("The House at the Street End"), La Mujer de Judas ("The Woman of Judas"), ¿Dónde está Elisa? ("Where's Elisa?"), El Rostro de la Venganza ("The Face of Revenge") or La Casa de al Lado ("The House Next Door"). Chile has produced this genre.


• 
  Romantic comedy, which portrays love stories with some or lots of comedy such as Las tontas no van al cielo "Fools Don't Go to Heaven" or Yo soy Betty, la fea (the most successful telenovela in history).^[10]


• 
  Pop band story portrays the lives of aspiring popsters such as in Alcanzar una estrella ("Reaching a Star", 1990) and its sequel Alcanzar una estrella II (1991), as well as Rebelde (2004), which spawned a multi-platinum pop group, RBD. Some, though not all, of these type of telenovelas are geared towards a teenage and/or pre-teen audience.


• 
  Narcotraffic Recently narcotrafficer telenovelas have become frequently presented.

Besides these, another category of serial that has become popular in recent years is the youth telenovela, which borrow some elements of the teen drama format but are usually more family-oriented in structure, contain comedic elements and sometimes maintain a high concept or supernatural plotline (such as 11:11: En mi cuadra, nada cuadra and Chica vampiro).

Telenovelas have geographically diverged into two major groups - the Latinovelas, and the Asianovelas, portmanteaus of Latin and Asian with 'novelas. Telenovelas, in particular, are the most popular non-English-speaking scripted forms of entertainment in the world to date.

The Latinovelas, made in Spain, Portugal and the Americas, are widely popular in Latin America and Iberian countries including Brazil, Spain, and Portugal, and in Hispanic speaking communities in the United States. They also have a huge following in Europe's Mediterranean and eastern borders, as well as in Asia and Oceania. Latinovelas are primarily responsible for the telenovela trend in regions outside South America, which is known as the biggest producer of telenovelas up until the early 2000s. ^[11]

The Asianovelas, made in South Korea, Turkey, the Philippines and the Middle East, are currently dominating television programming through most of Africa and Eurasia, and have recently made inroads in the Latinovelas-dominated television in the Americas. In the Arab world, telenovelas are very popular with families taking breaks during the day from midday onward to watch these shows, whose content often reflects many of the moral and social issues faced in cultures like Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.^[12] The medium has been used repeatedly to transmit sociocultural messages by incorporating them into storylines.^[13]

Major producers of telenovelas

Some of the world's major producers of telenovelas include the following:

• North America
  
  • United States
    
    • 
      Telemundo, Univision
      


• Brazil
  
  • • 
      TV Globo, TV Record, SBT, TV Bandeirantes, Rede Manchete (defunct), TV Tupi (defunct)


• Latin America
  
  • Argentina
    
    • 
      Telefe, Artear, Ideas del Sur, Pol-Ka
      
  
  
  • Chile
    
    • 
      TVN, Canal 13
      
  
  
  • Colombia
    
    • 
      Caracol TV, RTI Colombia, RCN TV
      
  
  
  • Mexico
    
    • 
      Televisa, TV Azteca, Argos Comunicación
      
  
  
  • Peru
    
    • Inka Visión
  
  
  • Puerto Rico
    
    • 
      WAPA-TV, WKAQ-TV
      
  
  
  • Venezuela
    
    • 
      Venevisión, RCTV, Marte TV, VTV
      
  
  


• Europe
  
  • Spain
    
    • 
      Telecinco, Antena3, EiTB (in Basque), TV3 (in Catalan)
  
  
  • Portugal
    
    • 
      RTP, TVI, SIC
      
  
  


• Asia
  
  • Philippines
    
    • 
      ABS-CBN, GMA
      
  
  
  • East Timor
    
    • RTTL
  
  
  • Ecuador
    
    • 
      Ecuavisa, Tc televisión
      
  
  

Telenovelas by country

Argentina

Argentina's telenovelas focus on melodramatic twists of traditional middle class life, with touches of comedy. Telenovelas are broadcast by the main television networks, Artear and Telefe. Many popular "youth telenovelas", aimed primarily at children and teenagers, are produced in Argentina. Several youth telenovelas have become hits in other countries, where they have been remade or shown in their original Argentine versions. Some well known youth telenovelas are Chiquititas ("Little Angels"), Rebelde Way ("Rebel's Way"), Floricienta, Muñeca Brava ("Brave Doll"), Violetta and Patito Feo ("Ugly Duckling"). Because Argentine television broadcasts many American- or European-style situation comedies and dramedies,^{[citation needed]} the telenovela is less pervasive today in Argentina than in many other Latin American countries.

Bolivia

See Red ATB, Bolivisión, Unitel Bolivia, Safipro and TeleArte.

In Bolivia, telenovelas contain drama, romance, music, natural landscapes, remote situations and adventures, some are based on novels, historical and factual events. Some melodramas produced in Bolivia include Las Tres Perfectas Solteras, Indira, Tierra Adentro, La Virgen de las 7 calles, Luna de Locos and Tres de Nosotras. The country has made over 15 telenovelas so far, most of the productions take place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Most of the popularity has been made into much of prosperity for much of the country. Not very many telenovelas are made in the country. The genre's carriage on domestic television networks comes from international productions (imported from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico). The Bolivian telenovelas are produced by independent producers, many producers are more dedicated to the country's film industry.

