North Beach

North Beach is a Herendish television soap opera and drama series, created by television executive Daniel Álvares. It first broadcast on HBC Two on April 7, 1993, and is the longest-running television series in Herendoland with 953 episodes over 31 series.

The series takes place in the fictional seaside Carragosa suburb in northern Cercadas and initially centered on the Saldanha and Menezes families, who had ongoing tensions until they were gradully resolved. In the ninth season, the Batista family move into the neighborhood and attempt to settle in. North Beach also features other supporting families and characters that rotate in different episodes and is known for its mature storylines and topics.

HBC initially ordered a 30-episode pilot series of North Beach in late 1992, after Álvares pitched the bible to HBC executives. It initially debuted on HBC 2 every Friday night and was simulcast on HBC 1 on Sundays. Despite initially receiving mixed reviews, the show garnered significant popularity that HBC renewed the show for five series in mid 1993.

Premise
North Beach revolves around the lives of the middle-class Saldanha and Menezes families, who have lived in the Carragosa suburb for two decades and had a tense relationship. They learn to resolve their personal conflicts and try to build a healthy relationship throughout the first few series. Their lives soon change as the Saldanhas raise a second child and the two meet the Batista family, a Caucasian family from Meidelo.

Cast
North Beach features an ensemble cast, who mostly live and work in Carragosa, although some characters also work in other places in Cercadas. Supporting characters often have relations to the main families in the series, either visiting their households or work in the same workplaces.

The original two families were of Portuguese descent and only had few characters of different races. Eventually, the HBC added more diverse and unique characters to curb this problem and better structure the storylines as a whole, which have found positive feedback from regular viewers.