Zabranjena ljubav
GenreSoap opera
Based onSons and Daughters
Written bySteven Zanoški
Dorotea Vučić
Tomislav Štefanac
Tomislav Hrpka
Marijana Nola
Luka Rukavina
Matija Kluković
Nikolina Čuljak
Sanja Kovačević
Filipa Burn
Ivana Mišetić
Directed byBerislav Makarović
Ljubo Lasić
Jure Pervanje
Boštjan Vrhovec
Nikola Ivanda
Siniša Bajt
Milivoj Puhlovski
Mirna Miličić
Opening theme"Srce nije kamen"
by Toše Proeski
Ending theme"Srce nije kamen (instrumental)"
Country of originCroatia
Original languageCroatian
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes805
Production
Executive producersTomaž Lehpamer
Milo Grisogono
Sanja Tucman
ProducersSue Green
Andrej Kregar
Production locationZagreb
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time25 minutes
Production companyFremantle Media
Original release
NetworkRTL Televizija
ReleaseOctober 25, 2004 (2004-10-25) 
November 3, 2008 (2008-11-03)

Zabranjena ljubav (lit. "Forbidden Love", commonly abbreviated to ZLJ) is a Croatian daytime soap opera about the lives and loves of both young and older characters, focused on Zagreb, capital city of Croatia. Actors Mario Valentić, Antonija Šola, Nada Rocco, Dejan Marcikić and Anita Berisha (last one with some months of break) were the only remaining original cast members until the final episode.

About show

The soap tackles controversial issues, such as incest, rape, homosexuality, adultery, and deadly diseases. The viewers of this soap are varied, ranging from small children to senior citizens.

Zabranjena ljubav is a remake of Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, initially based on that serial's original story and character outlines, before diverging as the new series progressed.

In April 2008, RTL Televizija announced that the highly popular soap opera would end its run after 4 years that fall in its time slot 7:30 PM. A total of 805 episodes were filmed, but on the 4 April 2008, channel RTL canceled broadcasting after 759 episodes. The rest of episodes were shown only in Autumn 2011, with the series finale aired on November 3, 2011.

Besides its native Croatia, Zabranjena ljubav was also broadcast in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia.

With 805 episodes, the series held the title of longest TV series ever filmed in former Yugoslavia for 18 years, until September 2023 when it was overtaken by Serbian soap opera Igra sudbine.

History

The original story begins by introducing a handsome 22-year-old Danijel Lončar (Zoran Pribičević) coming home to Zagreb, on his 22nd birthday, after losing his job in Italy. At the railway station, he bumps into a beautiful girl. They both feel immediate attraction. Danijel doesn’t even get the chance to ask for her name as they are greeted by their friends and family.

The girl is Petra Novak (Anita Berisha) who also returned home, after studying photography in London, funny enough, on a present-day she also celebrates her 22nd birthday.

It soon transpires that Danijel and Petra were twins separated at birth. Danijel had initially been raised by the wise Nada Horvat (Nada Rocco) before returning to his father Josip Lončar (Drazen Mikulić), and Petra raised by her mother Viktorija Novak (Sanja Vejnović) who had married into money to a rich aristocrate widower Stjepan Novak (Velimir Čokljat).

The parents of the twins had each married other people and raised families which had other adult children. The Lončar family comprised Danijel's father Josip Lončar, a construction worker; and Josip's wife Biserka Lončar (Vanja Matujec), a warm-hearted, down-to-earth housewife. Their children were Iva Lončar (Marija Kobić) and Matija (Filip Riđički), Iva had just started a romantic involvement with Igor Carević (Dejan Marcikić) and Matija started seeing his class member Lana Kos (Petra Kurtela). Petra had grown up with her mother Viktorija (Sanja Vejnović), Viktorija's husband Stjepan who was a successful wineyard owner and businessman, and Stjepan's son from an earlier marriage, the spiteful Borna Novak (Mario Valentić).

