By: Amy Maclean
It’s hard to beat the classics. The adage applies to novelas just as much as novels. That’s why Univision is turning to established, popular dramas and re-imagining them for “The Collection,” an anthology of classic telenovelas from the 1980s and 1990s retold for today’s audience.
“These are the stories that captured the attention of millions of people throughout the US and Latin America back in the day when they aired. These are the stories with the top of the top stars from Mexico. We’re reimagining them for a new generation, really bringing them to life in this faster, quicker, can’t miss every single episode way of storytelling,” said Elisa Segovia, vp, corporate marketing and brand strategy. “These are stories that people are still talking about today.”
The update means that instead of a drama spooling out over 120+ episodes, they’ll be condensed to 25. “We’re really honing in on that 25 episode format,” said Segovia. “It’s more conducive of today’s audiences and really gets that sense of urgency—you have to see every single episode; it’s a blink, and you miss it moment.” Up first is “La Usurpadora,” a tale of identical twin sisters separated at birth with Sandra Echevarría starring (begins Monday at 9pm on Univision).
To give you a sense of the faster pace, what happens in ep 1 of La Usurpadora might have taken 20 or 30 episodes in the original drama. New eps will air Monday-Friday at 9pm. Other titles coming in The Collection include “Cuna de Lobos” (Den of Wolves) and “El Maleficio” (The Evil One). “We’re expecting significant co-viewing here. Not just of the adults, who in their own time watched it and there’s a nostalgia, but also to get to experience them for the first time with some of their kids who might have been too young to have seen them back in the day,” Segovia said.
Source: Cablefax Daily