Brazil

See Rede Globo, Rede Record, Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão, Rede Manchete, and Rede Tupi

Brazilian telenovelas (more often "novelas") are both more realistic and apt to broach controversial subjects. These programs showcases realistic depictions of middle class, working class and upper class individuals in society.^{[citation needed]} Brazilian productions are the most expensively produced telenovelas in South America.^[14]Escrava Isaura (1976) was a major hit in South America, the Eastern Bloc, Africa and China.^[15]Novelas usually last six to eight months at most in Brazil. One of the longest-running telenovelas in that country, however, is the teen-oriented Malhação ("Working Out"), which has aired since 1995; as such, it is commonly classified as an American-format soap opera instead.

Brazilian telenovelas often have convoluted subplots involving three or four different settings. Usually there is a rich setting, a poor setting and one or more settings in which the characters of both settings can interact. There is no black-and-white cut between "good" and "evil" characters, with the protagonists often displaying weaknesses like promiscuity, drinking, drug abuse, stupidity and excessive ambition, among others; and the antagonists showing features or motivations that attract sympathy, like abuses suffered in the past, family problems and poverty. It is not uncommon for a villain to attract the sympathy of the public, or even to have their storylines conclude with a satisfactory ending for them (for instance, in the novela Belíssima ("Most Beautiful") in 2006, villainess Bia Falcão (played by Fernanda Montenegro) managed to escape a police siege and flee the country to France, where she resettled with a handsome boyfriend living on a secret bank account in Switzerland, which she had kept over the years). On the other hand, it is not uncommon for a hero to be relegated to a secondary role due to the actor's lack of charisma. Besides the convoluted plots, Brazilian telenovelas also approach sensitive social issues and try to present a bit of the country's actual culture, sometimes in an idealized way.^{[citation needed]}

Another important difference with telenovelas from other countries is that Brazilian telenovelas rely much less on individual stars than other South American works. A Brazilian telenovela may have a permanent cast of more than 40 actors, of which some seven or eight are considered "central" to the show. The chief reason for this is that telenovelas are not shot in advance (instead chapters are shot only fifteen days before their airdate), so that they can respond to public reaction. Under this scheme, the eventual death or poor performance of the actor playing the main character may turn the production into a flop, which happened with the 1982 serial Sol de Verão ("Summer Sun") after the death of main star Jardel Filho.^{[citation needed]}, and in 2016, in "Velho Chico" ("Old Frank", nickname for
São Francisco River), after the death of lead-actor Domingos Montagner.

Canada

See Culture of Quebec, Television of Quebec and Television in Canada

In Canada, telenovelas are known as téléromans in French and are a part of the culture of the Francophone province of Quebec. Nearly all television stations in the country that broadcast in the French language carry téléromans. The first téléroman was La famille Plouffe ("The Plouffe Family"), which was broadcast on Radio-Canada in the 1950s.

The téléroman was created during the earliest days of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's television network, when the CBC was the only television network in Canada (as per the 1949 Massey Commission). Whereas theoretically the CBC's main English-language television network could broadcast English-language shows from American stations (and also was forced to compete with U.S. television networks), CBC's Radio-Canada network had to develop its own programmes for French-Canadian viewers. As a consequence, Francophone television in Canada developed differently from Anglophone television.

In 2003, Ontario's provincial French-language public television service, TFO, began broadcasting the first Franco-Ontarian téléroman, Francoeur.

Beginning with its tenth season in 2010, Degrassi: The Next Generation was produced and broadcast in a style similar to the telenovelas format. This lasted until episode 21 of the twelfth season in 2012. Degrassi: Next Class also adapts this format for its broadcast on Family Channel.

Chile

Chilean telenovelas focus on both traditional drama and middle class life, with some touches of comedy. Often, these programs show life outside of the capital, like with the TVN novela Iorana (which took place on Easter Island). Telenovelas in the country are usually produced and broadcast by Canal 13, and the public broadcaster Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN), which debut their main telenovelas in March each year with a few days between their premiere dates, which have led marketing to a "telenovela war" of sorts. Lately, other Chilean television networks such as Mega and Chilevisión are joining the so-called "telenovela war". Many of the most successful telenovelas in Chile are set in a historical era such as Pampa Ilusión (1935), El Señor de la Querencia (1920), Los Pincheira (1918), Secretos en el jardín (1981) or Perdona nuestros pecados (1953-1961).

Colombia

See Caracol TV, RTI Colombia, and RCN TV

Colombian telenovelas such as Betty la fea ("Betty, the ugly one") often focus on comedic storylines. However, some are of a more realistic vein, or are adaptations of novels.

The first Colombian telenovela was El 0597 está ocupado, produced in 1959 by the programadora Producciones PUNCH.^[16] From then until the late 1990s arrival of private television in the country, a variety of programadoras produced and aired their own telenovelas, such as those from Colombiana de Televisión, TeVecine, Cenpro Televisión (the producer of Perro amor, which was popular in the late 1990s).

