20 unforgettable programs that marked the 70 years of Brazilian television

Brazilian TV is completing 70 years of existence in September. A fundamental part of the construction of the imagination and popular culture in Brazil, the small screen has been offering us unforgettable programs throughout its history. Many of them have already gone off the air and left a longing in the public’s memory.

To honor them, the awesome.club will remember some of these attractions that marked the time. In the end, we will have a bonus: let’s remember a series very dear to our country, but that was not produced here. Stay with us and embark on this journey straight from the time tunnel!

A true symbol of TV, Abelardo Barbosa made history in his auditorium shows. O Velho Guerreiro passed through several stations until he established himself at Globo in 1982, where he launched Cassino do Chacrinha. Shown on Saturday afternoons, the attraction immortalized the format of the freshman show and helped to establish great names in music who performed on stage. Chacrinha was an excellent communicator and was marked in the public’s memory thanks to his charisma and the catchphrases that animated the audience. “Hello, hello, Terezinha!” it was one of the presenter’s classic phrases.

Adored by children in the 90s, the series Castle Ra-Tim-Bum is now known as a cult classic. In the story, a 300-year-old magical boy ventures alongside his friends in a castle filled with fantastical creatures and contraptions built by his uncle, a renowned scientist wizard. Originally broadcast by TV Cultura between 1994 and 1997, the program had four seasons and was a great audience success, giving rise to books, a film and theatrical shows. With educational sketches, the series won awards inside and outside Brazil.

TV Pirata was a kind of clandestine broadcaster, which “stole” Globo’s signal to put its productions on the air. All this, of course, was satire. Unlike other humorous formats of the time, the program did not bet on comedians, but on actors from theater and television. Today’s consecrated stars were part of the attraction’s cast, such as Regina Casé, Claudia Raia, Marco Nanini and Ney Latorraca, the latter immortalized in the skin of the fun character Barbosa. The famous writer Luis Fernando Verissimo was part of the writing team.

Pantanal, a serial broadcast by the extinct TV Manchete in 1990, deserves a special mention. At a time when Globo dominated the teledramaturgy format, Juma Marruá’s (Cristiana Oliveira) journey was consolidated as a great success on the competing broadcaster. Reaching the first place in the audience, the work of author Benedito Ruy Barbosa gained so much repercussion, which forced Globo to produce a soap opera in a hurry to try to stop the fall in the indices. In 2020, Globo itself announced that it will launch a remake of the plot that was your nightmare in the past.

At the head of Clube da Criança, in Manchete, Xuxa was already showing signs of her talent with children. She ran the attraction for three years until 1986, when she was hired by Globo to host a program named after her. Thus was born Xou da Xuxa, format that consecrated the career of Rainha dos Baixinhos. A phenomenon among the little ones, the blonde, who arrived on the stage in a bright spaceship, promoted gymkhanas in the studio, in addition to receiving musical guests and showing cartoons. The paquitas, mandatory presence on the stage of byewere also successful.

“Pablo, what’s the song?” If you recognize this phrase, you certainly lived through the heyday of SBT’s Sunday afternoons. In a fun competition with games and riddles, Silvio Santos tested the musical knowledge of the guests and the audience, his popular “coworkers”. On the program, the then veteran presenter received celebrities who competed as a team in the tests to find out who knew more about music. The attraction, which debuted in 1976 and had several stages of exhibition until 2008, also put the famous to release their voice – and it was not allowed to miss the lyrics.

Brazilian TV lady, the late Hebe Camargo was a reference of talent and charisma. On her show, which ran for more than 40 years, the veteran made her guests feel at home. For this, a sofa in the studio brought visitors together in a great conversation, led by the blonde. Being on Hebe’s stage was synonymous with prestige, usually crowned with a kiss, the presenter’s famous “selinho”.

These days, watching a clip from your favorite artist is easy: just search the internet for the title and hit the play🇧🇷 However, in the 1990s, things were not so simple. The music-loving viewer depended on MTV to keep up with the releases of the time. And the VJs who ran Disk were a huge success. The program featured a ranking daily with the most requested videos over the phone. Astrid Fontenelle, Sabrina Parlatore and Sarah Oliveira were some of those who led the format.

Broadcast in five editions during the 1960s, the Brazilian Popular Music Festival was a symbol of cultural resistance in the country. Promoted by TV Record, the format was a kind of musical contest, in which composers and performers released unreleased songs that competed for the title of winners. The program, which had the participation of names such as Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Elza Soares, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, raised great artists of our MPB to stardom.

