ABSTRACT
The enormous success of the series in Argentina led to the sale of the show’s format and ensuing productions in Chile, Spain, Mexico, and Russia. Communication scholars explain the adaptation of television formats from distant cultures and languages mostly in purely economic terms. Emilio Ravenna, played by renowned actor Diego Peretti, was the fictional character that led the deception operation. According to Peretti, Ravenna lacked a “super-ego” and lived according to his own moral rules. In Chile, two years before the production of a local version of the series, the local Canal thirteen broadcasted the original Argentinean series at a late-night schedule. It didn’t obtain high ratings, even though many Chilean viewers had been previously exposed to the original series through open television and episodes that were uploaded to the web. In the Mexican version, a more rigorous effort was made to translate the scene into local culture.
