In 1980, when she was only ten years old, Manuzita was the host of her own television program, but she is forced to start a contest to find a co-star or the show would be canceled. Brothers João and Jerônimo sneak off to the auditions and are both chosen. The trio form the group Patotinha Mágica, which became a huge national success. While Manuzita and João gained attention as a couple, Jerônimo was left out by the press and develops a hatred for his brother. During a huge performance, João gets sick and faints onstage. His mother is accused of negligence and the case ends up in the main newspapers, causing the termination of advertising contracts and the group to disband. Ten years later, in 1990, Manu is an actress, but has not been successful and tries to regain her fame, accepting any work to achieve it. João is the host of a radio program and Jerônimo has gambling debts. When her car breaks down, Manu is reunited with João and they begin to date, causing jealousy from Jerônimo. Also seeking fame, Jerônimo returned to Rio de Janeiro, lying that he was the son of diplomats, to win the friendship of millionaires Quinzinho, Candé and Tobé, with the help of scammer Galdino and lover Vanessa. Despite his lie being discovered, Jerônimo got a high position at PopTV, as compensation when he helped free Quinzinho from jail, after he accidentally caused the death of VJ Nicole, setting up João to be arrested instead. Three years have passed and, in 1993, João has the chance to prove his innocence when he is released, much to the dismay of Jerônimo, who managed not only to maintain his standard of living, but also to stay with Manu. In addition, Vanessa returns from abroad to take revenge on her ex-lover after he left her in the past.
Cast
Isabelle Drummond as Manuela Renata Andrade
Rafael Vitti as João Guerreiro
Jesuíta Barbosa as Jerônimo Guerreiro / Rojê Viana
Cláudia Raia as Lidiane Andrade / Lidi Pantera
Dira Paes as Janaína Guerreiro
Humberto Martins as Herculano Mendes / Hércules Gatão
Originally entitled Anos Incríveis, the telenovela began to be developed by Izabel de Oliveira and Paula Amaral in the second half of 2015 and had the synopsis approved in March 2016. Originally it was planned to premiere in January 2018, replacing Pega Pega. In February 2017, however, it was decided that it would premiere in the second half of 2018, giving its place to Deus Salve o Rei, as a strategy to compete with Rede Record's historical dramas. In August 2017 the telenovela changed its name to Verão 90 Graus and later shortened to Verão 90, since Anos Incríveis belonged to ABC as the title of the series The Wonder Years in Brazil. In March 2018 it was announced that Verão 90 would be postponed again, giving its place to O Tempo Não Para, which until then would be its replacement. The second postponement was due to the fact that the plot addresses the consequences of the Collor Plan, however it came up against the possible candidacy of Fernando Collor de Mello in the 2018 elections, which could be seen as negative propaganda. In addition, the broadcaster was having trouble obtaining the copyright for several music videos from the 1990s, as it intended to show part of them constantly during the story. Because of the postponements, several cast members ended up being moved to other telenovelas. The telenovela initially would be directed by Natália Grimberg and Allan Fiterman, however, after the postponements, both moved to other projects, and were replaced by Jorge Fernando and Marcelo Zambelli. Verão 90 was the last telenovela directed by Jorge Fernando, who would pass away on 27 October 2019, three months after the last episode had aired. The sets of the telenovela were developed by the set designer José Claudio Ferreira, who took six months to produce them completely. The team's main difficulty was to faithfully reproduce the city of Rio de Janeiro in the 1990s, including famous places frequented by young people in addition to typical elements such as yellow pay phones and street signs of the time. Filming began on October 2018, and concluded in June 2019.