Gugu Liberato gained notoriety in charge of Viva a Noite, an attraction that debuted on SBT in 1982. But it was ahead of Domingo Legal, between 1993 and 2009, that the presenter consolidated himself as one of the most important names on Brazilian TV. On stage, he promoted a competition between men and women, who competed in classic competitions such as “Banheira do Gugu” and “Prova do Bicho”. Famous paintings such as “Dormindo Legal”, “Gugu na Minha Casa”, “Táxi do Gugu” and “Sentindo na Pele” also marked the history of the animator on the program.

Many people were afraid of Linha Direta, an attraction shown on Globo on two occasions: first, in 1990 and, later, between 1999 and 2007. This is because the program told stories of police cases and mysteries not concluded by the Justice, reconstituting the facts with scenes played by actors. The narrations by Marcelo Rezende and Domingos Meirelles, presenters who went through the format, gave an even greater tone of suspense to the simulations.

A Grande Família was one of the most successful products on Brazilian television. Broadcast between 2001 and 2014, the series was a modern adaptation of a program aired by Globo in the 70s. Almost 500 episodes were produced over the 14 years of airing, following the evolution of the Silvas over time. The adventures of the “very close-knit and also very brittle family” were so successful that they ended up in theaters. Lineu, Nenê, Agostinho Carrara, Bebel, Tuco and Beiçola are some of the beloved characters that remain in the public’s imagination.

Fantasy was a game show interactive game that gave prizes to the spectator. The home audience participated by telephone and followed, on TV, games such as “Palavras Cruzadas”, “Batalha Naval” and the classics of the program “Na Boca do Forno” and “Para Bola”. It was so successful that the attraction was responsible for congesting the telephone network in São Paulo at the time. With an all-female cast of presenters and assistants during the first few years of airing, the format was shown in two phases: the first between 1997 and 2000 and the second from 2007 to 2008.

the clumsy made their presence on television for the first time in 1966, on TV Excelsior, when they had Renato Aragão, Dedé Santana, Wanderley Cardoso, Ivon Cury and Ted Boy Marino in the cast. But it was from 1977 onwards, the year in which they migrated to Globo with the formation best known by the general public, that they gained national notoriety. Didi, Dedé, Mussum and Zacarias were on the air until 1995 and were elected by Guinness as the most enduring comedy group on TV. The show’s success has also reached theaters: more than 40 branded films have been produced over the years.

First reality show of confinement in the country, the Casa dos Artistas was presented by Silvio Santos himself. The format of bringing together people who do not know each other in a house watched by cameras was still new in 2001, the year in which the program premiered on SBT, months before Globo promoted the launch of Big Brother Brazil🇧🇷 In the first edition, 12 celebrities competed for the public’s preference in search of a cash prize. The last episode of the season, which consecrated actress Bárbara Paz as the great winner, recorded the highest audience rate in the history of the station.

Who wouldn’t want to be interviewed by Jô? The TV veteran was already successful in comedy, but he consolidated himself as a presenter on Jô Soares Onze e Meia, shown on SBT from 1988 to 1999. Then he migrated to Globo, where he remained in charge of the program that bore his name until 2016. Great personalities passed through the armchair of both talk shows🇧🇷 Among Brazilian artists, names like Pelé, Roberto Carlos and Gisele Bündchen. Among the international guests, the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the singer Shakira and the actor Andy Garcia stand out.

O Yellow Woodpecker Site marked the childhood of many people. Based on the work of Monteiro Lobato, the adventures of the doll Emília and her class have been adapted on TV over the years. The most successful versions were produced by Globo, first between 1977 and 1986 and then from 2001 to 2007. Shown daily in soap opera format, the stories, heavily influenced by Brazilian folklore, won the hearts of youngsters.

Comedy master Chico Anysio was known for his countless characters. But the most famous of them was, without a doubt, the memorable Professor Raimundo. Responsible for putting order in a classroom beyond clumsy, the veteran masterfully commanded his class full of talented comedians. Names such as Lúcio Mauro, Costinha and Rogério Cardoso were some of the famous students who ensured the public’s entertainment in the first phase of the program, shown between 1990 and 1995. In 2015, the attraction received a remake, starring Chico’s son, Bruno Mazzeo.

Years before…