Globoplay Taps Iran Malfitano for 50-Episode Vertical Novela

By Tom Whitfield

Globoplay’s Mentiras digitais will comprise 50 episodes of no more than two minutes each, giving the vertical novela a maximum runtime of 100 minutes. Iran Malfitano stars opposite Micheli Machado, although the platform has not set a premiere date.

Globo describes Malfitano as having been away from the network since he played Orlandinho in A favorita in 2008. The Mentiras digitais casting places him in a Globo title again, this time for Globoplay.

What does the plot put at the center?

According to the production synopsis, Machado’s Carla becomes the target of a virtual pursuit after AI-manipulated videos circulate. The character is falsely accused of stealing babies. Her husband, Henrique, abandons her; Malfitano plays Henrique.

Carla turns to Gilda, played by Gi Prattes, for support as she tries to prove her innocence. The synopsis joins a digital-misinformation plot to a domestic crisis, with fabricated videos triggering the accusation and Gilda’s backing giving Carla a route out.

The production makes online manipulation the mechanism for a family crisis. That gives the short-form drama a defined chain of cause and effect before the first episode reaches its audience.

Who is behind the production?

The announced cast also includes Ellen Rocche, Karen Marinho, Breno da Matta, Juliana Knust and Matheus Sampaio. Globo credits Ecila Pedroso with the script and Gabriel Edel with direction.

At maximum length, the run offers viewers 50 separate pieces of no more than two minutes each. The format divides a potential 100-minute story into an unusually high episode count while keeping the total viewing commitment below that figure.

Globoplay has fixed the episode count and maximum episode length. Its release schedule remains undefined because the production announcement provides no premiere date.

What appeared in the related coverage?

Globo’s accompanying 12-photo gallery focused on children of entertainers who have followed their parents into the industry. Its captions also documented several new television and streaming credits:

• Laura Malfitano, Iran Malfitano’s daughter, is scheduled to debut in João Emanuel Carneiro’s Mania de você as the child Agatha Moreira. The gallery pairs the casting detail with photographs of the actor and his daughter.

• Humberto Martins Filho is acting in a feature with his father, Humberto Martins. The film, Não olha para trás, is being shot in Espírito Santo.

Felipe Ricca, the son of Marco Ricca and Adriana Esteves and the stepson of Vladimir Brichta, recently debuted in the Netflix series Pedaço de mim.

Antonio Rickli, the son of Igor Rickli and Aline Wirley, chose acting and made his debut earlier in the year in Família é tudo.

Laura Portiolli followed her presenter father, Celso Portiolli, into entertainment.

Maria Flor, the daughter of actor Douglas Silva, made her television debut in Fuzuê.

Rafael Zulu and his daughter, Luiza, will present a GNT program together.

Those family-career stories form part of the surrounding editorial package. They do not add cast members, production credits or release information to Mentiras digitais.

For Globoplay, the next measurable step is the premiere date. The production already has 50 episodes, a 100-minute ceiling and a credited writer-director team; without a release window, its audience-facing launch remains undefined.