La Pasión
Tonight NBC will air a two part preview of their satirical foray into the overly dramatic world of hispanic soap opera. Titled Telenovela, Eva Longoria stars as Ana Sofia, the primary character of a fictional Spanish sitcom “Las Leyes de la Pasión”. Longoria who was raised on Mexican soaps in her hometown of Corpus Christi still fondly recalls the latino genre of TV.
“You didn’t need to speak Spanish to understand what the actors were saying,” she says. “Our show is a love letter to the form. These formats are beloved by the community, whether they’re Turkish, Middle Eastern or Spanish. They deal with universal themes.”
Telenovela tells the story of an actress who has comfortably played the role of “la Pasión” for years when a few awkward occurrences shake things up. In an attempt to boost ratings, Longoria’s character reluctantly faces the drafting to the cast of an ex-husband. Shenanigans ensue and many of the hispanic “Novela” genre’s conventions are addressed in cheeky ways. Throughout the entirety of the show, Ana Sofia is ironically unable to understand and speak the Spanish language. In her first network television role since the massively popular Desperate Housewives, Longoria is championing a comedy about a drama.
NBC has decided to premiere two sneak peeks of the series back to back tonight. At the grown age of 35, Longoria slyly alludes to her real life persona and predicament with the frazzled leading lady character of Ana Sofia. The onset of the Spanish soap opera superstar sees Sofia judging her script and costars. Apparently, Ana Sofia’s “always been like a mother” to one young and jubilant female cast member. Longoria’s soap opera princess hilariously come to the realization that this bubbly girl will be playing her daughter after her male costar laughingly states: “You’re not playing my love interest – you’re playing my love interest’s mom!”
Before its official premiere on Jan. 4, catch Telenovela’s two-episode preview event tonight (12/7/15) at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
