Jane the Virgin
At 23 years old, Jane Villanueva has her life all figured out.
She is studying to become a teacher, dreaming of becoming a writer and engaged to a handsome detective who loves her enough to follow her strict timeline that includes saving herself until marriage.
All of her plans were playing out, that is until she went in for a regular doctor’s appointment and was accidentally artificially inseminated with another man’s sperm.
If it sounds like a story directly from a soap opera, that’s because it is.
Set in Miami, “Jane the Virgin” is a romantic comedy-drama satire series based on the 2002 original Venezuelan telenovela, “Juana la Virgen.”
Though the series debuted on The CW in 2014, it has recently gained more attention.
“Jane the Virgin” is being revamped from the original telenovela in part by Ben Silverman, who brought “Ugly Betty,” also based on a Spanish-language show, to American audiences.
The original telenovela written by Perla Farias, became a hit on Venezuelan broadcaster RCTV in 2002, and has since then been translated into nine different languages.
The result of the remake reflects the original telenovela, however does not directly recount it.
The CW’s production of the story takes form in a much quicker pace and more uplifting tone than the original.
Other notable differences include the age of the leading actor in the story, the history between the biological donor and Jane and several other details that play out through the series.
The new 2014 remake brought somewhat of a new perspective to the network in the hopes of hiking up their ratings.
Silverman teamed up with Jennie Snyder Urman, already involved with CBS studios, the producer of the series to recreate the 2014 version for American audiences.
The 2014 series follows the life of star Gina Rodriguez as Jane Villanueva, a young, hard-working, religious Latina virgin whose life turns upside down after being accidentally artificially inseminated.
To make matters worse, the biological donor Rafael Solano played by Justin Baldoni has unlikely connections to Villanueva.
Not only is he a married man and former playboy but he is also the owner of the new Miami hotel that Villanueva waitresses, Villanueva’s previous teenage crush, and cancer survivor making this accident the only opportunity he has to be a biological father.
His wife, Petra Solano played by Yael Grobglas, is a member of a scheming Czech crime family that married into the Solano family for money.
Solano is also in a private affair with her husband’s best friend, who we find out, is a member of a big drug cartel scandal.
Working on the drug cartel case and aware of Petra’s affair, Jane’s fiancé, Detective Michael Cordero played by Brett Dier, blackmails Petra to ensure that her marriage with Rafael remains intact so that Jane will feel comfortable giving the baby away to a secure family.
As the daughter of a teen mother, Jane grew up without a father and refuses for the baby she is carrying to endure the same fate, which influences her fiancé’s secretive behavior.
To top it off, the doctor who mistakenly inseminated young Jane is Dr. Luisa Alver played by Yara Martinez, Rafael’s lesbian, neurotic, recovering alcoholic sister.
Over the nine month term of Jane’s pregnancy, the show runs into countless other twists and turns that disrupt her intimate and extended life.
With only one season out on Netflix and season two in progress on Hulu, “Jane the Virgin” has recently gained popularity.
Acknowledged by the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, People’s Choice Awards, 67th Primetime Emmy Awards and the Television Critics Association and honored by the American Film Institute the show has developed quite a reputation for itself.
“Jane the Virgin” has been nominated and awarded for several different categories at these different events since its release in 2014.
The most notable achievement of this show, however, lies within the story itself.
In addition to being a show that represents actual diversity, “Jane the Virgin” also allows virginity, homosexuality, substance abuse, and single motherhood to feel normal.
The normalization of these issues helps the series transform from a storied centered around a Latina family living in Miami, to something that is universal to the American population.
“I think it’s just the right balance of cheesy and dramatic,” said Seattle Pacific junior Laurance Rachal “But I also love the show because it’s about a completely different culture than what I am used to seeing on TV.”
With a primarily Latino cast, the show takes on a realistic twist, setting the details of the show in likely places, as well as accurately characterizing the family that lives there.
“I like the inclusion of Spanish and how they touch on important subjects to the Latino community such as deportation of grandparents and the racism they experience,” junior Sarah Rasmussen said. “I think it’s a good and funny way to introduce people to the style of a telenovela without actually being a telenovela.”