Telenovelas produced by RTI Colombia and Telemundo are usually shown and produced on Caracol, while Televideo and Fox Telecolombia produce some of RCN's telenovelas. Caracol and RCN also produce and broadcast their own shows. Currently, four or five Colombian telenovelas are usually broadcast from 6:00 to around 11:00 p.m. on those networks.

It is notable that many novelas designed and written by Colombians sell outside the country well, as a prime export. Other countries then "nationalize" them by creating novelas based on the same story, barely changing names, settings and, more often than not, mixing the cast with Colombian actors to respect ownership/property agreements and copyright laws. One fine example is Betty, la fea (adapted by ABC in the United States as Ugly Betty) in which the franchise for the storyline was translated and adapted by over 30 networks around the world.

Over the years, a new style of novelas/series have been produced by Caracol and RCN dubbed "narco-novelas" or "narco-series", including El Cartel, El Capo and Sin senos no hay paraíso, which have been greatly successful in the American market and have achieved high ratings. These tend to focus on drug trafficking and situations related to it such as violence, mafiosos living luxurious hedonistic lives and women selling themselves to them in order to escape poverty.

These stories have often been made in the format of television series even making seasons of these shows like El Cartel which consists of 2 seasons.

Croatia

The first Croatian telenovela is Villa Maria, made 2004 by AVA Production. After Villa Maria, AVA made Ljubav u zaleđu (2005-2006), Obični ljudi (2006-2007), Ponos Ratkajevih (2007-2008) and Zakon ljubavi (2008). Telenovelas made by AVA were aired in more than 25 countries. With Serbian FOX Televizija, RTL Televizija made Serbo-Croatian version of Yo soy Betty, la fea called Ne daj se, Nina (2007). After that RTL made Ruža vjetrova (2011-2013), Tajne (2013-2014) and Prava žena (2016-2017). Ring Multimedia production made Sve će biti dobro (2008-2009), Dolina sunca (2009-2010) and Pod sretnom zvijezdom (2011) for Nova TV. Nova TV itself made some telenovelas too: Najbolje godine (2009-2011), Larin izbor (2011-2013), Zora dubrovačka (2013-2014), Kud puklo da puklo (2014-2016), Zlatni dvori (2016-2017) and Čista ljubav (2017-2018). Croatian telenovelas by AVA Production are very popular in Serbia too, so AVA made their branch office AVA Film in Serbia. AVA Film's first project is Serbian telenovela Zaustavi vreme.

Dominican Republic

Television networks in the Dominican Republic have started to produce their own novelas through Venevision International, Iguana Productions and Antena Latina Productions. The first Dominican telenovela, María José, oficios del hogar ("María José, Housewife"), was produced by Venevision and television station Color Visión, which formed the first Dominican telenovela company (now inactive) in 1986. Comedy-drama series such as Catalino el Dichoso and sequel En La Boca de los Tiburones were also considered telenovelas during the early 1990s. The telenovela Tropico was produced by Venevision International, Iguana Productions, and Antena Latina Productions, in 2007 with mostly Dominican actors and a few from Venezuela and Peru. It aired domestically on Antena Latina 7 and in United States on Univision. There are currently plans for more telenovelas that are filmed and produced in the Dominican Republic.

Germany

See Bavaria Film Studios,Studio Hamburg Serienwerft and Grundy UFA

In 2004, Germany began producing its own telenovelas. All German telenovelas are formatted as melodramatic love stories. With the exception of Sturm der Liebe ("Storm of Love"), which is produced by Bavaria Film Studios, and "Rote Rosen" which is produced by Studio Hamburg Serienwerft, every German telenovela is produced by Grundy UFA. The most successful ones, Bianca – Wege zum Glück ("Bianca: Paths to Happiness"), Wege zum Glück ("Paths to Happiness"), Verliebt in Berlin ("In Love in Berlin/In Love with Berlin"),Sturm der Liebe and "Rote Rosen", were also syndicated in Italy, France and other European countries; Verliebt in Berlin was also syndicated in Canada. German television channels ARD, ZDF, Sat. 1 and ProSieben all include telenovelas on their programme schedules.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, a similar format exists called the sinetron (a portmanteau of sine, short for cinema and tron, from "electronic"), which are essentially soap operas in a miniseries-style format. While most English-language soap operas can continue indefinitely, almost all Sinetrons have a predetermined duration, usually running for only five-, six- or seven days a week and in total for more than five months.

Sinetron are usually made by production companies such as Sinemart and MD Entertainment. These programmes are usually broadcast on national television networks during the country's designated primetime period (6.00 to 11.00 pm), becoming a priority since these programme earn significant ratings that attract advertisers to buy commercial space during such timeslots.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the equivalent of telenovela for a local language drama is drama rantaian. The drama may last for 13 episodes for a weekly drama and more than 15 episodes if broadcast by a daily basis, usually three to five days a week.

However, since almost all television broadcasters that air domestically produced dramas also air foreign dramas, Malaysian television dramas are less prolific compared to Indonesian, Philippine or South Korean dramas.

Mexico

Mexican superstar Thalía starred in the Las Tres Marias or the "Maria Trilogy", considered the all-time most watched telenovela series in the world.

