UgunsGrēks
UgunsGrēks was a Latvian daytime soap opera that was broadcast on TV3 Latvia from 2009 until 2017. It was one of the longest-running scripted television programs in Latvia, airing nearly every weekday from March 15, 2009. It last aired on 19 May 2017. UgunsGrēks was the sequel to the LTV1 show The Cost of Frenzy.
The show was created by Inta Gorodecka and Baiba Saleniece. The show’s storylines were written by Inta Bernova and Gunta Kalniņa. The program featured an ensemble cast, headed by its longest-serving actors Ģirts Ķesteris as Leons Timmermanis, Jakovs Rafalsons as Vadims Felzenbahers, Zane Daudziņa as Helēna Felzenbahere, Ilze Vazdika as Milda Upīte, Egīls Melnbārdis as Gunārs Liepiņš, Uldis Dumpis as Aivars Pētersons and Regīna Devīte as Zenta Upīte. In 2014, the show was the most-watched soap opera in Latvia, with an audience of an estimated 1 762 000 viewers. The series ended in May 2017 and was replaced by Svešā seja, which was produced by the same creative team.
History
The storyline of UgunsGrēks began in 2006 with the TV series called The Cost of Frenzy. In the March of 2009 only ten days before the expected series premiere, TV3 Latvia came out with disclaimer that The Cost of Frenzy would no longer be broadcast on the LTV1 network and would now be shown on TV3 Latvia and that its new name would be UgunsGrēks. The new concept brought new characters and original storylines.UgunsGrēks ended on May 19, 2017. After 17 seasons, the show's creators decided that it was time for the most popular show in Latvia to end. UgunsGrēks final episode was 2 hours long and after that TV3 Latvia showed special live broadcast from the casts after party with actors from all the seasons. The creative team then began work on a new daily soap opera called Svešā seja, which premiered on September 18, 2017 in the same time slot that Ugunsgrēks had aired. Svešā seja did not find the same success that Ugunsgrēks had enjoyed, and was cancelled less than a year later on May 17, 2018.
Storyline
When the Ugunsgrēks premiered in 2009, the TV series revolved around the tragedies and triumphs of the Pētersons family, their friends and enemies in little city near the sea where the Pētersons family-owned a hotel. Storylines in the show followed the lives of residents of the Peterson hotel with the usual threads of love, marriage, divorce, family life, and the intrigue of the resort's ownership.Over time, new families with their own hotels were brought to the show to interact with the Peterson family and serve as competitors for more dramatic storylines. One of the longest-running storylines involved a doctor named Leon, his love life and happiness. From the beginning until the 9th season of the series Leon was the main leading male character in Ugunsgrēks. This plot-line was made even more complex when the love of his life Marta Peterson played by Dita Lūriņa was killed in the bomb explosion. After this accident, Leon was left blind and alone. The 9th Season he finally found his true love and married his love interest for 4 seasons – Elizabete Ziemele played by Maija Doveika. After this, Leon went to Germany and his storyline ended.
With Leon’s storyline ending, the viewers were introduced with Leons daughter Ieva Timmermane played by Inga Tropa. Ieva became even more involved in the storyline as the series showed the audience Āboltiņi family who had built a new hotel Mare SPA near the Peterson resort. A love triangle between Ieva and two sons from Aboltiņi family lasted for 3 seasons. The story-line culminated when in the 12th Season Ieva went back to England and choose none of the brothers.
Cast
When Ugunsgrēks debuted, the cast consisted of six main characters. As the show continued, the cast increased to 12 actors, and more in the next years. Throughout the show's run, there were over 200 actors that had a role in the TV series. From the all actors in the most episodes viewers can see Ģirts Ķesteris, because he has been in the most episodes from the beginning of the show.Original cast member Mārtiņs Freimanis who played Oto Pētersons remained on contract with Ugunsgrēks until his sudden death on 27 January 2011. In the series, Martiņš Freimanis' character, Oto moved to England and was never heard from again.
Cast member Ģirts Ķesteris holds the record for appearing in the most episodes since the beginning of the series. The actor played two roles: Leons Timmernanis, the hotel doctor, and the role of his long lost twin brother Fēlikss Seņkovs from Russia.
