TELENOVELA WATCH: MARIDO EN ALQUILER Finale; LA IMPOSTORA Premiere; POR SIEMPRE MI AMOR Time Jump

MARIDO EN ALQUILER concludes tonight with a two-hour finale on Telemundo starting at 8 p.m. ET. It was a telenovela that started promisingly, but took a turn for the disastrous about a third of the way through and wound up one of the worst telenovelas of 2013. It seemed a case of the lunatics running the asylum. Actors were permitted to give some of the most grotesquely stupid performances I've seen in years, mugging mercilessly. Normally good actors were very bad in this telenovela and the normally bad actors were unwatchable. When half of the characters are cartoons it throws off the entire equilibrium of the world in which the telenovela takes place -- it makes the other half of the characters, the ones that are sane, seem stupid and ineffectual for putting up with the antics of the buffoons. There were dozens of decent subplots introduced in the novela, but almost all of them stalled out weeks ago, given pat unsatisfactory resolutions. The final plot turns shown in the previews were predictable months ago.


LA IMPOSTORA
LA IMPOSTORA premieres Tuesday, January 14 at 8 p.m. ET on Telemundo. It is the latest co-production between Telemundo and Mexican company Argos. Argos is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde company – they have produced a number of modern, serious, and rather pretentious telenovelas for Cadena Tres in Mexico, but I have found their recent collaborations with Telemundo far less interesting. I mostly enjoyed ROSA DIAMANTE (2012) but loathed EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS, a lionization of the drug capo as Superman, and LA PATRONA (2013), whose spirit lies closely with those repugnant female revenge flicks of the 1970s like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Final Week of LA TEMPESTAD; LA REINA DEL SUR Returns; Thoughts on MARIDO EN ALQUILER

LA TEMPESTAD (weeknights at 9 p.m. ET) is in its last week on Univision with its finale airing this Friday. Never a particularly good telenovela, LA TEMPESTAD was a watchable middle-of-the-road entertainment with a decent serving of genuine camp, but the last few weeks haven’t even been that because of the hatchet editing performed by Univision to rush the show off the air. Two or three episodes are being chopped down to an hour, rendering the central plot incoherent; the subplots have been largely excised altogether, left on the cutting room floor are most of the scenes featuring the enormously entertaining actor René Casados as well as relationship between the Nora Salinas and Arturo Carmona characters – the most likable pairing on the show.

In the past when a prime time telenovela did poorly in the ratings, Univision would just change its time slot as they did in 2012 moving EL TALISMÁN from 8 p.m. to noon and in 2010 moving the CORAZÓN SALVAJE remake from 9 p.m. to midnight, an inconvenience to viewers, but at least they still got to see the entire novela. Previous to this year, I can only recall one other prime time telenovela Univision chopped down, LLENA DE AMOR in 2011. This year, two telenovelas have already been subject to network shortening, which makes this viewer a bit wary as to whether or not to start watching new novelas on their network for fear if the ratings are too low, we won’t get the whole story.

Two-Hour Episodes of MARIDO EN ALQUILER Starting Monday, October 21 on Telemundo

Starting Monday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET, Telemundo will air two-hour episodes of MARIDO EN ALQUILER, a gripping tale full of romance, love, humor, betrayal and twists of fate.

Starring Sonya Smith, Juan Soler, Maritza Rodriguez and a stellar performance by Miguel Varoni, MARIDO EN ALQUILER is the story of Griselda (Sonya Smith), a humble, courageous woman with a good heart who wins the lottery after struggling to support her three children with her work as a handyman. By chance she meets Reinaldo (Juan Soler), an acclaimed but modest chef who is enchanted by her integrity. Reinaldo’s jealous wife, Teresa Cristina (Maritza Rodriguez), a vain and elegant woman from a rich family, will stop at nothing to save her marriage and sets out to make life impossible for Griselda.

The cast of MARIDO EN ALQUILER incudes the young stars Gabriel Coronel and Kimberly Dos Ramos, as well as seasoned actors as Roberto Manrique, Ricardo Chávez, Pablo Azar, Paulo Quevedo, Sandra Destenave, Ariel Texido, Daniela Navarro, Alba Roversi, José Guillermo Cortines, Maite Embil, Ismael La Rosa, Víctor Corona, Dad Dager, Ana Carolina Grajales, Gabriel Valenzuela, Adrián Carvajal, Lino Martone, Jalymar Salomon, Anthony López, Adriana Lavat, Sandra Eichler, María del Pilar Pérez, Sol Rodríguez, Ahrid Hannaly, Gustavo Pedraza, Luis Alvarez, Nadia Escobar and Emmanuel Pérez.

TELENOVELA WATCH: MENTIR PARA VIVIR Comes To Univision Tonight; Plus, LA TEMPESTAD, MARIDO EN ALQUILER, DAMA Y OBRERO

MENTIR PARA VIVIR makes its US premiere tonight on Univision at 10 p.m. ET. A Mexican production from Televisa, MENTIR PARA VIVIR reunites the creative team behind the 2011 telenovela LA FUERZA DEL DESTINO: producer Rosy Ocampo (POR ELLA SOY EVA), writer María Zarattini (ALBORADA), and lead actor David Zepeda (ABISMO DE PASIÓN). The lead actress is Mayrín Villanueva (UNA FAMILIA CON SUERTE), and the cast also features Diego Olivera (TRIUNFO DEL AMOR), Altair Jarabo (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), Leticia Perdigón (POR ELLA SOY EVA) and Cecilia Gabriela (CACHITO DE CIELO).

