Brazilian telenovelas are travelling north

0:12Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco, and on Today's show, we talk Brazilian telenovelas. With all its melodrama, suspense, and hairspray, it will keep a new cohort of viewers gripped in 2026, thanks to an unexpected twist, international expansion to the USA. A string of popular Globo telenovela hits will be adapted to the North American market by Los Angeles-based studio MFF & Co. As a big telenovela fan, it was a true pleasure speaking with both Mira Kite, president of global content at MFF, and co-founder Stella Renner.

1:26The End

1:40Sure. I am Estella Renner. I'm co-founder of Maria Farinha Films. We call it MFF because it's hard in English. But this is an 18-year company that was based in Brazil, but now we have a branch in L.A. in which Miura Kite, my colleague, runs it as president of global content. I'm also a director and writer. I wrote and directed The Beginning of Life, this global series for Netflix, Way Beyond Weight, which is this international documentary on childhood obesity. And also I created and show ran with my writing partner, Marcos Nisti, the scripted series Aruanas at Globo. I've seen it. Oh, you have seen it.

2:21I'm so glad. Okay, this is one of my favorite. Good introduction. What about Miro? You're not Brazilian, but you're very involved now with all this Brazilian content, right? Yes, yes. I'm based in Los Angeles and I'm the president of content, as she mentioned. I've known Maria Farinha for six years and enjoyed working with them. My most recent job was at Participant, which is a film and TV company in Los Angeles. But about a year ago, we opened the Los Angeles branch of Maria Farinha. And the telenovelas was something we were really excited about jumping into because it's something where we have the connection with the Brazil team to bring these amazing formats from Globo.

3:03and I have connections with American writers and American networks. And so making that bridge between the two was very exciting. It was one of the first things I said when we started the job is can we please do some telenovelas. I love that. And before we talk actually about this project, I want to talk to you, Stella, because I'm a big defender of the Brazilian telenovela. I think, you know, I know that they're famous worldwide. We export them to many countries, but a lot of people say, oh, it's a telenovela. But we're talking here Hollywood production values, right? It is a big deal, don't you think?

3:36Yeah, I think it is a big deal. In our case, we're not going to produce telenovelas. We're adapting them into series. So we're talking about 200 chapters becoming 20, like two seasons of 10 episodes. And the reason we're doing this is because the telenovelas have a proven audience. And the audience in Brazil is so diverse. So as Ted Sarandos from Netflix said, if you make it in Brazil, you can make it anywhere. It's truth because we are a melting pot of so many people that came from all over the world to be in Brazil. And the importance of it, I would say it personally, the first gay kiss, I saw it in a telenovela.

4:17The first trans person was in a telenovela. The first actor with Down syndrome was in a telenovela. or Globo. So Globo shapes culture in a very progressive way in Brazil. So I'm very proud to be making this deal with them. That's amazing. And Mira, so as Stella's saying, it's going to look a little bit different. Of course, it's adapting to the American market. So how is it going to work? So you have some stories, some telenovelas, which we can talk about it later. Will it be American actors? I wonder if you can tell us a bit more about that. Our main remit is to do them in America with American networks.

4:54So we are taking all of the scripts of 200 episodes of one season and distilling it down and having writers come up with takes, you know, keeping all of the amazing plot twists and character connections and but having less time. So in the typical U.S. form, it will be a season. So they'll need to come up with cliffhangers for each episode and big season finales. So it'll be just in that format. Yeah. Knowing the American audience, Miro, do you think are they ready for something like this? How do you think it's going to be kind of welcomed in the country? Yeah, I think 100 % they're ready. People are looking for lighter fare, definitely interested in romance, humor, levity.

5:43Those things are really sought after right now. So I think there's definitely a big window for it. Stella, give us a little taster of what telenovelas. I think as Brazilians, you know, some of our Brazilians listeners will know some of them. But I wonder if you can give us a selection because there's a lot to choose, right? Yeah, it was really hard to choose. We all have our favorites, and there are many. We're all raised watching telenovelas at Global. But you know that telenovelas at Global, they're written in a near real time, adapting to daily audience feedback. And this unique process creates storylines that deeply resonate with viewers, a ready-made proof of concept for the U.S.