In last years of the Ugunsgrēks casting director hired many new cast member to appeal to younger viewers. The new cast members were Vanda Saulīte, Signe Kļaviņa, Sandija Olafs Birznieks,.
| Character | Actor | |
| Aivars Pētersons | Uldis Dumpis | |
| Aldis Putniņš | Juris Lisners | |
| Aleksis Grīnbergs | Ainārs Ančevskis | |
| Alise Sokolova | Jana Lisova | |
| Anna | Ilona Balode | |
| Annija | Ance Muižniece | |
| Antons Dambītis | Rūdolfs Plēpis | |
| Anna Jagudina | Polina Orlova | |
| Augusts Andersons | Ralfs Dragons | |
| Jevgēnija Seņkova | Jekaterina Frolova | |
| Jezups Martinovs | Kristaps Rasims | |
| Juris Strazdiņš | Vilnis Briedis | |
| Karīna Grāvīte | Zane Burnicka | |
| Kaspars | Āris Matesovičs | |
| Katrīna | Helēna Vasiļevska | |
| Kitija Kārkliņa | Anna Šteina | |
| Kriss | Ivars Lūsis | |
| Krista Zariņa | Marija Linarte | |
| Kristaps | Ivo Martinsons | |
| Laimonis Blumbergs | Pēteris Liepiņš | |
| Leons Timmermanis | Ģirts Ķesteris | |
| Lidija Āboliņa | Olga Dreģe | |
| Līga Eglīte | Kristīne Nevarauska | |
| Luīze Apine | Madara Melne-Tomsone | |
| Lūcija Andersone | Rasma Garne | |
| Madara | Zane Meldere | |
| Magda Zariņa | Daiga Gaismiņa-Šiliņa | |
| Maksis | Arturs Krūzkops | |
| Manfrēds Ķirsis | Edgars Pujāts | |
| Mareks | Jānis Āmanis | |
| Markuss | Rihards Lepers | |
| Marta Timmermane | Dita Lūriņa | |
| Megija | Karina Lučiņina | |
| Miervaldis | Leons Krivāns | |
| Milda Upīte | Ilze Vazdika | |
| Mirdza Liepiņa | Indra Burkovska | |
| Nikolajs Gončarovs | Ģirts Jakovļevs | |
| Oksana Griščeņko | Jeļena Sigova | |
| Olafs Birznieks | Gints Andžāns | |
| Oto Pētersons | Mārtiņš Freimanis | |
| Pēteris Jagudins | Andris Bērziņš | |
| Ramona Vintere | Ieva Aleksandrova - Eklone | |
| Rasa Dimaitīte | Liene Gāliņa | |
| Rasma Blumberga | Indra Briķe | |
| Rihards Baumanis | Artūrs Skrastiņš | |
| Rita Liepiņa | Marija Bērziņa | |
| Roze | Baiba Neja | |
| Rūdolfs | Valdis Lūriņš | |
| Sabīne Zivtiņa | Māra Mennika | |
| Sandija | Marija Linarte | |
| Santa Ziemele | Jūlija Ļaha | |
| Sarmīte | Jana Herbsta | |
| Serafima Seņkova | Veronika Plotņikova | |
| Sibilla Gončarova | Lāsma Kugrēna | |
| Signe Kļaviņa | Anta Aizupe | |
| Silvija Felzenbahere | Ilze Pukinska | |
| Sintija Saulīte | Evija Skulte | |
| Sofija Hartmane | Elīna Dzelme | |
| Solveiga | Anita Kvāla | |
| Svjatoslavs Zaicevs | Uldis Siliņš | |
| Dakteris Sūna | Juris Abramenko | |
| Terēza Rakēviča | Marta Grase | |
| Teodors Grīnbergs | Arno Upenieks | |
| Vadims Felzenbahers | Jakovs Rafalsons | |
| Vanda Saulīte | Dārta Daneviča | |
| Viktorija | Inga Misāne-Grasberga | |
| Viktors | Pāvels Griškovs | |
| Visvaldis | Dainis Ozoliņš | |
| Zenta Upīte | Regīna Devīte | |
| Zigmārs Bergmanis''' | Aigars Vilims |
Executive producing and head writing team
- The co-creator and original executive producer- Baiba Saleniece
- Director- Inta Gorodecka
- The first long-term head writer- Gunta Kalniņa, Inta Bernova and Vilnis Bīriņš
Domestic broadcast