It did not take much for MENTIR PARA VIVIR to be my most highly anticipated telenovela to come to Univision since AMOR BRAVÍO. First, the fact MENTIR PARA VIVIR is the only telenovela from Televisa to reach our screens this year that features an original story. Second, the fact that original story is by Zarattini, one of the foremost telenovela writers in Mexico. And finally, the fact MENTIR PARA VIVIR is short by recent Televisa standards, only about one hundred episodes long.

Miguel Varoni Joins MARIDO EN ALQUILER In Surprise Plot Twist

Photo Credit: Telemundo

Distinguished actor Miguel Varoni returns to Telemundo’s screen with MARIDO EN ALQUILER beginning tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Varoni plays José Salinas, Griselda’s husband, a sly and emotionally distant man who disappeared from her life more than a decade ago. He is determined to do everything possible to win back Griselda’s love, but when he realizes this will never happen he tries to ally himself with Teresa Cristina (Maritza Rodríguez) to go after her money instead.

Telemundo Breaks August Ratings Record

Telemundo Media achieved the best August ratings in the network's history, delivering 1.3 million total viewers, up 8% over last year and up 10% (664,000 vs. 602,000) among adults 18-49 during Monday through Sunday primetime programming, according to Nielsen. Telemundo was also the fastest growing Spanish-language network year-over-year among Monday-Sunday primetime among total viewers and adults 18-49 with a share of 28%, up 3 points vs. last year in this demo. The network ranked as the fastest growing Spanish language network in the 18-49 demo for the seventh consecutive month.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Thoughts on SECRETOS DEL PARAISO on MundoFox; DAMA Y OBRERO and MARIDO EN ALQUILER on Telemundo; Favorites From PREMIOS TU MUNDO Nominees

SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO
While it is a custom of this column to focus on English-friendly telenovelas, i.e., those available with English captions, I would be remiss if I did not mention SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO (weeknights at 8 p.m. ET on MundoFox), I think the best telenovela airing right now in the US, perhaps the best of the year.

SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO is a very serious, mature telenovela that creates a suffocating atmosphere of tension in its examination of a pair of damaged families, united by a marriage in the first week. The heavy use of flashbacks of the crimes committed by the protagonists’ parents gives an impression of the past forever intruding upon and shaping the present discord in the lives of their children. There is a marvelous sense of impending doom prevalent through the telenovela, of nooses tightening as the relationships between the characters get messier and messier.

Gabriel Coronel Debut Single "Desnudo" Available on iTunes

Gabriel Coronel's first single, "Desnudo," will be available on iTunes starting today.

Gabriel Coronel's musical aspirations continue to flourish hand-in-hand with Telemundo Media and Warner Music Latina who, at the beginning of this year, saw the perfect qualities to make him the first artist to record a full debut album in the United States as part of this joint venture.

Now, the long awaited dream has finally come true with "Desnudo", a romantic ballad that is part of Gabriel's debut album, and is also included in the novela, MARIDO EN ALQUILER, where Gabriel is one of the main actors.

TELENOVELA WATCH: MARIDO EN ALQUILER Premieres Tonight On Telemundo

MARIDO EN ALQUILER premieres tonight on Telemundo at 9 p.m. ET. A Miami adaptation of the 2011 Brazilian telenovela FINA ESTAMPA, this is the second of Telemundo’s co-productions with Brazilian network GLOBO after EL CLON in 2010. This adaptation is by Perla Farías (FLOR SALVAJE; DAME CHOCOLATE) from Aguinaldo Silva’s original.

Sonya Smith, in her first leading role since ¿DÓNDE ESTÁ ELISA?, stars as Griselda, a fix-it-upper-it handywoman raising her three kids on her own. Veteran leading actor Juan Soler (CUANDO ME ENAMORO), in his first novela for Telemundo, plays Reinaldo, a chef who finds himself drawn to Griselda. Frequent Telemundo villain Maritza Rodríguez (LA CASA DE AL LADO) plays Reinaldo’s wife who no doubt will make life miserable for Griselda and her family.

Telemundo's MARIDO EN ALQUILER (Husband For Hire) To Premiere July 10

Telemundo is proud to announce the premiere of its new primetime original production MARIDO EN ALQUILER (Husband for Hire) on Wednesday, July 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Starring Sonya Smith, Juan Soler and Maritza Rodriguez, this beautiful and unforgettable telenovela tells the story of Griselda (Sonya Smith), a kind and determined woman who works as a handyman to support her three children. Due to life circumstances, she meets Reinaldo (Soler), an honest man and chef who becomes delighted with Griselda’s essence.

Sonya Smith, Juan Soler and Maritza Rodríguez. Gabriel Coronel & Kimberly Dos Ramos Lead MARIDO EN ALQUILER Cast

Photo: Telemundo

Telemundo Studios has announced the cast of MARIDO EN ALQUILER, a co-production with Globo now taping in South Florida, starring Sonya Smith, Juan Soler and Maritza Rodríguez. Gabriel Coronel and Kimberly Dos Ramos play the youthful characters in this passionate epic story.

The supporting cast includes Roberto Manrique, Ricardo Chávez, Pablo Azar, Paulo Quevedo, Sandra Destenave, Ariel Texido, Daniela Navarro, Alba Roversi, José Guillermo Cortines, Maite Embil, Ismael La Rosa, Víctor Corona, Dad Dager, Ana Carolina Grajales, Gabriel Valenzuela, Adrián Carvajal, Lino Martone, Jalymar Salomon, Anthony López, Adriana Lavat, Sandra Eichler, María del Pilar Pérez, Sol Rodríguez, Ahrid Hannaly, Gustavo Pedraza, Luis Alvarez, Nadia Escobar and Emmanuel Pérez.