6:25So by reimagining these narratives for U.S. platforms, we're not only tapping into extraordinary creative legacy and proving rating track record, but also inviting new audiences to experience the imagination, emotion and diversity that defines these stories. So for the slates that we have now, for those adaptations, you know, the telenovelas into series for the English-speaking audience in the US, the initial slate includes standout titles like Empire, which in Portuguese is called Imperio, winner of the 2015 International Emmy Awards for Best Telenovela, and also Bellissima, a classic telenovela.

7:06I love Bellissima. You do? I love it too. With captivating characters by Silvio de Abreu. And I love Silvio de Abreu because he was our mentor at Aruanas. We also have The Other Side of Paradise, O Outro Lado do Paraíso, which was licensed to 85 countries. And we also have All Flowers, Todas as Flores, a classic melodrama with a thriller-like piece by João Manuel Carneiro, author of The Hit Brazil Avenue, Avenida Brasil, that stopped the country when Avenida Brasil, last chapter, was on. and one of Globo's best-selling titles. And also The Normals, Os Normais, a hit sitcom in Brazil that was a cultural phenomenon running for three successful seasons, starring Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres.

8:09The whole world loves her right now. Not just Brazilians, right? And we could even talk about the process of how we chose them. We originally had 35 or 40 titles and we had a vacation. And so between the Brazilian team and the U.S. team, we all watched all of them. And there are little clips that Globo put together of what the whole series, what the plot twists were. So it was about a 20-minute clip for each one, and we each ranked them. And we ranked them by whether they're relevant, whether they would be easily adaptable to the U.S., whether the A storyline was interesting. And it was interesting to see the Brazilian office rank things slightly differently.

8:53And then we came up with a formula where it was slightly higher rating for the U.S. since we're selling there. But we narrowed it down to 12, and then two weren't available, so we have 10. But it was a very fun group process that involved the entire company. I'm just thinking about this now because you mentioned Silvio de Abreu, which I think is one of my favorite telenovela authors. I think in Brazil, whoever writes the telenovela is a big deal. Like, you know, you see a telenovela, you say, oh, that's Gilberto Braga, that's, you know, Walter Avanzino, whoever it is. I think unlike perhaps some series in the U.S., which maybe you don't know who is the writer, maybe it's not such a big deal as the main actresses or actors.

9:32Because would you agree? I mean, I wonder if you have any thoughts on that. I think in the U.S., writer is king. Do you disagree, Miura? I do agree. And I think that their voice is what the network's buying. They want to know what that writer's voice is going to amplify in the telenovela. So, you know, as the showrunner and the U.S. model, the writers, the showrunner, they make all the decisions, they edit episodes. So it is the number one important thing. And when you sell a show to a U.S. network, their first question is, is it a proven showrunner? You know, that's really what you need. I guess for the future films, it's more the director that matters.

10:13But in the series enterprise, it's the writer. It's who is the creator. A lot like in Brazil, Dan. That's good to know. So tell us, when are you going to start filming the first one? I mean, I want to know the details. Will you be in LA perhaps or are you open to other places as well? Some of them are set like Empire could be set on a farm in a ranch area. Could be in Texas. Yeah, could be. And I think there might be little tweaks, for example, of soccer is big in Brazil and it might be football in America. So if there's an athlete involved, do they become a different sport? But I think that we are looking for writers now.

10:56We are also simultaneously talking to networks and hoping we can narrow in on one they'd like to develop with us, look for writers with them. And then we would sell it to the network and then the pilot gets written. And then hopefully the writer's room is ordered to write the rest of the scripts and then pre-production and production. So it's a lengthy process, but we're really having exciting conversations with writers and networks now about this whole. We made a brochure here. I love a good brochure. I love a good. I already opened in the page of Bellissimo because I'm a bit obsessed with it.

11:35We know that there are some melodrama tropes that just travel the continent. They travel all continents. So we have self-made man, hidden hair, sibling competition, revenge, love triangle, antihero. We know how that is already present in American series such as Yellowstone or Secession or Dallas or Dynasty or Damage or even Sex and the City. You have those. So we have this material in which we are talking about the massive audience that Globo was able to achieve, but it will also bring the comparables that Americans already have produced that tackle the same melodrama tropes, just to prove the concept as well.

