Fresh on the heels of the American Heiress preview comes a look at the other MyNetworkTV novela waiting in the wings, featuring the likes of Maria Conchita Alonso, Robin Givens, Mel Harris, and Fashion House's Natalie Martinez.

I do wonder why the word "and" didn't appear in the logo at the end of the trailer...maybe they're going with Saints/Sinners? We'll know for certain once the ad hits MNTV, which should be in the next week or two.

As for the trailer itself...damn, I'm surprised I didn't recognize Mel Harris right off. Let alone the oh-so-brief shot (00:51) of a woman who looked a hell of a lot like veteran telenovela star Patricia Navidad (?!?!). And the guy who's apparently the Romeo of the show (yes, that Romeo) looks familiar, though I can't place him. But it looks suitably mobtastic...and I'm down pretty much for Maria Conchita, evil laugh and all.

It's Sandy from Guiding Light. I don't know if he can sell the "tortured hero." His performance as the sock puppeteer/good guy turned stolen identity/obsessed lover was bad.
This show looks great! I'm so wanting a cheesy mob scentric soap (and yet I hate GH?!?). I'm not as excited about American Heiress, IMP Alecia Willis (Courtney for GH) lacks the appeal or ability to carry a show.

So according to Mediaweek, My Network will change up the prime time sked and limit the telenovelas to just 2 nights a week with Saints and Sinners airing back to back eps on Wednesday nights. American Heiress will air back to back eps on Tuesday nights.

I kinda like not having to keep up 5 nights a week but cutting down to 2 a week is kinda drastic isn't it? Will these series run longer than the 13 weeks now, or have they cut the episode orders to fit the new format?

Source: Mediaweek

Since the shows are in production now (or have already finished, I'm not sure), I imagine they probably kept the 65-ish-episode rule in effect. Which means both shows should run through most of the year, and then the fourth set of novelas will/should kick in...

Also has Mr. Sheffield of the Nanny (Charles Shaughnessy) and Nick Stabile (who I DIG. Justin Hartley's paternity leave replacement from Passions, I think. Anyway, he's cute and he can act....dude has an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory/Denver Center Theatre.)

Plus a guy named James Harvey Ward who is unknown to me but in person looks enough like Timberlake that on-set we called him mini-JT and did the bye-bye-bye dance. Behind his back, mind you.

Maria is as difficult to understand as ever, but pretty cute in person.

Natalie still can not act. WHY God, WHY?!

I'm actually a bit happy about the new scheduling plan. There's nothing really on TV that forces me to watch it live vs. waiting for the internet download, so things will be easier to keep up vs. WWG or WoM.

OMFG. Eva Tamargo's name just popped up in the opening credits. That's it...I'm down for the long haul, no matter what. I've got to have my Pilar, dammit.

So far its more watchable than that trainwreck AH. Lord please let them bring back WOM as a sequel.

As some of the more eagle-eyed posters on the WWG board noticed (sniff, I miss ya like i miss the rain), there were some episodes either dropped of condensed.

That being said, I was out to dinner tonight with my buddy who plays a doctor on this show and he said that the 65 ep order was condensed to something like 50 or so. He didn't know how they were planning on doing that...but there ya go.

Goddamn it...I'm gonna give these a spin until they reveal themselves unwatchably unworthy of carrying WWG's coattails.

Let the anvils commence. Julia Capshaw/Juliette Capulette, Roman Martin/Romeo Montague and he owns a club named Verona? Wow.

I think the costume people hate Maria Conchita Alonzo.

Did they make Santos Colombian specifically? Because [sarcasm] I just can't get enough of the Colombian as drug dealer stereotype[/sarcasm]

So they wacked a priest to get thier guy in there? And this doofus is supposed to be able to pass himself off as one with NO prep?

Sounds like I hated it but not really. There are things that bother me and there are things that I just roll my eyes at but I didn't hate it and it is at least somewhat interesting so far so I'll be around here to snark with my beloved WWG expatriots.

My expectations were pretty low, but I'm actually enjoying this telenovela way more than that hot mess that's American Heiress.

Maria Conchita Alonzo is a riot in this role!

What is the name of the character played by Mr. Sheffield—sorry, Charles Shaughnessy? Is it a Spanish name? And if so, why is his accent British? Not that it can't be, but huh?

MCA has had too much work done. Her mouth is really scary. Love how she chews the scenery, though.

I might get into this one, especially since AH is so so terrible.

I was LMAO when Maria called him Alessando (????). Yes you can transform a British man into a Spanish one with just the single use of a name.

I thought he was attempting an american accent. It just wasn't very good.

