Don’t miss the most typical Brazilian TV program – the novela, a never-ending version of the soap opera, with daily installments. A popular novela lasts at least a good six months or more. The whole country follows the plot, and people talk about the characters almost as if they were real. Catchphrases and gestures are sometimes incorporated into the culture, and later spread around the world. Yes, novelas are export material – dubbed and subtitled they are sold to dozens of countries from China to the US. The best novelas play on Rede Globo between 6 and 9 p.m.
Some cult shows are worth checking out. Xuxa, the queen of camp, now hosts an early morning show for very young children (Rede Globo). It happens right after a very funny guest show hosted by Ana Maria Braga and her sidekick Louro José, a puppet parrot. The talk shows at night range from sophisticated (Jô Soares) to grotesque (Ratinho). Do not underestimate commercials as a source of unintentional fun, either – especially if you recognize products such as Ginsu 2000 knives, AB Flex machines and useless kitchen gadgets. Most films shown on open channels are dubbed to Portuguese.
There are dozens of cable channels available, offered by companies TVA, NET and their affiliates. Either you get one or the other, and each has its advantages and drawbacks. TVA has the best movie channels, HBO, Cinemax, and Cinemax Prime. Its Eurochannel features a hand-picked selection of the best European movies, series, and comedy shows, including popular Britcoms. Both systems offer the international channels like TNT, CNN, Cartoon, Fox, WBT, Sony, and AXN.
NET has about twice as many channels as TVA, including 24-hour broadcasts in French, German, Italian, and Spanish with several accents. The premium package offers 5 movie channels segmented by genre, and another showing only Brazilian films. If you get the standard package, though, you get only one of these channels, Telecine Premium (supposedly the best of them).
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