Without Breasts There Is No Paradise
A drama about a teen seeking breast implants to escape poverty.
Without Breasts There Is No Paradise was the working title of an NBC drama series adapted from a 2006 Colombian telenovela. Produced by Universal Media Studios, the project never aired beyond a filmed pilot after the departure of NBC Entertainment chairman Ben Silverman. NBC instead produced a Spanish-language remake, Sin senos no hay paraíso, for its Hispanic-American audience.
Quick Facts
- Company
- Reveille Productions, Universal Media Studios
- Creator
- Gustavo Bolivar
- Based on
- Sin tetas no hay paraíso, Gustavo Bolívar
- Executive producers
- Gary Scott Thompson
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Related
- Sin senos no hay paraíso, Sin tetas no hay paraíso
Facts from the source article.
Background
A young prostitute seeks massive breast implants to attract a wealthy cocaine smuggler in this story, which originated with journalist Gustavo Bolivar's first novel about child prostitution. The Colombian TV adaptation's finale earned a record 63 percent viewer share. In April 2008, NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman said development continued but hinted an English version might not air, possibly going to Telemundo instead, noting the script wasn't ready. NBC later stated the series remained in development for the 2009–2010 season or beyond. However, Silverman left the network in June 2009, and NBC distanced itself from most of his pilots, making the project likely dead.
Story
A 17-year-old girl named Catalina, described as stunningly beautiful, lives in poverty with her single mother Doña Hilda and her brother Bayron, who works as a hitman on a motorcycle. Catalina longs for a life of luxury, inspired by her friends Paola, Ximena, and Vanessa. Her best friend Yessica runs the group's prostitution ring, arranging for the girls to spend weekends with drug traffickers. Though the traffickers admire Catalina, they find her breasts too small to make her a worthwhile mistress. To fund breast augmentation surgery, she sells herself to a drug lord named Cardona. Convinced that implants are her only escape from poverty, Catalina pursues this goal relentlessly. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Albeiro, frustrated by her absences and secret income, begins a relationship with Doña Hilda. Bayron is later killed by police during a routine hit. Catalina's journey includes rape, an abortion, a botched surgery, a severe allergic reaction, and deeper involvement in the sex trade. She eventually achieves her dream by marrying the drug trafficker Marcial, who falls for her instantly. Envious, Yessica betrays her by secretly recording Catalina expressing her true feelings about her older husband and showing the recording to Marcial, who throws Catalina out, penniless. Desperate, Catalina attempts suicide but fails. She then turns to Pelambré, Marcial's bodyguard who secretly loves her, and convinces him to hire hitmen to kill Yessica. Instead, Catalina arranges for the hitmen to kill her, making them believe she is Yessica. As she dies, she falls to the ground clutching a book in which she has written: "It's a lie, without breasts there is no paradise."
Origins
Gustavo Bolivar's heroine is a pre-paid girl, meaning she sells her services around-the-clock for a set period hoping to make extra money. The screenwriter says Paraiso highlights an unflattering part of Colombia: teenagers in the narco-culture getting breast implants. Bolivar says the story is based on real-life conditions facing child prostitutes in the town of Pereira. There he met two girls desperate for silicone breasts; one told him she got her operation for free in exchange for sex, but the doctor used used implants, leading to allergic reactions and infection.
Development
Ben Silverman’s first acquisition after becoming co-chairman of NBC Entertainment was this show. He brought in Gary Scott Thompson, the creator of Las Vegas, as executive producer. NBC planned to air it in a format similar to the adapted Ugly Betty, another Reveille Productions project. The unusual title drew significant media notice. A New York magazine writer called it an almost unbelievably perfect title, declaring that TV nirvana had been achieved. A New York Post headline described it as a full-frontal soap, while the Charlotte Observer quipped that NBC put its breast foot forward. A Dallas Morning News editorial warned that NBC would be without a shred of integrity if the show ever aired. NBCUniversal had previously tried English-language telenovelas. In early 2006, it commissioned an English version of El Cuerpo del Deseo, a hit on Telemundo, and later signed a two-year deal with Galán Entertainment to adapt that show and other Spanish serials for NBC, Bravo, and USA Network. However, after the disastrous launch of MyNetworkTV’s telenovela model in fall 2006, none of those projects advanced past the pilot stage on NBC or its cable channels.
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