Mexico is one of the first countries in the world to be known for producing telenovelas aimed to shape national social behavior - one issue of which is on family planning during the 1970s. The Mexican model of telenovelas - then to be replicated by other telenovela-producing countries in Latin America and Asia for most of the 1990s - usually involves a romantic couple that encounters many problems throughout the show's run, a villain and usually ends with a wedding. One common ending archetype, consists of a wedding, and with the villain dying, going to jail, becoming permanently injured or disabled, or losing his/her mind. The use of sexually themed episodes starring the leading couple of the story has been a common element through most Mexican (and even Latin American) telenovelas.

Televisa and TV Azteca are the largest producers and exporters of Mexican telenovelas. Their main competitor is independent company Argos Comunicación. Telenovelas produced by U.S.-based network Telemundo tend to follow the Mexican model. Previously, telenovelas were often thought to be used as a government tool to distract citizens from national issues, a reason cited for temporary decrease in their credibility and popular appeal. Nowadays, Mexican television has managed to counteract government influence in its telenovelas. In particular, around 1990, Televisa found an enormous market for its telenovelas in regions such as Brazil and parts of Latin America, post-Cold War Eastern Europe and Asia. This precipitated the so-called 'Telenovela Craze'. Credited by media experts especially to Televisa's move in the early 1990s of exporting its telenovelas to parts of the world, this rivaled the wave of American sitcoms that had been broadcast worldwide in the same period.

During the peak of the global success of Latin American telenovelas in the 1990s and 2000s, several prominent Mexican actors and actresses gained huge following for the telenovelas that they starred and which were viewed in the mentioned regions. For example, Verónica Castro's international fame grew when the novela she had starred in many years earlier, Los Ricos Tambien Lloran in 1979, became a major hit in Russia. In the same period, Thalía earned the title as the "Queen of Soap Operas" after starring in the so-called Las Tres Marias or the "Maria Trilogy" telenovelas – Maria Mercedes, Marimar and Maria la del Barrio – and Rosalinda, converting her into one of the world's foremost television icons, as her telenovelas were broadcast in Mexico and more than 180 other countries to almost 2 billion viewers worldwide, earning the all-time highest television ratings both in Mexico and other regions.

Due to the international success of the telenovelas broadcast in and out of Mexico, by the late 1990s, the company claimed that telenovelas were Mexico's leading export product. Many consider the period from 1958 to 2004 to be Televisa's Golden Age of telenovelas, at the same time when the Mexican government loosened its control over television. Telenovelas, primarily those produced by Argos Comunicación, consequently addressed new themes, including poverty, political corruption, immigration and drug smuggling. However, with American drama and comedy series becoming increasingly popular among Mexican audiences through cable or satellite television and unlicensed copying, the television companies opted to adapt stories from Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. These used veteran actors in order to decrease expenses.

Currently the most successful telenovelas are being created by Argos and Telemundo and are rebroadcast (or adapted) by the main companies. The most successful one, La Reina del Sur, based on the book by Arturo Perez Reverte, is based on the true story of a female drug trafficker in Sinaloa. Though it was censored somewhat due to the Drug War and was broadcast on a low-rated channel, it achieved higher viewership than other programs in the same timeframe.

Peru

Peruvian telenovelas, like other telenovelas, revolve around the character's personal lives. But, there slight touches of comedy, drama and suspense. Al Fondo Hay Sitio has all of these touches and has become one of the most famous telenovelas of Peru and has been shown around South America in Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Philippines

Domestically produced telenovelas first appeared on Philippine television in the 1960s, beginning with the ABS-CBN program Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato. The format of Philippine telenovelas is almost the same as Spanish and Mexican telenovelas, as they have borrowed many elements including many clichés. However, Philippine telenovelas, which portray the reality of Filipino (as well as much of other Asian) societies, have evolved through decades and feature specific characteristics distinct from most of the world's telenovelas.

Philippine telenovelas are shorter than American television series in terms of the number of seasons, but are usually aired daily like and may contain more episodes than Latin American telenovelas. They can last up to more than a year depending on the audience ratings, or suffer sudden cancellation if they prove unpopular among viewers. Another distinct feature of Philippine telenovelas from almost all of the world's other television dramas is that guest actors and actresses usually are not promoted to regular cast, and that once a member of the cast is assigned among series regulars, he or she cannot be demoted to recurring characters anytime throughout the show's run (regardless of whether he or she exits the series due to various reasons).

Most domestically produced Philippine telenovelas, however, use ensemble cast which tend to be more flexible when new characters are introduced throughout a series' entire run. The Philippines is one of the first few nations in the world outside the United States to introduce international encore television programming (despite varying timezones abroad) - where television series are exported abroad not as canned shows but good for simultaneous broadcasting during their original runs in the source nation - through overseas satellite channels by the major Philippine television networks.

Classic Philippine telenovelas focus on the miserable life of the protagonist ("bida"), with a plot centred on some quest such as finding love or their lost family. Antagonists ("kontrabida") were depicted as thoroughly evil – characterized as very greedy, rude and violent, and often planning to kill or kidnap the protagonist for money. Telenovelas usually begin with the protagonists' past, move on to their present situations, and sometimes include flashbacks. Twists are also popular and often feature characters who are revealed to be siblings or relatives of the protagonist, or love interests. A typical ending is obvious and predictable, with the antagonist dying painfully (as a form of retribution), and the protagonist only being injured and hospitalised, later marrying and having children. Casting was limited, with actors appearing as protagonists or antagonists in different, sometimes simultaneously-running series. Rarely do any former Philippine telenovela end in sudden cancellation due to the death of its lead star (one notable exception is the original, classic version of Anna Liza, which was cancelled in 1985 due to the death of its lead actress).

