Telemundo’s El Clon ran for 183 episodes, from Feb. 15 to Oct. 27, 2010. The telenovela was created by Hugo León Ferrer and produced by Telemundo, Colombia’s RTI Televisión and Globo. It is a remake of O Clone, the Brazilian series that first aired on Globo in 2001 and later on Telemundo in 2002.
Mauricio Ochmann Plays Two Lucas Ferrers
Mauricio Ochmann stars as Lucas Ferrer, a young romantic and son of exporting magnate Leonardo Ferrer. Sandra Echeverría plays Jade Mebarak, an Arab woman sent to live with her father’s family in Morocco after her mother dies. They fall in love there. Cultural differences keep them apart.
Lucas follows Jade to Morocco to win her back, but arrives in time to see her wedding to Said Hashim, played by Juan Pablo Raba. That wedding is what separates them. Two decades pass.
Diego, Lucas’s twin, dies in an accident on January 24, 1988. Lucas then takes his brother’s place in the family firm and marries Diego’s girlfriend, Marisa Antonelli, played by Andrea López. Then comes the clone, made by scientist Augusto Albieri, played by Roberto Moll.
A Double Role Carries the Triangle
The show’s real engine is the double role. Ochmann has to hold both Lucas and the clone. The supporting cast does the heavy lifting: Luz Stella Luengas as Zoraida, Lucy Martínez as Mamá Rosa, Saúl Lisazo as Leonardo Ferrer, Carla Giraldo as Latiffa Mebarak Hashim, Mijail Mulkay as Mohamed Hashim, Adriana Romero as Luisa Albieri, Indhira Serrano as Dora Encarnación Padilla. The list is not complete.
| Element | El Clon (2010) | O Clone (2001) |
|---|---|---|
| Network | Telemundo | Globo (2001), Telemundo (2002) |
| Lead | Mauricio Ochmann | Not stated |
| Episodes | 183 | — |
| First aired | Feb. 15, 2010 | 2001 |
Cloning, Trafficking and Islam Share the Screen
El Clon mixes drug trafficking, cloning and Islam, and it does not treat any of them as decoration. The clone is not a gimmick; it is the show’s way of asking whether love survives the person. That is this paper’s reading, not the network’s.
Telemundo executive Mark Santana called it “the most ambitious telenovela in the history of television.” That is a network man talking about his own product. The claim is too large. But the ambition is real.
The Numbers Behind the Season
- First aired: Feb. 15, 2010
- Last aired: Oct. 27, 2010
- Episodes: 183
- Seasons: 1
- Genre: Drama
- TMDB audience score: 7.9/10 (579 votes)
A Remake That Justifies Its Length
The remake does not improve on O Clone, and it does not need to. What it does is give Ochmann a role that demands two performances in one body, and give Jade a choice the audience feels. The clone plot could have been a stunt. It is not.
TMDB audience score: 7.9 of 10, from 579 votes.
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