Globo’s new telenovela “Orphans of the Land” (Orfaos de Terra) drew wild applause at its LA Screenings sneak peek showcase this week. Debuting in Brazil just last April 2nd, the slickly produced soap about refugees in Brazil, was written by Intl’l Emmy-winning showrunners Duca Rachid and Thelma Guedes (“Rare Jewel”).
Since its April 2 debut on Globo in Brazil, the telenovela has scored an average primetime audience of 27 million people a day. The telenovela of some 150 episodes turns on two refugees, a Syrian woman fleeing from her country’s civil war and her Lebanese lover who seek to restart their lives in Brazil as do many others displaced by war, religious or political persecution, or economic crises.
Filmed at Globo Studios where backdrops featuring Damascus, Beirut, London, and Sao Paolo were recreated, “Orphans of the Land” leads the vanguard of productions from a media giant that has some 90 writers working on new projects and has produced 70 new shows, 18 of which were non-scripted, just last year.
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The company exports an average of 25,000 hours of shows per annum and won 17 International Emmys to date, Globo announced at the presentation, led by its head of international business, Raphael Correa Netto.
Under the banner “Let’s Move Together,” Globo unveiled a lineup that embraced the new reality in global entertainment where more consumers have gravitated online. “We have evolved into a media tech company,” said Correa Netto.
Evidence of this shift in priorities was the number of Globo premium content shows that have debuted first on its streaming service, GloboPlay. Among these were new comedy series aimed at young adults: “It’s a Match” (“Shippeados”) about relationships in a world complicated by social media and apps, and “First-Time Parents” (“Y De Repente, Papas”), which as the title suggests, turns on the roller coaster experiences of new parents.
Dramatic series such as “Iron Island” and “Harassment,” original Globo shows produced primarily for Globoplay, will also have an exclusive debut on Globoplay before airing on open television.
In the case of new telenovelas, the status quo stands, with premieres slated for Globo’s open TV platform before moving on to Globoplay.
Globo’s new soaps unveiled included “Crashing into the Future” (“El Tiempo No Para”) and the Jane Austen-inspired “Pride and Passion” (“Orgullo y Pasion”)
On May 17, Globo will invite screenwriters, showrunners, producers and other professionals for a breakfast during Content LA, an event produced by C21. Globo executives Monica Albuquerque and Silvio de Abreu were on hand to present the company’s new content and format trends.
CREDIT: Globo