The late 1980s and 1990s coincided with the end of martial law and the resulting expansion of commercial television networks as the Philippine government loosened controls over the press and media. With the help of simultaneous nationwide programming across the Philippines and the advent of the 'Telenovela Craze' precipitated by Mexican telenovelas broadcast worldwide, previously dominant Filipino sitcoms had been largely replaced by domestically produced drama series airing on primetime television to encourage more competition among networks and reach out to more audiences across the nation. Examples of such classic telenovelas include Flordeluna, Villa Quintana, Mara Clara, Esperanza, Valiente, Kung Mawawala Ka, Mula Sa Puso and Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan.

Modern Philippine television dramas are usually termed teleserye, a portmanteau of the Filipino words "telebisyon" ("television") and "serye" ("series"), and are sometimes called P-drama overseas. The term teleserye originated in the 2000s from the ABS-CBN-produced Pangako Sa 'Yo, dubbed by the Philippine media as the first true teleserye as well as the most widely exported and most watched single Philippine television series abroad. In the 21st century, teleseryes may belong to one or several genres such as suspense, comedy, politics or fantasy, but featured several new variations from the previous Philippine telenovelas of the preceding century.

Unlike Filipino telenovelas in the 20th century, only few teleseryes beginning 2000s last more than a year as a result of most television producers cautiously using plot twists in the series' scripts to aid better reception with audiences. Moreover, teleseryes focus on the lives of both protagonist and other characters they meet. They also have a faster pace of storyline compared to previous Philippine telenovela classics. Antagonists are less violent compared to the older, stereotypical telenovela villains. Instead, they have more developed structure and are depicted as more human and even pitiful. They often survive the show's ending and may reconcile with the show's protagonists. Unlike telenovelas, little to no crossovers between simultaneously running teleseryes have been aired in the country to date. Directors also hire successful reality television contestants and, starting 2010s, internet personalities, regardless of acting skill, either as minor characters or occasionally major characters.

Earlier Philippine teleseryes would soon replace Latin American telenovelas as the country's most popular form of primetime entertainment. However, in the mid-2000s, they faced stiff competition against imported Korean and Taiwanese drama series shown on national television as well. Still, the situation would improve considerably by the late 2000s when most of the country's major television networks had begun to shift to an all-Filipino primetime programming. Critically acclaimed and popular teleseryes of the 2000s include Basta't Kasama Kita, Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, the Philippine adaptations of MariMar and Rubi, Sa Piling Mo, Maging Sino Ka Man and Tayong Dalawa.

Despite the country's strong and long-standing Catholic values, most of the teleseryes beginning the late 2000s and early 2010s contain storylines induced with controversial issues such as infidelity and adultery, mother surrogacy, or homosexuality and the LGBT community. Such popular yet groundbreaking batch of teleseryes include May Bukas Pa, Ina Kapatid Anak, My Husband's Lover and The Legal Wife. Open discussion of national economic and political issues - some of which were previously restricted by the national government - such as neglect of rural agricultural production, urban warfare, human rights abuses and the plight of OFWs abroad also began during this era of Philippine television. Some of the most recent teleseryes incorporating such storylines ranked among the all-time most watched Philippine teleseryes in and out of the country. In particular, these series of the 2010s include Be Careful with My Heart, Forevermore, Wildflower, and the currently airing television adaptation of Ang Probinsyano.

The Philippines has been known to have initially imported foreign-made telenovelas as part of their nationwide television programming and then eventually switched to producing and broadcasting their own domestically produced telenovelas in and out of that country. Currently, ABS-CBN and its rival network GMA are among Asia's biggest telenovela producers. The Philippines, by a wide margin, is the most popular television drama-producing nation in Southeast Asia. Teleseryes appeal to almost 3 billion viewers across regions in North America, Western Europe, Africa and Asia, cementing the Philippines' reputation among the world's most prolific television programming producers.

Portugal

The first Portuguese telenovela was Vila Faia, in 1982. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s almost all Portuguese telenovelas were broadcast by RTP. However, since the start of the 21st century, TVI has emerged as the most prolific broadcaster of Portuguese telenovelas. Morangos com Açúcar, one of its most successful telenovelas, lasted for nine seasons. SIC, which usually imported telenovelas from Brazil's Rede Globo, has also started to produce its own telenovelas. Portuguese telenovelas have since exceeded telenovelas from neighboring Spain in terms of international popularity by the 2010s. In 2010, Portugal won the first Emmy for a Telenovela, with Meu Amor ("My Love"). In 2011, Portugal won its second consecutive International Emmy for a Telenovela with Laços de Sangue ("Blood Ties"). Portugal also sells telenovelas to Eastern Europe and America.