I think she calls him Augostino, and yeah I couldn't believe they were trying to pull off making him (I think) Cuban. That was just bizarre. I logically thought that a white guy (didn't have to be British but didn't have to NOT be British) married MCA a Latina (who BTW I think was Miss Argentina way back when.) But then he seemed to be trying to lose his Brit accent (was it real in the Nanny?) and she started calling him Augostino and I was befuddled. Why do that at all?

Already getting-married-sister is a bigger pain than Broke. How is that possible?

Did you guys check out the snark on the maid/cook/whatever who made the cake for Romeo? Something like the reason MCA's coffee was cold was because it had to get through her dead icy cold lips. I could get to really like her.

Now I remember that she said Augusto. They should/could have gotten a better actor to play the role.

Surprisingly, Hugh Laurie in character as House M.D., said that he's Latino. I always seen him on the old public television show "wooster and jeeves" i guess it is, British as can be. Although, I could say he is a better actor than Charles Shaugnessy. I did catch that last night, flipping through this show, I was like where is he from. And he is not hispanic/latin! Some people could pull that off, but not him, playing outside the 'type'.

I think Hugh must be joking. He is doing an American accent but I did see an ep that showed his parents and they looked pretty Caucasian to me. Hugh does have a background in comedy since he was in Black Adder (and I heard his acceptance speech for the Golden Globes which was HILARIOUS) so I'm sure he was joking about House.

Mr Sheffield is a very wierd choice. Just make him Caucasian.

Maybe Augustino is her nickname for him? Or a Spanish version of his actual name? Maybe he's actually Augustus?

According to the MNTV website, his name is actually August. Which fits, I suppose (and you can wrangle Diana calling him "Augusto" out of it).

And their last name is Martin which might explain why he actor is NOT Spanish.

I think we'll have to wait until somebody other than MCA calls him by name. It WOULD make more sense for him to be caucasion and his wife be Latina and the daughter to take after her. It is just that the makeup and the accent he seemed to be going for made me think they were going somewhere else with him. Which would be a mistake.

Delurking to say that, based on what I've seen so far, S&S is just as sucktacular as Desire and Fashion House. If they're going to rip off Shakespeare, then at least *try* to do it right and this show doesn't even seem to be trying. For one thing, as if the Catholic church doesn't have enough problems, along comes Fauxther D'Angelo, who couldn't even say grace properly if his life depended on it. Only Charles Shaungnessy, aka "Senor Sheffield," seems to be coming off well. As for "La Diana Loca," as I call her, she may be crazy, but as far as I'm concerned, she's no BSB.

MCA dominates the screen. No one can get a word in edge wise. Mel Harris seems to quiet and boring.

The fake priest routine is getting on my nerves as well as Sloan. HELLO you don't know you are married someone who is connected?

This soap is a STINKER.

Unlike American Heiress, though, S&S isn't beating us over the head with its self-referencing sarcasm. It's just there, and reasonably well done to boot.

I'm trying not to compare Diana to her predecessors too much, though. It's somewhat unavoidable, but it makes it harder to appreciate the character on her own merits (such as they are--one of which being MCA's lovely if pronounced accent). I do find it kind of uniformly charming that they're continuing the assistant-under-the-heel thing, though; Maria Gianni had Lexi, BSB had Lani, Supercuts had Natasha, and now Diana has poor mousy Shelby. But Diana's more along the Maria Gianni lines than anything else--she's a control freak, albeit with a pretty good reason to be. Much like her adversary, Sylvia Capshaw (Mel Harris is definitely underplaying that).

And having said all of that: I want to see Anton Vargas shot in the face. He just drips sleaze from every pore.

That's a very kind way of putting how BSB treated Lani, Bill C. Lani was under the dirt under the piece of gum on the heel.

Obviously someone on the writing staff has had an abusive boss or six. Hee!

So, someone turns up dead and there's evidence that he was a drug dealer. Whose first thought is that he was killed by a former friend with whom he had a yet-to-be explained "falling out"?

Apparently everyone on the Miami Beach Police Department ALL the way up to the chief. Idiots.

I try and catch this show when I remember it's on. They sure aren't promoting it very much. Plastic surgery has not been kind to Maria Conchita Alonzo. And I am really skeeved out by the relationship between Roman and the decorator. Isn't Robin Givens way too old for Scott Bailey? Ditto to the poster who said that Anton Vargas drips slime.

De-lurking for clarification: does Evan play for both teams or is she a lesbian? She certainly seemed happy when Kelly mentioned switching sides...

Do peopl still watch this show? Any word on ratings/audience?

Hee! I was wondering if it still existed.

I admit it: I stopped caring months ago. Now, if I'd actually seen Eva Tamargo pop up before I stopped caring, hey...