The 2010 Telenovela Trend Report

The year 2010 saw the gran estreno of many new telenovelas across Mexico, Colombia, Venezela, Peru, and the United States. The following is a list of such telenovelas, including those that are still in the works: A corazon abierto, Angeles y Escospiones, Amor y Venganza, Barrio Pasion, Bella Señorita Fea, Casanova sin amor, Chepe fortuna, Cuando me enamoro, Doña Bella, Donde esta Elisa, Dos hogares, El clon, El capo, El cartel, El fantasma de Elena, El triunfo de tu amor, Entre el amor y el deseo, El otro, Eva Luna, Harina de otro costal, La bastarda, La buena, la mala y la tonta, La diosa coronada, La loba, Las muñecas de la mafia, La mujer perfecta, La reina del sur, Las cuatro mujeres de Juan, Llena de Amor, Los exitosos Gomes, Los secretos de amor, Manuel Rodriguez, Marea tropical, Mariana y Scarlet, Malparida, Niña de mi corazon, Niñas mal, Sueña conmigo, Ojo por ojo, Para volver a amar, Perro amor, Playa salvaje, Ti ti ti ti, Que el cielo me explique, Quiereme tonto, Rosario Tijeras, Sacrificio de mujer, Soy tu dueña, Teresa, Virgen sin pecado, Yo no te pido la luna, y Zacatillo, un lugar en tu corazon.

The most prevalent trend in 2010 telenovelas is the remake. Either a storyline from another country is transplanted into a new local setting, or a telenovela aired in the past is re-imagined for a contemporary audience. This is seen in Telemundo’s Donde esta Elisa and Televisa’s Llena de amor, which are remakes of the Chilean original Donde esta Elisa and Venezuela’s Mi gorda bella. Likewise, it can be observed in Soy tu dueña, which is a remake of the 1998 telenovela Angela and Teresa, of a 1989 telenovela with the same name.

Another trend is the television adaptation of novels. Telemundo’s La reina del sur is an example of this, as well as Canal RCN’s Rosario Tijeras. The former is based on Arturo Perez-Reverte’s novel, while the latter, on a book by Jorge Franco. Both telenovelas are examples of narconovelas.

Narconovelas are telenovelas with the theme of drug trafficking. It is likewise a trend in 2010, which has morphed from a fresh concept to a part of the mainstream. Following this trend is La diosa coronada, Las muñecas de la mafia, El capo, and El cartel.

Among viewers, however, the telenovela with an original story still gets the most approval. Unburdened by faithfulness to the original, such stories are free to explore its storyline, surprising viewers with how the plot may twist and turn into its inevitable conclusion.

With the long list of telenovelas that are produced year after year, it becomes increasingly difficult to craft storylines that will startle, shock, or amuse audiences in the ever-growing telenovela market. Originality however, appears to be a consistent demand of the viewers, even for remakes, and it seems that all the producers can do is to go to great lengths to fulfill it. The bottom line is still that there are still stories out there that are waiting to be told.