Puerto Rico

The history of telenovelas produced in Puerto Rico often must be divided into before and after in many situations. There was a lot of acceptance of the telenovela genre in that U.S. territory and there still is some interest to this day. The serials then were usually broadcast on domestic television stations three days a week at 6:30 pm, with hour-long telenovelas airing at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. during prime time. Production of telenovelas in the U.S. territory began in the 1950s with "Ante la ley" in 1955. Successful novelas to have come out of Puerto Rico have included La Mujer de aquella noche, El Hijo de Angela Maria, El Cuarto Mandamiento, Tomiko, Cristina Bazan, El Idolo, Yo Se Que Mentia, Vivir Para Ti, Tanairi, Tres Destinos and many others. It is unknown if Puerto Rico will continue with its production.

Russia

Telenovelas were first introduced to Soviet viewers in 1988, when a stripped-down version of Escrava Isaura (running only 15 episodes) was shown on central TV. The adaptation of that series was very popular with Soviet viewers. An even bigger success was Los Ricos También Lloran, shown shortly after. People were actively discussing the plot in stores and buses. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian channels have broadcast telenovelas (usually those imported from Brazil) on a regular basis. Today, Latin American telenovelas are now replaced by Russian-made programs of that genre.

Serbia

First Serbian telenovela was made 2004 by BK TV and its name is Jelena. After that RTV Pink made Ljubav i mržnja (2007-2008). AVA Film (branch office of famous Croatian AVA Production) made Zaustavi vreme 2008, but it wasn't aired. Serbian version of Graduados, Istine i laži, was made by Prva Srpska Televizija and Smart Media Production. It currently airs on Prva Srpska Televizija.

South Africa

The first telenovela in South Africa was iNkaba, which was aired on Mzansi Magic. Inkaba was cancelled after it flopped to lure on viewers. isibaya was the first ever successful telenovela on the channel of Mzansi Magic.

South African most successful telenovela is Uzalo. Uzalo tells the story of two families in the township of Kwa-Mashu: the Mdletshe family which plays a significant role in the management of the Kwamashu Kingdom Church and the Xulu family which runs a car theft syndicate. The connection between the families is that their eldest sons were switched at birth during the period when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Uzalo details the relationships and conflict between members of the two families as part of a complex story.

South Korea

Korean telenovelas include a genre similar to the soap opera, but without the neverending plot and frank sexual content. These dramas typically involve conflicts around dating and marital relationships, money problems, relationships between family members and in-laws (usually between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law), and often complicated love triangles with the heroine usually falls in love with the main character who may treat her badly for a while instead of the one who always cares for her. Korean telenovelas run for 100+ episodes (rarely exceed 200) and air from Monday to Friday. The main broadcasters and producers are KBS, MBC and SBS.

South Korea became one of the world's largest Asian-based television drama producers at the start of the 21st century. Korean dramas have been exported globally and have contributed to the Korean Wave phenomenon known as Hallyu.

Spain

Spanish telenovelas are known in the nation as culebrones (Spanish of "long snakes") because of their convoluted plots. Broadcasters of telenovelas in the country are Telecinco, Antena3, and La 1; there are regional telenovelas produced in Basque and Catalan languages and are produced by EITB (in Basque) and TV3 (in Catalan). However, Spain is not a producer of telenovelas so much as it is an importer of these programs.

Telenovelas have also aided in the formation of a transnational 'Hispanic' identity, as the Venezuelan scholar Daniel Mato has suggested. The appeal of the genre lies in the melodramatic and often simplistic narrative which can be understood and enjoyed by audiences in a wide variety of cultural contexts. Bielby and Harrington have argued that this reverse flow has influenced soap operas in the United States, leading to "genre transformation," especially with daytime soaps.^[17]

Turkey

Turkey began producing its own telenovelas, also known in Turkish as televizyon dizileri, in the 2000s, at the same time that its Asian rivals such as the Philippines and South Korea began exporting their own television dramas as well in parts of the world. The storylines of Turkish dramas are usually based from the country's classic novels as well as historical settings (mostly during the Ottoman Empire period), and are known to have episodes lasting at least two hours each, much longer than an ordinary telenovela episode. These drama shows, in general, are of miniseries type, typically lasting for less than half a year, and are broadcast either as canned series or simultaneous telecasts in Turkey's key television markets with subtitles in multiple languages depending on the country outside Turkey where it has been aired.

Turkish telenovelas has gained wide popularity and appeal among viewers especially in the Arab World and much of the Middle East as well as the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central and South Asia due to the picturesque cinematography applied in their productions, through the tourist spots featured in them, which attracted more potential tourists from these regions to visit Turkey more often. This exportation of dramas has been cited as one of Turkey's foremost strategies in boosting their popularity in these regions by promoting Turkish culture and tourism. As a result, these make up one of its most economically and culturally important international exports.

International media experts have cited 2010s as the biggest turning point of Turkish television production, which shifted to a balance of export of religious shows that were often widely viewed in these predominantly Islamic countries (with Ramadan known to be the most lucrative month of every television season in most Islamic countries for imported Turkish television shows) and secular shows tackling national issues of Turkey and even of the rest of the Islamic world. Some of the most internationally prominent Turkish television dramas include Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?, Aşk-ı Memnu and Binbir Gece. The rise of Turkish television drama on the international market attracted worldwide attention during this decade when it began gaining more viewers in Latin America, which is cited as a difficult market for foreign shows to be broadcast as its own produced telenovelas dominate programming there since the 1990s.

