Brazilian broadcaster Globo is turning a domestic hit into an international sales pitch at Mipcom in Cannes. To Love Is to Care, a prime-time melodrama from writer Walcyr Carrasco, is being positioned as one of the company’s “Super Dramas” — titles meant to carry the best of Brazilian telenovela tradition with higher production scale.
The creative team includes Carrasco, an Emmy winner for Hidden Truths, co-writer Claudia Souto, and artistic director Amora Mautner. The cast assembles familiar Brazilian screen names: Chay Suede, Letícia Colin, Tony Ramos and Antônio Fagundes. The plot follows Adriana, played by Colin, as she rebuilds after a murder and pursues justice while falling for Suede’s idealist lawyer Pedro.
Reach before the international pitch
Globo is not arriving in Cannes without numbers. In its first 12 weeks, the telenovela reached more than 119 million Brazilians. Digital engagement ran in parallel: the hashtag #QuemAmaCuida spent more than 13 hours among worldwide Trending Topics and 97 hours in Brazil’s trending list, while the story generated over 139,000 Google searches since premiere.
- 119 million Brazilians reached in 12 weeks
- 97 hours in Brazil’s Trending Topics
- 139,000+ Google searches since premiere
Angela Colla, Globo’s head of international business, says the title’s first chapter “won over the audience from the beginning and has maintained a high level of engagement”. She frames the package around a “strong female lead, a sweeping love story, a compelling mystery” and themes that travel. The scale claim is supported by production detail: an early flood sequence involved 270 professionals.
Why this matters for content buyers
For entertainment marketers and global buyers, this is the proven-local-hit playbook. A title that has already cleared domestic reach and social engagement bars arrives with lower perceived risk. The pitch is not merely “watch this telenovela”; it is “this story has already demonstrated audience pull, search demand and format potential, so it is ready for another market.”
That logic matters beyond Brazil. Indian and other local content exporters increasingly make the same move: package domestic ratings, social trend data and search interest as proof that a story can travel. The reverse is also useful for media planners — social chatter and Google search are being used as early signals of deeper viewer investment, not just broadcast sampling.
Carrasco says the story began with a broken leg and a long recovery that showed him the importance of care, empathy and human connection. That origin gives the pitch a universal thematic hook: solidarity, resilience and affection, wrapped in a whodunnit.
Globo showed To Love Is to Care, Anything Goes and Three Graces at a Sunday evening showcase in Cannes. The next test is whether the reach story converts into actual international deals.
Source: Variety
