In April 2016, Glória Perez announced her next telenovela, due to premiere in the first half of 2017. She also stated that it would be different from the ones she had produced 20 years previously, which had mainly featured different settings and culture-oriented storylines. A Força do Querer mainly features romance and is primarily shot in Brazil. Originally titled À Flor da Pele during the early stages of production, it was changed to Flor do Querer in November 2016 and to the current title in December.
Casting
was the first to be cast for the project, and was announced to star in the telenovela in March 2016. Fábio Assunção was originally cast to portray Eugênio but later declined in order to star in an upcoming television series. Dan Stulbach was then cast. Leopoldo Pacheco was originally cast as Junqueira but he and Chay Suede preferred Novo Mundo. Suede was the first option to portray Ruy. Daniel Rocha also auditioned for the role of Ruy but Fiuk was preferred over him. Vera Fischer was also cast but due to personal differences with the showrunner, she was replaced by Betty Faria. The character of Bibi was inspired by Fabiana Escobar, known as "queen of pot". Showrunner Glória Perez initially wanted the character to be the center of a separate miniseries but decided to include it in the telenovela. Since her role is inspired by a siren, Isis Valverde was prepared for three months in readiness for her role by Mirella Ferraz a professional in that part.
Plot
Promising lawyer Caio is considered for administering the Garcia Company, one of the largest in the country. However, when Bibi decides to end their relationship, he leaves everything behind and relocates to the United States. Fifteen years later, Caio returns to Brazil to take up a position in the judiciary and meets once again with Bibi, who failed to complete college and is married to Rubinho. Rubinho goes through a delicate financial condition, as he and Bibi struggle to make ends meet which forces him to enter the world of crime. Ruy is prepared to take over the company of his father Eugênio, as the only qualified heir. Ruy is engaged to Cibele, who gives him professional and personal stability. When he travels to Parazinho, he is enchanted by Ritinha, a young woman who loves the fascination she exerts upon men and seems to believe herself to be a mermaid. She continues a game of seduction with Ruy despite being engaged to Zeca, a truck driver who loves her intensely despite gossip about her activities. On the day of their wedding he learns of Ritinha's fling with Ruy; fearing his temper, Ritinha runs away with Ruy while Zeca angrily leaves Parazinho. In another town, Zeca meets Jeiza, a police officer who dreams of becoming a mixed martial arts fighter. Meanwhile, Ruy's sister Ivan has been undergoing female to male gender reassignment, causing conflict with their mother, Joyce. Joyce's relationship with Eugênio begins to crumble when he meets Irene, who tries to tempt him away. And Eugênio's older brother Eurico tries to keep everyone under his control though he can't control the gambling addiction of his wife Silvana.
Cast
Participations
Soundtrack
''A Força do Querer: Vol. 1''
A Força do Querer: Vol. 1 is the first installment of the series of soundtracks of the telenovela. The album consist of an original score by Roberto Carlos. "Sereia" was composed specifically for the show.
''A Força do Querer: Vol. 2''
Reception
Ratings
The telenovela had an average daily reach of 45 million viewers. The plot also swept across social networks and ranked first on the Social Wit List in April 2017, a ranking that highlights the most-commented releases in Latin America. On its premiere, A Força do Querer registered a viewership rating of 32.9 points, the highest premiere viewership since the 2016 debut of Velho Chico. On its first week of broadcast, it recorded an average of 32 points. It had the second-largest viewership, after Amor à Vida. The penultimate episode, that aired on 19 October, recorded 48.8 points of average and peaking at 51 points with a 65% share, hitting the record, according to consolidated data of Ibope in Greater São Paulo. With this indices, A Força do Querer had the highest audience since the last episode of Avenida Brasil, which recorded 52 points on 19 October 2012. On the finale, A Força do Querer had the largest audience since the end of Avenida Brasil. Having aired from 9:15 pm to 11:32 pm, the final episode had a record-setting 50.1 points and peaked at 53 points. These were the best ratings since the finale of Avenida Brasil, which had 51.7 points on 19 October 2012. In Rio de Janeiro, the last episode recorded 49 points in average. Cumulatively, the show recorded an average rating of 35.67.
Since its debut, the telenovela received criticism for not using the northeasternaccents in the state of Pará and the depiction of the state, such as the existence of an aquarium located in Ver-o-Peso. There were varied opinions among the viewers, especially those from Pará. Rede Globo and show's creator Glória Perez said that the show was not set in the capital of Pará but in the fictional city of Parazinho and that the work of fiction has no commitment to be true to reality.
Accusations on glamorization of drug trafficking
The fact that the plot touches on drug trafficking and other crime aroused the idea that the telenovela was unapologetic to such. The show to received a flurry of criticism, mainly by evangelists and conservatives. Pastor and Deputy Marco Feliciano said that, "Rede Globo offered a course for banditry". Showrunner Glória Perez responded to the accusations:
Transexuality
Before the debut of the telenovela, the subject of transexuality was already causing controversy. Catholic organizations asked that Globo not allow this theme in the show. The theme about gender identity, addressed in the plot by the character Ivan was also not accepted by a portion of the audience, among them also evangelists and conservatives. They accused the network of using the telenovela to popularize gender ideology. According to them, the telenovela had a clear intention to show that it is completely normal to identify as one gender even if one is of the other.