Islamic conservatives in many Arab countries, however, condemn these Turkish shows as "vulgar" and "heretical" to Islam, as most of the prominent secular Turkish television series often have political undertones as well as a noticeable trend on emphasis of female empowerment, which contrasts the patriarchal nature of Islam. Nonetheless, Turkish television drama invokes wide impact to much of its 1 billion viewers from approximately 100 countries in the world, helping it surpass Latin America by the 2010s as the second largest exporter of television series worldwide after the United States.^[18]

United States

See English language producers Fox Broadcasting Company and The CW

See Spanish language producers Univision and Telemundo

See MyNetworkTV telenovelas

In the United States, the telenovela concept has been adapted into the English language. The first telenovela was the soap opera Port Charles, which, although starting off as a traditional soap when it debuted in 1997, adopted a 13-week telenovela-style storyline format beginning in 2000 which continued in use until the show's cancellation in 2003. MyNetworkTV, an upstart network launched by News Corporation (now owned by 21st Century Fox), launched on September 5, 2006 with two nightly serials. The inaugural series Desire and Fashion House were moderately successful, however ratings began to decline. The second pair of telenovelas, Wicked Wicked Games and Watch Over Me had decent ratings but were not as successful as its two predecessors. By the time the third batch of serials, American Heiress and Saints and Sinners debuted, ratings had declined significantly to where the network scaled back and eventually dropped the novela format in favor of reality-based series and specials by the fall of 2007.

In contrast, ABC's adaptation of Betty la fea, Ugly Betty, proved to be successful; however, the network opted to develop the show as a standard weekly series with elements of the comedic telenovela. An adaptation of the Venezuelan comedic telenovela Juana la virgen, Jane the Virgin, aired to success on The CW beginning in 2014, airing in a weekly format similar to other American series. NBC developed an adaptation of the racy Colombian telenovela Sin tetas no hay paraíso called Without Breasts There Is No Paradise, however it was never picked up to series.

In 2001, after it was purchased by NBC (which later merged with Vivendi Universal to form NBCUniversal in 2003), Telemundo decided to stop importing Latin American telenovelas and produce its own. The network collaborated with RTI Colombia and Argos Comunicación to co-produce its telenovelas, which follow the Mexican model, though Telemundo is a Puerto Rican firm. In order for its telenovelas to be recognized by U.S. and Latin American audiences and even Spanish audiences, Telemundo chose to hire established telenovela actors from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and other Latin American countries; the network's novelas have since also hired American-born Hispanic actors. Telemundo's first telenovela co-productions were Amantes del Desierto (with RTI) and Cara o Cruz (with Argos) in 2001. The network also co-produced the 2002 novela Vale Todo in conjunction with Rede Globo, that series did not fare well in the ratings. In 2003, Telemundo began producing its novelas stateside in Miami, beginning with the RTI co-production Amor Descarado. Telemundo has experienced increasing success with its telenovelas, which have also been syndicated to Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Chile. Argos ended its co-production deal with Telemundo on December 31, 2006, with the last such co-production being Marina. Telemundo continues to co-produce telenovelas with RTI, but has also started to produce these serials on its own. In 2005, the network opened Telemundo Television Studios in Miami, as a production studio for its telenovelas; Dame Chocolate also became the first telenovela to be fully produced by Telemundo. In 2006, Telemundo broadcast two telenovelas not created by the network or its partners, Amor Mío (co-produced by Televisa and Telefe) and La Esclava Isaura (produced by Rede Record).

Cisneros Media Distribution (formerly Venevisión International) has also produced American-based telenovelas, which follow the Venezuelan story pattern and aired on Telemundo competitor Univision in the U.S. (in addition to being carried by main Venevisión network in Venezuela); its telenovelas portray the lives of Venezuelan Americans in the United States. Although a Venezuelan-owned company, Cisneros Media not only hired established telenovela actors from Venezuela, but also from other Latin American countries like Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, etc. like in Telemundo, in order for its telenovelas to be recognized by U.S., Latin American, and Spanish audiences. In recent years, Univision has also begun producing its own telenovelas for its primetime schedule.

Some Spanish-language telenovelas are now translated into English. Univision and Telemundo provide closed captioning in English in order to attract English-speaking American viewers (primarily American-born Mexicans who are not fluent in Spanish), carried as the second or third caption channel depending on the station. Xenon Pictures also includes English subtitles on its DVD releases of Mexican serials. The sudden interest in English telenovelas can be attributed to the appeal and successful ratings of the genre. Producers also see this as a way to attract the fast-growing Mexican population, most notably the female sector of this demographic. In addition, telenovelas break the traditional production format in the United States, in which a television program runs for 20–25 episodes a season, on a once-weekly basis.

Since 2010, Nickelodeon U.S and its sibling networks have aired several programs produced in the style of telenovelas. These shows are usually broadcast in a daily-strip format over a one-month period. House of Anubis, based on a drama produced by its Dutch counterpart, was the first show produced for the network to adopt this format. Nickelodeon has since produced adaptions of some of its Latin American counterpart's telenovelas, including Every Witch Way (based on Grachi), Talia in the Kitchen (based on Toni la chef), and I Am Frankie (based on Yo soy Franky).

