Why Hollywood Is Remaking Latin America’s Soap Operas

Brazil · Culture

Key Facts

—The deal. Brazil’s Globo is partnering with a Los Angeles studio to remake its hit telenovelas in English for North America.

—The company. Globo is Latin America’s largest media group, with turnover of about R$16.4bn (€2.6bn) in 2024.

—The slate. An initial four classic titles, reimagined as multi-season US dramas, kick off the venture.

—The streamers. Global platforms are leaning in, from Netflix’s biggest Latin American hit to new local-language originals.

—The track record. One Globo hit, “Brazil Avenue,” sold to more than 140 territories and was remade in Turkey.

—The stakes. A format once dismissed as dated is becoming one of Latin America’s most valuable cultural exports.

Once dismissed as old-fashioned, the Latin American telenovela is staging an unlikely global comeback, and the Globo telenovela is leading the way, with Hollywood now lining up to remake the region’s soap operas for English-speaking audiences.

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For decades the telenovela was the beating heart of television across Latin America. These nightly soap operas, full of melodrama, betrayal and last-minute revelations, could bring whole countries to a standstill.

In the streaming age, many wrote the format off as a relic. That judgement now looks premature, as the genre finds a fresh and far larger audience abroad.

The Globo telenovela goes to Hollywood

The clearest sign is a new venture from Globo, Brazil’s television colossus and the largest media company in Latin America. It is teaming up with a Los Angeles studio to remake its biggest hits.

The plan is not to dub or subtitle the originals. Instead, US writers will rebuild them as English-language series in the multi-season format American viewers expect.

An initial slate of four classic titles anchors the deal. They range from a story of a power-obsessed jewellery magnate to a tale of revenge built around a wrongly committed young woman.

The shows were created by some of Brazil’s most celebrated screenwriters. Their plots have already proved they can travel, having gripped audiences far beyond the Portuguese-speaking world.

Why streamers want the format

Behind the move lies cold commercial logic. Streaming platforms are in a global hunt for stories that hook viewers and keep them watching night after night.

The telenovela is built for exactly that. Its cliffhangers and emotional intensity are a proven recipe for the binge-watching habits that streaming services depend on.

The platforms are already in. A streaming service launched its first original Brazilian soap opera to strong results, and rivals are commissioning their own local-language dramas across the region.

The biggest proof point came earlier. A glossy Mexican mystery in the telenovela tradition became the most successful Latin American title a major streamer had ever released.

A proven export machine

None of this is entirely new. Latin American soap operas have been sold around the world for decades, dubbed into dozens of languages from Eastern Europe to Asia.

One Globo blockbuster reached viewers in more than one hundred and forty territories and was later remade in Turkey. The genre’s reach has long been one of the region’s quiet cultural success stories.

What is new is the ambition. Rather than simply selling finished episodes, Globo is now licensing the underlying stories to be rebuilt for the world’s richest television market.

At home, the company is doubling down too. It has revived the big, sweeping melodrama, betting that the classic formula still has life in it both on screen and as a format to sell.

The industry is also chasing newer habits. Producers across the region are experimenting with short, phone-friendly “microdramas,” a format borrowed from Asia that packs telenovela-style twists into minute-long episodes.

There is prestige in the mix as well. Globo is the company behind a recent Brazilian film that won an Academy Award, a reminder that the region’s screen industry now competes at the very top.

What it means for the region

For a foreign reader, the trend is a useful corrective. The flow of culture is not only from Hollywood outward, and Latin America has formats the rest of the world wants to copy.

It is also a business story. Intellectual property built up over half a century is now a recurring source of income, far more durable than the ratings of any single broadcast.

The risk is dilution. Reworked for new markets, a telenovela can lose the texture that made it special, becoming just another glossy drama in a crowded field.

For now, though, the momentum is clear. The region’s most distinctive television tradition is finding new life, and a new payday, on screens far from home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a telenovela?

It is the Latin American soap opera, a serialised television drama known for melodrama, romance and twisting plots. Unlike never-ending Western soaps, a telenovela usually runs for a fixed number of episodes and reaches a clear conclusion.

Who is behind the US remakes?

Brazil’s Globo, Latin America’s largest media group, has partnered with a Los Angeles studio to remake a slate of its hit telenovelas as English-language series for the North American market.

Why now?

Streaming platforms are hungry for addictive serialised drama, and the telenovela is built for binge-watching. Its proven export record and rich back catalogue make it valuable intellectual property at a global scale.

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