Telemundo Internacional Touts Los Miserables

The Victor Hugo classic Les Misérables has enthralled audiences through iterations as a novel, stage musical, TV miniseries and feature film. Thanks to Telemendo Studios, it has also been adapted as a telenovela, which Telemundo Internacional is offering to buyers this week at NATPE. Written by Valentina Párraga (La Patrona) and filmed entirely in Mexico, the original production stars the well-known actress/model/singer Aracely Arámbula.

“Since the success of La Patrona (The Return), audiences have been eager to see another Telemundo production featuring Aracely Arámbula, who played the leading role of this 2013 telenovela,” explains Melissa Pillow, the VP of sales for Europe at Telemundo Internacional. “La Patrona, which ranks among Telemundo’s most successful titles in the history of its 9 p.m. time slot, was inspired by the timeless novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Therefore, when [examining] the opportunity of creating a modern tale based on a classic piece of literature such as Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, the participation of Aracely Arámbula was a clear fit.”

“With La Patrona and Los Miserables, Telemundo has created modern versions of classic stories for a format with an average of 120 episodes,” Pillow continues. “It was also a great moment to produce Los Miserables, the first telenovela version of the famous drama, shortly after the success of the award-winning movie.”

Pillow believes that the story, first published in 1862, is still as relevant as ever. “Many of the struggles presented in Victor Hugo’s novel arise from issues that unfortunately still exist today in many cultures,” says Pillow. “Just as with all Telemundo productions, this telenovela is targeted at an audience of different cultures within the U.S., and also to international audiences worldwide through syndication and our international channels. As a universal story that is not only widely read but also easily understandable, it is a title that can cross borders very easily.”

The adaptation does have some Latin flavor, though, with its Spanish dialogue and Mexican setting. “Due to the diverse nature of our audiences, localisms are kept to a minimum so that it can still be easily enjoyed and understood by different cultures all around the world,” notes Pillow. “Another thing that makes it distinctly Latin is its telenovela composition, which features an impossible love and the struggle of its main characters to make their relationship work.”

Los Miserables has been sold in most territories across Latin America, including Mexico, and in Europe, where it has been distributed in territories such as Spain, Romania and Hungary. “This telenovela is still quite new; therefore, we expect initial sales to continue throughout the first quarter of 2015,” says Pillow. She adds that Telemundo Internacional is reviewing its launch strategies in Africa and examining negotiations in Asia for the title.