Jane the Virgin: Romedy Now imports American hit telenovela series to India

Romedy Now, part of the Times Network group that includes Times Now, Movies Now, ET Now, MN+ and Zoom, has brought the CBS-produced and the CW executed popular American TV series, Jane the Virgin, to India, premièring 05 August. It comprises 22 episodes of one-hour each, from the first season. Romedy Now has a further option on the next season, which premières in the USA exactly a year after the first run, on 12 October 2015. Gina Rodriguez plays the title role, a performance that brought her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV series. EWwys, the Entertainment Weekly’s awards for those who were bypassed at the Emmys, are to be announced on 11 August. As of 08 August, with one more day to go before voting closes, a mere 376 votes separate Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Ellie Kemper for Best Actress, Comedy.

Romedy (romantic comedy) is an ever popular genre, and Jane is a good example of the rapid fire television programming style of one-liners and gags. Although defined as a comic romance, the series uses all the familiar trappings of long-running TV series across the globe: all characters have a back-story, a voice-over leads to contrasting visual humour, flash-backs, three generations, accents and foreign languages (Spanish, with English sub-titles, the story coming from a Venezuelan telenovela, Juana le Virgen, by Perla Farias Lombardini), people not being what they appear to be, everybody two-timing everybody, cancer, criminals and police. Plenty of laughs, an occasional tear, and an overall feel-good impact that makes you want to see the next episode.

Watchable for many reasons, Jane the Virgin could prove to be break-out vehicle for 29 year-old Rodriguez, seen on the big screen in Our Family Wedding, Go for It and Filly Brown, and on the idiot-box in Law & Order and Army Wives. Having strong views against Latino stereo-types, she turned down most of the offers that came her way after Filly Brown. The 2014 study by Frances Negrón-Muntaner found Latinos did not make up any lead roles in any top ten movies or scripted network TV shows.

The study also finds that almost 72% of all roles given to Latinos fit into three stereotypes: crime/law enforcement, blue-collar workers and “sexy women.” The rest are minor characters who are mostly cast as un-named members of a large Latino family –another stereotype. Add to that the fact that almost half of all Latinos on TV shows are uncredited (45%). The study concludes that Latin people “tend to embody many of the same stereotypes first visualised in cinema over a hundred ago: criminals, cheap labour, and sexual objects. Kudos to Gina for standing up against racial discrimination in the US media! Enter, Jane the Virgin.

Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) has always lived by the rules. She is studying to become a teacher, working her way through school by waitressing at a hot Miami hotel, and she has never forgotten the lesson her grandmother Alba Gloriana (Ivonne Coll) taught her long ago about the importance of saving her virginity for marriage. But when Jane was accidentally artificially inseminated her life became as dramatic and outrageous as the telenovelas she grew up watching. Adding to the drama, the sperm comes from reformed playboy Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni, a younger leaner John Abraham?), the owner of the hotel where Jane works, and her teenage crush. Rafael has recovered from cancer and the sperm sample he has stored is the only chance of his becoming a father now.

Although Jane is engaged to her long-time love, Michael (Brett Dier), a detective with the Miami Police Department, and Rafael is married to the scheming Petra (Yael Grobglas), she and Rafael are drawn closer by the pregnancy and begin to fall for each other. The tension proves too much for Jane and Michael, and they call off their engagement. Jane and Rafael, reviving their old crushes, begin seeing each other. But ‘happily ever after’ is interrupted by murder and mayhem, by scheming ‘ex’es and maniacal criminal masterminds. Oh, and then there’s the fact that Jane learns her long lost father is Rogelio De La Vega (Jaime Camill), her favorite telenovela star! And now he’s back in her life… with a vengeance. But amidst all the crazy, there are the three resolute Villaneuva women--Jane, her mother Xiomara Gloriana de la Vega (Andrea Navedo), and her grandmother, Alba, who band together to support each other always, no matter the twists and turns thrown their way.

Performances are uniformly high-grade and appearances tailor-made to fit the parts. Editing adds pace and gags are well-written. Some portions go staccato, break-neck, and the series conforms to the norms seen in such dramas. Gustavo Santaollala’s voice quality and narration is just what you expect from a middle-aged Spanish-speaking male talent. Jennie Snyder Urman, who wrote it and is executive producer of Jane the Virgin, was a consulting producer on the show, Reign. She also created the CW’s other show, Emily Owens MD, which had a short run on the net last season, and co-produced Gilmore Girls.

Romedy Now and their PR agency Adfactors held a special screening of the first episode for the media on 03 August at the Adfactors media room, located in the same complex that is home to the Times Group. Sonal Khanduja, Vice President, Content—English Language Cluster, representing, Romedy Now, held a Q. & A., while the hospitality was provided by Adfactors, represented by Sr. Vice President Devasis Chattopadhyay, Account Manager Jay Desai and my old friend Pavan Chawla, who has joined the company only last year, as Head--Media and Entertainment practice.

With the advent of Jane the Virgin, the current Monday to Friday telecast schedule of the Romedy Now channel reads: Jane The Virgin 07:00 PM | Friends 08:00 PM | Happily Divorced 08:30 PM.

P.S. Ignore the occasionally muted dialogue, which includes even the three-letter word. Occupational hazard, with Prasar Bharati’s Broadcasting Code in place for all channels, public or private.

Extended trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDz0s7xw8A