''7 Vidas'' is a Spanish sitcom which aired on

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially launc ...

from 1999 to 2006. Its title translates as "7 lives" and the symbol of the sitcom is a cat, in reference to the belief that cats have 7 lives (in contrast to English-speaking countries, where they are believed to have nine lives). Originally inspired by the American blockbuster ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

,'' it was not a big ratings hit initially, but over time, the show gained in popularity, ultimately becoming the most popular Spanish

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

of all time. By the end of its run, the show was totally different from its original source. It was in ''7 Vidas'' that the now internationally famous actress

Paz Vega María de la Paz Campos Trigos (born 2 January 1976), known professionally as Paz Vega (), is a Spanish actress. She became popular for her performance in comedy television series ''7 vidas''. Her film credits include ''Sex and Lucia'' (2001), ...

and

Javier Cámara Javier Cámara Rodríguez (born 19 January 1967) is a Spanish actor. He became known for two television roles as a priest in '' ¡Ay, señor, señor!'' and ''Éste es mi barrio''. He has since featured in films such as '' Torrente, the Dumb Arm ...

first became household names in Spain. The sitcom tells the story of a group of friends in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. David (

Toni Cantó Antonio Cantó García del Moral, known as Toni Cantó (born 14 January 1965) is a Spanish actor, current People's Party politician and former Citizens deputy and spokesman, who represented Valencia Province in the Congress of Deputies from 20 ...

) awakes from a coma after more than 18 years, and starts discovering the new world in which he lives. His neighbour, Sole (

Amparo Baró Amparo Baró San Martín MML (21 September 1937 – 29 January 2015) was a Spanish actress. She starting working in theatres with Adolfo Marsillach. She first garnered critical and popular acclaim for her role as "Sole" in ''7 Vidas''. Her ca ...

) is an old woman with a penchant for slapping anyone who behaves in a way she dislikes round the back of the neck. Her sexually frustrated son, Paco (

) is David's best friend, Carlota (

Blanca Portillo Blanca Portillo Martínez de Velasco (born 15 June 1963) is a Spanish actress. Career Portillo started as an actress in several small theater productions before graduating in drama from the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático. One of he ...

) David's single sister and Laura (Laurita to her friends) (

), their cousin from Seville (with her colourful Sevillian accent), initially Paco's principal love interest and then David's. Characters came and went, and by the end of the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

the only character who had appeared in the first series and lasted until its end was Sole. Other long-standing characters, and the two most popular, in addition to Sole, were Gonzalo ( Gonzalo de Castro), a waiter who later became a main character and Carlota's husband (although they were later divorced), and Diana ( Anabel Alonso), a frustrated actress, and a naïve lesbian. She was the first homosexual character in Spanish television who did not follow stereotypes. The script of the show was well known for poking fun at current events, politicians and celebrities and often contained a lot of risqué jokes. Scenes were generally set in Sole's house, Carlota's house, or in Gonzalo's café "Casi Ke No" - the equivalent of Friends' ''

Central Perk ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'' café. Like its inspiration, the cafe's name was a pun: the logo makes the expression, meaning "maybe not", appear to read "casino". ''7 Vidas'' was also known for its multiple cameos of famous people, including

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

El Canto del Loco El Canto del Loco (''The Singing of the Madman'' in English) was a Spanish pop rock band, although its members recognize that some of their songs are more in the style of power pop. The name of the band comes from the song '' El Canto del Gallo' ...

, politician

Santiago Carrillo Santiago José Carrillo Solares (18 January 1915 – 18 September 2012) was a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (main), Communist Party of Spain (PCE) from 1960 to 1982. His role in the Paracu ...

and footballer

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

was pencilled in to appear in one chapter, but the actor subsequently declined the offer. By the show's final season, it had moved considerably away from its Friends inspiration, and celebrated its final, 204th, episode with a plot featuring all of the 19 main characters who had appeared over the series' history, including a video from

, who was busy filming in the United States and unable to appear in person. A live performance of the main theme was also performed by

, a Spanish pop group. The episode was recorded and transmitted live without interruptions, bar a few minutes for commercials, which were used to change clothes and represent the passing of the time.

ANT1 Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντέννα). It laun ...

channel in Greece picked up the rights to 7 Vidas for a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

remake of the show, premiering in its fall 2008 lineup and entitled ''7 Zωές'' (''7 Lives'').

Main

Spin-off ''Aída''

The popularity of ''7 vidas'' led in 2005 to a spin-off, ''

Aída ''Aída'' is a Spanish sitcom that aired on Telecinco from 16 January 2005 to 8 June 2014. Set in Madrid, it is a spin off of the sitcom ''7 Vidas'', on which Aída was a recurring character. It was produced by Globomedia. The show stars Carm ...

'', which came to an end in 2014 after 237 episodes, surpassing the record of its parent series. It centred around Aída, a recurring supporting ''7 vidas'' character, known for her vulgarity and for representing a "typical" working class Spanish woman. The series was set in a new context, with entirely new characters, though some characters from ''7 vidas'' appeared in some episodes, and others, mentioned in ''7 vidas'' but never shown, were introduced as regulars of the new show. In 2009, when

Carmen Machi María del Carmen Machi Arroyo (born 7 January 1963) is a Spanish actress. She become popular for her role as Aída in the television series ''7 vidas'' and ''Aída''. Biography María del Carmen Machi Arroyo was born on 7 January 1963 in Madr ...

, the actress who played Aída, left the series, new characters appeared and the series continued under the same basic premise with, among others,

Paco León Francisco León Barrios (born 4 October 1974), known as Paco León () is a Spanish actor, producer, director, screenwriter and activist. Born in Seville, León began his career in television comedy roles in Andalusian regional productions. Follow ...

External links

Official Website in Spanish
*{{imdb title, 0192877
''7 vidas'' Spanish
Spanish television sitcoms Television shows set in Madrid Telecinco network series 1990s Spanish comedy television series 2000s Spanish comedy television series 1999 Spanish television series debuts 2006 Spanish television series endings