Venezuela

See RCTV, Venevisión and Televen

Telenovelas in Venezuela are mainly produced by RCTV, Venevisión and Televen. Like Televisa in Mexico, Venevision controls a large portion of the entertainment industry in that country. Some of Venevision's telenovelas were also broadcast on Univision in the United States until the late 2000s. Some major telenovelas produced in Venevision include Amor Comprado, Dulce Enemiga, Cara Sucia, Bellisima and Pecado de Amor.

Venezuela is one of the largest producers of telenovelas in the world, with up to 279 serials of this style having aired to date. Many of the major productions have been syndicated to Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, Japan and the United States, among other countries.

In the beginning, Venezuelan telenovelas followed the telenovela rosa format of a poor Cinderella who falls in love with Prince charming. Later in the 1980s, writers began writing realistic telenovelas that reflected everyday life of the common citizens where the audience could relate with the characters with telenovelas such as El sol sale para todos, Natalia de 8 a 9 and La señora de Cárdenas. The most famous of such telenovelas was Por estás calles which ran from 1992 to 1994. Another popular telenovela genre was the mystery telenovela which involved a serial killer with telenovelas such as Angélica Pecado, La mujer de Judas and La viuda joven which became successful during their original run and were sold to several countries around the world.

In recent years, telenovela production has declined in the country especially after the closure of RCTV which was a major telenovela producer and exporter. Channels such as Venevisión end up producing only one national production per year. Government sanctions and regulations on media content has led to self-censorship of telenovela writers, also leading to reduced telenovela production.

Awards

The most important Telenovela award shows are the Mexican TVyNovelas Award, hosted by the Televisa-owned TVyNovelas magazine, and the award presented by Contigo in Brazil. TVyNovelas also has editions in Colombia, Chile, Puerto Rico and United States, while Contigo has an edition in Chile. In 2008, The International Emmy Awards created a category for best Telenovelas.

Comparison with soap operas

The standard American, British or Australian soap opera is of indefinite length, sometimes running for decades, with an ever-rotating cast of players and characters. However, most Latin American telenovelas have an average run of six months up to a year. The show's duration is pre-planned at the show's inception, with the overall story arc and conclusion also known by the show's creators and producers at its inception. Mundo de Juguete is one exception to the rule, with a total of 605 chapters (1974–1977), and a few cast changes during the course of the serial. Some earlier Argentine telenovelas (most of them written by Alberto Migré) had also run for a few years.

Telenovelas also have a different type of story from English-language soaps, the typical telenovela story being focused on a rivalry between two or more people or families in romance or business. Many of them use stock themes like a cinderella (who is a rival of the male protagonist's evil girlfriend), two brothers after one woman (or two sisters after one man) or mistaken/unknown parentage. Typically, the hero gets shot (or some form of fate equivalent to that).^{[19][not in citation given][unreliable source?]}

Telenovelas comprise the great majority of the dramatic productions by South American television networks, whereas in the United States, other formats like sitcoms or drama series are more popular on English language networks.

See also

• Arab television drama


• 
  Fantaserye – a genre of teleserye


• 
  Fotonovela – the magazine equivalent, a sort of photo-comic book usually with a romantic theme.


• Hong Kong television drama


• List of telenovelas


• Limited-run series


• MyNetworkTV telenovelas


• 
  Serial (radio and television) – for a general discussion of the serial format, including soap operas and telenovelas


• Taiwanese Drama


• Korean drama


• Indian soap opera


• Japanese television drama


• 
  Téléroman – the French-Canadian equivalent


• Turkish television drama


• 
  Webnovela – movement on the Internet, which is equivalent to the simulation of telenovelas.

Notes

References

Further reading

• Castellot de Ballin, Laura (1993). Historia de la televisión en México. Narrada por sus protagonistas. México: Alpe.


• Covarrubias, Karla; Angélica, Bautista y Ana B. Uribe (1994). Cuéntame en qué se quedó. La telenovela como fenómeno social. México: Trillas.


• 
  de Lizaur Guerra, María Blanca (2002). La telenovela en México 1958–2002: Forma y contenido de un formato narrativo de ficción de alcance mayoritario. Master's degree dissertation in Mexican Literature. Univ. Nal. Autónoma de México.»


• Roura, Assumpta (1993). Telenovelas, pasiones de mujer. El sexo en el culebrón. España: Gedisa.


• Trejo Silva, Marcia (2011). La telenovela mexicana. Orígenes, características, análisis y perspectivas. México: Trillas.
  ISBN 978-6071709141
  


• Uribe, Ana B. (2009). Mi México Imaginado: telenovelas, televisión y migrantes. México: Porrúa


• Varios autores (2007). El gran libro de las telenovelas. 50 años de historia. México: Editorial Televisa.


• 
  Verón, Eliseo y Lucrecia Escudero Chauvel (comp.) (1997). Telenovela, ficción popular y mutaciones culturales. España: Gedisa.


• Villanueva Solorio, Mario (1997). Para una tipología de villanos telenoveleros en México. Tesis profesional. México: ENEP (FES) Acatlán. Mención Honorífica.