Cacau is a Portuguese telenovela produced by Plural Entertainment and broadcast by TVI from January 15 to November 30, 2024, spanning 236 episodes; it replaced Queridos Papás and was succeeded by A Fazenda. Written by Maria João Costa and directed by Edgard Miranda, the series was filmed in both Portugal and Brazil.
It features Matilde Reymão, José Condessa, Alexandra Lencastre, António Capelo, Diogo Amaral, Sofia Nicholson, Paulo Calatré, and Carolina Amaral in the plot's lead roles.
A hit with both critics and audiences, Cacau is already available in 90 countries—with the most recent sales going to Israel and the Balkans—cementing its status as one of the most successful Portuguese soap operas on the international market.
Contents
Production
Ângelo Rodrigues was the first actor considered for the role of the villain Marco. However, after deciding to remain at SIC to star in the telenovela Papel Principal, he was ultimately replaced by Diogo Amaral, who returns to TVI fiction after being affiliated with SIC for the previous five years.
The telenovela marks Alexandra Lencastre's return to TVI, following her move to SIC in 2020.
It also marks the debut of Brazilian actress Christine Fernandes in TVI fiction. Up to the time the soap opera aired, Nuno Pardal had been part of the cast of all four soap operas written by author Maria João Costa.
Plot
The story follows the life of Cacau, a beautiful, fearless, and irreverent 22-year-old woman. She lives on a plantation where her Portuguese parents, Joaquim and Filomena—who started out as caretakers—are the trusted confidants of the wealthy owner, Justino Vaz Pereira (also Portuguese). Now aged and in poor health, Justino oversees the business from afar in Portugal. Cacau is supported in her endeavors by her close friends Pitty and Guto, as she works to introduce the world to the best chocolate: the spicy chocolate of Itacaré.
Cacau works at the estate's chocolate factory, but whenever possible, she spends her time off losing herself in the warm waters of Bahia, where she loves to surf. She is a talented chocolatier whose greatest dream is to earn an international diploma in Pastry and Chocolate Arts—even though she believes it is impossible, given the course's exorbitant cost and her family's lack of funds. Or so she thinks.
The revelation sparks a series of intrigues and conflicts that jeopardize the family fortune, as Cacau becomes a threat to Justino’s other heir. Simone, Justino’s wife, is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure her daughter, Sal, does not have to share the wealth with an illegitimate child. Distracted by the argument, the couple is involved in an accident after a bicycle—seemingly out of control—crosses their path. Their car veers off the road, and Justino is thrown from the vehicle just before it crashes violently into a tree. Both end up in intensive care after Tiago—the 27-year-old cyclist who inadvertently caused the crash—calls emergency services. However, consumed by guilt, Tiago begins visiting the couple, and that is when he overhears Simone and her daughter plotting to kill Justino’s illegitimate child. When Tiago first overheard the conversation about Justino’s alleged illegitimate daughter and the family's plans to eliminate her, he initially thought he had misunderstood. As he watched Simone recover while Justino’s condition worsened—and realized they were deadly serious—he began to feel the heavy burden of conscience at the thought of a young woman dying because he had ignored what he had heard. How could he pretend not to know that a plot against an innocent young woman was being hatched right before his eyes? Saving her would be a way to make amends for the state he had left Justino in. But how? What could he possibly do from afar? That is when he decides to board a plane and head to Brazil.
Cacau will experience a great love story with Tiago. In fact, Tiago and Cacau meet before either knows the other's true identity; they actually start off bickering before eventually falling madly in love. Just like Sal—who, despite being married to Rui, becomes captivated by this man at first sight only to later realize the reason: he is the same boy she loved in her teens, Dr. Salomão’s son, whom she lost touch with for years after he dealt her what she still considers the biggest rejection of her life, right after taking her virginity—Cacau is challenged to help Tiago find Justino’s lost daughter, unaware that she is the one being sought, all while a hired hitman—commissioned by Sal and Rui—is on her trail to end her life.