After Danijel's investigation into Petra's whereabouts, he slowly enters the world of the powerful Novak family by landing a job as a gardener, not knowing he is working for his biological mother, nor that he has fallen in love with his own sister.

Other major characters include Lidija Bauer (Katija Zubčić) who has always had strong feelings for Stjepan, but who stepped away out of respect towards the family and her children. Lidija has two children of her own: the spoiled and stubborn teenager Tina Bauer (Antonija Šola) and the good-natured medical student Leon Bauer (Mario Mohenski, later Marin Knežević), who was betrothed to Petra at Viktorija's instigation only for the wedding to be cancelled after a revelation about his homosexuality. Viktorija's best friend, the dizzy socialite Stela Vidak (Matija Prskalo), was introduced as a minor figure during the show's early days as someone to whom Viktorija could recite expository dialogue about her latest scheme to, but soon emerged as a key character.

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1180October 25, 2004 (2004-10-25)July 1, 2005 (2005-07-01)
2215September 5, 2005 (2005-09-05)June 30, 2006 (2006-06-30)
3215September 4, 2006 (2006-09-04)June 29, 2007 (2007-06-29)
4195September 3, 2007 (2007-09-03)November 3, 2008 (2008-11-03)

Cast

2008 Cast

ActorRoleStatus
Anita BerishaPetra Lončar2004–2008
Mario ValentićBorna Novak2004–2008
Antonija ŠolaTina Bauer2004–2008
Dejan MarcikićIgor Carević2004–2008
Nada RoccoNada Barić2004–2008
Vesna Tominac MatačićKarolina Novak †2005–2008
Zoran GogićJure Šarić2006–2008
Maja PetrinDunja Barišić2006–2008
Vladimir TintorFranjo Barišić2006–2008
Robert PlemićLuka Laušić2006–2008
Anđela RamljakMarijana Benčić2006–2008
Frano LasićMarinko Ružić2006–2008
Danira GovićAngelina Kovač2007–2008
Lorena NosićMirna Šarić2007–2008
Ozren DomiterIvica Šarić2008
Sandra BagarićEleonora Šarić2008

Recurring cast members

ActorRole
Mario MlinarićJakov Barišić
Šime Zanzewaiter Robert
Danilo VukčevićMate Grom
Mario LukajićTom Ružić #2 †
Luka PerošArhitekt Juraga

Departed cast members

ActorRoleStatusFate
Mario MohenskiLeon Bauer #1 †2004Actor left the series; replaced by Marin Knežević
Marin KneževićLeon Bauer #2 †2004–2005Killed in a car accident
Sanja VejnovićViktorija Novak †2004–2005Killed by Nina Radić
Mirna MedakovićMaja Vuković2004–2005Goes to Knin
Marina KostelacVesna Kos2004–2005Gets arrested
Andrej DojkićAleksandar Barić2005–2006Goes to Italy
Ivan MartinecLjubo Carević2004–2006Goes to Split
Filip RiđičkiMatija Lončar2004–2006Goes to Australia
Zoran PribičevićDanijel Lončar †2004–2006Killed by drowning
Dražen MikulićJosip Lončar2004–2005; guest in 2006.Goes to Afghanistan
Petra KurtelaLana Kos2004–2006Ends up in rehabilitation centre
Velimir ČokljatStjepan Novak2004–2006Goes to Paris
Matija PrskaloStela Vidak2004–2006Goes to Los Angeles
Vanda BožićAndrea Kirin2006Gets arrested
Katija ZubčićLidija Bauer-Novak2004–2006; guest in 2007.Goes to Paris
Mirsad TukaZlatko Fijan †2005–2007Accidentally killed by Ana
Jelena PerčinAna Fijan-Benčić2005–2007Goes to Argentina
Marija KobićIva Lončar2004–2007Goes to Australia
Vanja MatujecBiserka Fijan (ex Lončar)2004–2007Goes to Australia
Marko ČabovNikola Benčić2006–2007Goes to Argentina
Jozo ŠukerAntun Benčić2006–2008Left Zagreb

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.