12:18And one thing that I found really curious that Globo shared with us is that, different than a lot of people imagine, but telenovelas in Brazil are watched by both males and females. So it's double gender. So, for example, The Other Side of Paradise was seen by 62 % of women and 38 % of men. That's a lot, especially because the two main characters are women. If you talk about empire in which the protagonist was a male, then we are talking about 37 % of male viewers and 63 % of females. So that's very, very balanced. So, for example, if a network in the U.S. wants to have both audiences adapting telenovelas into series, it's a way to go.

13:01That's a very good point. And I think, Stella, perhaps all ages as well, right? Oh, yeah. I see, especially recently in Brazil, like young people are kind of going back to the telenovelas. They watch in different ways, you know, streaming, the mobile, whatever, but they're still watching it, right? Yeah, they're still watching. At Global Play, for example, the global streaming service, one of their biggest hits are the telenovelas that they have aired years ago. And Miro, I'm just going to ask you, what's the relationship? Of course, you both have a relationship with Global. Can they interfere perhaps with the adaptation?

13:35How would that work? Because there will be need for some adaptation to the U.S. market. Did they give you free range to pick what you want to do? I think they did, yeah. That's good. You know, they're essentially licensing it, and we have the rights to shop them, find writers. We'll keep them in the loop, and we have been. You know, these are the writers we're circling and all of that. But, you know, this will be a separate thing in another country, so they'll be different. And they have already licensed different formats in a lot of places. They just haven't had a big hit in the U.S. yet, so they really wanted to focus on that region.

14:12That's what I find interesting because, you know, Globo, you know, they exported and they are quite popular in other countries in Latin America, in Europe. But I do think the U.S., it's a good, important market to look out for, right? Yeah. And I think it is because you need to know who the writer's going to be. But I was in March, I went to Brazil and I toured the Globo lot, which was really fun. And, you know, I felt this sort of envy that they still have 20, 30 million people watching a show at the same time. You know, we used to have that in the U.S. and it's so fractured now, but we don't have that appointment viewing of everybody's talking the next day about what they saw.

14:51And, you know, I think that's what the goal is now. That's what networks are trying to figure out how to make an appointment viewing, you know, like White Lotus is on Sunday, you know, and but we don't have that anymore. And it's kind of amazing that Brazil still does so much viewership. And then it gets the conversations going. It's in the zeitgeist. Estela, any other of the telenovelas in your slate that you're excited for? I'm loving looking at this brochure because I just realized you're also doing Celebrity. I remember watching this one as a kid. I think that one could work for the US market very well.

15:26Yeah, I think so too. It's very current. Yeah, it's very current. But I'm truly excited about King of Cattle. So, O Rei Dugado. It's just because it's so Shakespearean. You know, it mixes Hamlet with King Lear, with Romeo and Juliet, all in the same telenovela. And I'm truly excited. And you know that Brazil has rich stories, strong emotional narratives, and an enormous cultural diversity. So in recent years, global audiences have shown a growing appetite for non-US storytelling, like the Koreans, Latin American, Spanish content. And Brazil has a huge window to take part in this movement. I like that.

16:07Are you excited about a particular one, Mira? I mean, you just mentioned celebrity, and I think, like, Hacks is a good comp right now with the two strong women, different slight generations, at Morning Show as well, you know. I'm very excited as well about Bellissima, one of your favorites, because I think the world of lingerie, you know, it can be about beauty, it can be about empowerment, but it can also be about exploitation. So if you're really looking at fashion, but lingerie in particular, there's a lot of really great thematic elements there. And I also think that Empire is, you know, like Yellowstone with succession in there.

16:47I think that that's such a great main storyline of this man who's, you know, lost his first love, finds another, builds this empire, who's going to take it over? And then the secret heir who shows up. I mean, I think there's a lot there. So those are three, but I'm excited about all of them. I'm super excited about the normals, Os Normais. Os Normais. Because we have to re-watch it to pick it. It's so funny. And I couldn't stop laughing. I just could not. And I think the type of humor that they tackle, it's just so witty, so edgy, so smart. And I lived in the U.S. for seven years. And, of course, they have great humor there.

17:25But nothing like the normals. It's very specific. and I'm very proud of having the normals in our slate. So much to come, guys. What a pleasure talking to you both. And then, of course, let's talk again when things are starting over because this is very exciting. Muito obrigado. Thank you so much for having us, Fernando. Thank you.

18:02Thank you, Miura and Stella. You can also read more about the story on the latest December-January issue of Monaco. The show was edited by Christy O 'Grady. Thank you very much for listening.