''Telenovela'' is an American

single-camera The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema i ...

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 ...

television series starring

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytime ...

and

Jencarlos Canela Jencarlos Canela (born April 21, 1988) is an American actor and singer. Canela starred in the telenovela ''Mi corazón insiste en Lola Volcán'', and two other telenovelas. In September 2013, he began a new project called "Scan Me" on his offic ...

. The series is a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

(Latin American soap opera) that is shot in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and follows the daily life of the show's star, who does not speak Spanish. The series premiered on December 7, 2015 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, and concluded on February 22, 2016. On May 13, 2016, NBC canceled the series after one season.

Cast and characters

Main

as Ana Sofia Calderon, the neurotic star of ''Las Leyes de Pasión'' *

as Xavier (Xavi) Castillo, Ana Sofia's ex-husband, recently hired to co-star on her show *

Diana-Maria Riva Diana-Maria Riva (born July 22, 1969) is an American actress, known for her performances on television. She was regular cast member in series including ''Philly'' (2001-02), ''Side Order of Life'' (2007), '' The Good Guys'' (2010), ''Telenovela' ...

as Mimi Moncada, Ana Sofia's best friend and the show's clothing designer and seamstress *

Amaury Nolasco Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series '' Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''. Early life Nolasco was born ...

as Rodrigo Suarez, Ana Sofia's co-star who plays the show's villain *

Jose Moreno Brooks Jose Moreno Brooks is an American actor best known for playing Gael Garnica on the NBC comedy ''Telenovela''. Early life Growing up in San Jose, California, Brooks attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. He graduated from University of Californ ...

as Gael Garnica, Ana Sofia's gay friend and co-star who plays her love interest on the show * Jadyn Douglas as Roxi Rios, the show's youngest cast member who is dimwitted yet insightful *

Alex Meneses Alexandra Estella Meneses (born February 12, 1965) is an American actress and model. Early life Meneses was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is of Mexican descent on her father's side and Ukrainian descent on her mother's side. Meneses studied act ...

as Isabela Santamaria, the telenovela's aging former leading lady and Ana Sofia's chief rival *Izzy Diaz as Isaac Aguero, the show's head writer who drunkenly writes the episodes only to forget the scenes he wrote the next day

Recurring

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for starring as Chuck Bartowski in the series ''Chuck'', and as the title character in '' Shazam!'' and its 2023 sequel, as a part of the DC Ext ...

as James McMahon, the new network president of VivaVision; much to Ana Sofia's irritation, he speaks more Spanish than she does. * Juan Carlos Cantu as Gustavo * Phillip Garcia as Paulo, the show's PA *

Luis Fernandez-Gil Luis Fernandez-Gil is a Spanish actor and professional wrestling personality. In the 2000s and 2010s, Fernandez-Gil appeared in films including ''The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down'' and ''Jack and Jill (2011 film), Jack and Jill'', as well ...

as Director *

Roselyn Sánchez Roselyn Milagros Sánchez Rodríguez (born April 2, 1973) is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, producer, and writer. On television, she is best known for her roles as Elena Delgado on the CBS police procedural ''Without ...

cameo as a reporter on TV

Production

On January 16, 2015, NBC ordered thirteen episodes. On October 19, 2015, the network cut its order to eleven episodes. In November, the show title was switched from the production title ''Hot & Bothered'' to ''Telenovela''.

Episodes

Broadcast

''Telenovela'' premiered as a "preview" on December 7, 2015 on

. The series then moved to its regular Monday at 8:30 PM timeslot on December 21, 2015 as a mid-season replacement.

Reception

Ratings

Critical reception

According to

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, ''Telenovela'' currently holds a score of 62 out of 100, based on 21 critics indicating "generally favorable reviews". On another review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series holds a critical approval of 63%, based on 19 critics, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring a likable cast led by a charming Eva Longoria, ''Telenovela'' is a comedy that provides entertainingly predictable laughs".

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 4363588, Telenovela 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2015 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series about television Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Miami