TELENOVELA WATCH: 'Qué Pobres Tan Ricos' Finale Tonight, 'La Malquerida' Premiere on Monday, Finale 'De Que Te Quiero, Te Quiero' Next Week

QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS ends its US run tonight with a special Sunday finale starting at 8 p.m. ET on Univision. The rich/poor culture clash comedy comes limping to the finish line after seeing its ratings drop this final week, a rare occurrence for telenovelas. Even bad telenovelas typically see their ratings rise in their final weeks for obvious reasons - people want to see the resolutions. QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS is not a bad telenovela, it is middle-of-the-road, but it has always suffered from a lack of story momentum, its plot lurches episodically with many minor desultory comedic subplots, and you never really feel much is at stake.

What I liked most in QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS were a trio of double acts: Sylvia Pasquel and Diego de Erice, Mark Tacher and Tiaré Scanda (whose presence is very much missed in the final weeks), and Ingrid Martz and Raquel Pankowsky who are both ludicrously, cartoonishly over the top and I loved every second of them. The other performances I liked in this novela were from Manual “Flaco” Ibáñez, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, the young couple played by Jonathan Becerra and Natasha Dupeyrón, Arturo Peniche, Gabriela Zamora, Abril Rivera, and late arriver Cecilia Gabriela.


LA MALQUERIDA premieres
LA MALQUERIDA replaces QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS on Univision’s schedule on Monday at 10 p.m. ET. This Mexican telenovela from Televisa produced by José Alberto Castro (LA QUE NO PODÍA AMAR; TERESA) is inspired by unusually lofty source material – a 1913 play of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Jacinto Benavente that also spawned a famous 1949 movie adaptation from Emilio Fernández.

The story is one of forbidden passion. A widow marries a trusted employee who helped her save her hacienda, but her daughter, still suffering from the recent loss of her father, can’t cope with their relationship. The daughter leaves home to live with her grandparents, and when she returns home after some years away, now a beautiful young woman, her stepfather finds himself lusting for her.

LA MALQUERIDA stars Victoria Ruffo (CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS) and Ariadne Díaz (LA MUJER DEL VENDAVAL) as the mother and daughter. Christian Meier (DOÑA BÁRBARA) is the male protagonist.

The fine cast also features África Zavala (CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS), Guillermo García Cantú (FUEGO EN LA SANGRE), Alberto Estrella (LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBÓ), Nora Salinas (LA TEMPESTAD), Sabine Moussier (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), Mane de la Parra (CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS), Ignacio López Tarso (CORAZÓN INDOMABLE), Raquel Olmedo (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), Silvia Mariscal (DE QUE T QUIERO, TE QUIERO), Fabián Robles (MENTIR PARA VIVIR), Osvaldo de León (MENTIR PARA VIVIR), Brandon Peniche (UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR), and eventually Arturo Peniche (VICTORIA).


DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO final week
Also this Monday, DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO (weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on Univision) begins its final week. This telenovela never really caught on with US audiences, but I preferred it to QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS, though both are ultimately fairly mediocre. It is far too long and feels it at 186 episodes. The Venezuelan telenovela on which it is based, CARITA PINTADA, only ran 126 episodes. DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO suffers from a numbingly long separation stage for its two main couples and the countless back and forths, misunderstandings, and break ups became tedious months ago.

What I liked in DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO was the genuine screen chemistry between Marcelo Córdoba and Cynthia Klitbo - the best in a Mexican telenovela this year - and Klitbo’s funny, coarse turn as the mother of five children, one adopted, the other four each with a different father who all return over the novela’s run to provide obstacles for the couple. Klitbo’s performance crystallizes everything that was phony and wrong with the performance given last year by Sonya Smith – a quality actress badly miscast - in MARIDO EN ALQUILER.

The other standout performance in the telenovela was from Marisol del Olmo as the heroine’s long lost mother. She was loose and funny in the character’s day-to-day novela existence while also nailing the character’s many heavy drama scenes. Juan Diego Covarrubias managed to differentiate the good/bad twins he portrayed without resorting to nonsense. I also liked the performances from Aarón Hernán, Silvia Mariscal, Fernanda Sasse, Pierre Louis, Eleane Puell, Paloma Jiménez, Laura Carmine, Esmeralda Pimentel (who exits the telenovela far too soon) and the funniest of the novela’s many guest actors: Ricardo Kleinbaum and Arleth Terán.

There is a tendency in telenovelas, and in those produced by Televisa in particular, to make the female protagonist sweet and likable to the point of blandness. Both QUÉ POBRES TAN RICOS and DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO suffer from bland female protagonists despite featuring capable actresses in the roles. I’ve never liked Natalia, the protagonist of DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO played by Livia Brito, more than the past couple weeks as her character became increasingly bratty and scornful, jealous of Simona, the little miss perfect new girlfriend of the man she loves. During a family soccer match which Simona is dominating, Natalia gives her a hard foul, an act that is petty and mean and human.


FAVORITES FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 15-21

Favorite telenovela: HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO

Favorite performer: Cynthia Klitbo in DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO

Favorite scene: the camping trip on DE QUE TE QUIERO, TE QUIERO


R.G. Morin writes a regular column for We Love Soaps, "Telenovela Watch: A weekly look at the world of telenovelas for non-Spanish speakers." For feedback or questions, you can email R.G. Morin at [email protected].