''Zabranjena ljubav'' ( lit. "Forbidden Love", commonly abbreviated to ZLJ) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

about the lives and loves of both young and older characters, focused on

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, capital city of Croatia. Actors Mario Valentić,

Antonija Šola Antonija Šola (; born 5 June 1979) is a Croatian musician, singer-songwriter, lyricist, actress and music producer. She is known for playing a main role of " Tina Bauer-Fijan" in first Croatian soap opera Zabranjena ljubav (2004-2008). In addi ...

, Nada Rocco, Dejan Marcikić and Anita Berisha (last one with some months of break) were the only remaining original cast members until the final episode.

About show

The soap tackles controversial issues, such as

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, and deadly diseases. The viewers of this soap are varied, ranging from small children to senior citizens. ''Zabranjena ljubav'' is a remake of

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

soap opera '' Sons and Daughters'', initially based on that serial's original story and character outlines, before diverging as the new series progressed. In April 2008,

RTL Televizija RTL (previously known as RTL Televizija) is a Croatian free-to-air television network founded on 30 April 2004. It was owned by the RTL Group from 2004 to 2022. Since 1 June 2022, it is owned by the CME Group. The logo consisted of three prima ...

announced that the highly popular soap opera would end its run after 4 years that fall in its time slot 7:30 PM. A total of 805 episodes were filmed, but on the 4 April 2008, channel RTL canceled broadcasting after 759 episodes. The rest of episodes were shown only in Autumn 2011, with the series finale aired on November 3, 2011. With 805 episodes, it is the longest TV series ever filmed in

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

History

The original story begins by introducing a handsome 22-year-old Danijel Lončar ( Zoran Pribičević) coming home to

, on his 22nd birthday, after losing his job in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. At the railway station, he bumps into a beautiful girl. They both feel immediate attraction. Danijel doesn’t even get the chance to ask for her name as they are greeted by their friends and family. The girl is Petra Novak ( Anita Berisha) who also returned home, after studying

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, funny enough, on a present-day she also celebrates her 22nd birthday. It soon transpires that Danijel and Petra were twins separated at birth. Danijel had initially been raised by the wise Nada Horvat ( Nada Rocco) before returning to his father Josip Lončar ( Drazen Mikulić), and Petra raised by her mother Viktorija Novak (

Sanja Vejnović Sanja Vejnović (born 8 August 1961) is a Croatian film and television actress. Career Vejnović started her film career in 1978, with Branko Ivanda film ''Court Martial''. She came under international spotlight in Vatroslav Mimica's 1981 epic ' ...

) who had married into money to a rich aristocrate widower Stjepan Novak ( Velimir Čokljat). The parents of the twins had each married other people and raised families which had other adult children. The Lončar family comprised Danijel's father Josip Lončar, a construction worker; and Josip's wife Biserka Lončar ( Vanja Matujec), a warm-hearted, down-to-earth housewife. Their children were Iva Lončar ( Marija Kobić) and Matija ( Filip Riđički), Iva had just started a romantic involvement with Igor Carević ( Dejan Marcikić) and Matija started seeing his class member Lana Kos ( Petra Kurtela). Petra had grown up with her mother Viktorija (

), Viktorija's husband Stjepan who was a successful wineyard owner and businessman, and Stjepan's son from an earlier marriage, the spiteful Borna Novak ( Mario Valentić). After Danijel's investigation into Petra's whereabouts, he slowly enters the world of the powerful Novak family by landing a job as a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner supplem ...

, not knowing he is working for his biological mother, nor that he has fallen in love with his own sister. Other major characters include Lidija Bauer (

Katija Zubčić Katija Zubčić (born 15 December 1952) is a Croatian actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as ...

) who has always had strong feelings for Stjepan, but who stepped away out of respect towards the family and her children. Lidija has two children of her own: the spoiled and stubborn teenager Tina Bauer (

) and the good-natured medical student Leon Bauer ( Mario Mohenski, later Marin Knežević), who was betrothed to Petra at Viktorija's instigation only for the wedding to be cancelled after a revelation about his

. Viktorija's best friend, the dizzy socialite Stela Vidak (

Matija Prskalo Matija Prskalo (born 25 October 1966) is a Croatian theatre, film and television actress. Filmography Television roles * '' Nemoj nikome reći'' as Anita Jurić (2015-2016) * '' Zora dubrovačka'' as Marijana (2013-2014) * '' Stipe u gost ...

), was introduced as a minor figure during the show's early days as someone to whom Viktorija could recite expository dialogue about her latest scheme to, but soon emerged as a key character.

Series overview

Cast

2008 Cast

Recurring cast members

Departed cast members

References

Zabranjena ljubav, official website

Zabranjena ljubav, unofficial website blog

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zabranjena Ljubav 2000s Croatian television series Croatian television soap operas 2004 Croatian television series debuts 2008 Croatian television series endings Non-Australian television series based on Australian television series RTL (Croatian TV channel) original programming