Luciano Castro and Natalia Oreiro

The first became famous as “Monica Brava” in the same titled Argentinean telenovela which conquered Philippine television a few years back. And just last May, Natalia Oreiro came back to the local airwaves, this time as “Amanda O,” in the same titled series which airs every Thursday night on Q Channel 11.

Who is Amanda O?

But those unfamiliar with the Argentinean telenovela may ask, “Who exactly is Amanda O?” They only see her as the beautiful woman in a red-sequined dress holding a video camera as seen in the show’s title card.

Little do they know that behind Amanda’s captivating looks is a breath-stopping story about her pursuit of lost identity and true love. But atypical from the usual telenovelas which don’t fail to make the viewers cry their hearts out in the protagonist’s moving tale, “Amanda O’s” story is approached in a mix of romance and comedy.

“Amanda O’s” tale is that of an actress and pop diva who relentlessly reclaims the fame that is once hers. It all starts with a false accusation that she stole a bracelet. Panic stricken, Amanda falls down the stairs and unexplainably loses her identity in just what seems to be a snap of a finger. She regains consciousness only to find out that someone else, not her, is Amanda O.

What could have happened to Amanda is still unknown. How she could have lost her identity as Amanda O hasn’t been revealed yet at this point of the story. But what’s interesting is Amanda gathers herself and proves to the world that she is the real Amanda O in spite of the fact that nobody, not even her own husband Charlie, knows her. Add to that the reality that the entertainment business, to which she once belongs, recognizes another person as Amanda O.

Amanda O in gist

Yet just like other telenovelas, “Amanda O” is cast with characters who add to the complexity and humor of the whole story. Central are the roles of Dante (played by Luciano Castro who also plays Facundo in “Lalola”), the man who extends his help to Amanda and will eventually become her new found love; Charlie (Fabio Aste), Amanda’s husband; and Amanda 2 (Valeria Lorca), the new Amanda O.

Amanda’s unyielding personality and belief that she is the real Amanda O brings her to a close encounter with Charlie, Amanda 2, Freddy (her manager), and Ines (her assistant). Their discovery of Amanda and of her claim that she is Amanda O leads them to believe that she is a psycho. Baffled, they keep her from pulling off more trouble by bombarding her with questions which eventually gets out of hand. They accidentally hit her, and thinking that she’s already dead, they decide to throw away her body some place else. But of course, no protagonist dies this early in the story. Amanda escapes and eventually returns to Dante’s place.

It is this which sparks in Amanda the desire to take revenge, and strengthens her longing to get back her identity. And what better way to do this than by making her life public again.

Hoping to regain the public’s interest in her, Amanda takes videos of her and uploads them to the web. Witty and up-to-date, that’s who Amanda is, as she’s able to get back to acting in a fashionable way while earning her followers’ sympathy.

As with Amanda and Dante, theirs is one classic cat and dog relationship. Attraction is very apparent between them, with a number of kisses already exchanged in the past episodes, but it is always tainted with disagreements and uncertainties.

Amanda starts to take notice of Dante only to find out she is still haunted by his love for his late wife Julia. Dante is admittedly torn between his feelings for Amanda and his memories of Julia. But what holds him back more is how Amanda uses his presence in her online “telenovela.”

Previously and upcoming on Amanda O

But no matter how hard Dante fights his strong feelings for Amanda, he eventually succumbs to it. In the previous episode, Dante tells Amanda that whatever has come between them doesn’t mean anything to him. Their friends Net, Demo, and Paloma, who believe that it’s about time the two come out in the open about their feelings, set up a plan that makes it seem that Amanda has been kidnapped.

Dante, who apparently has also been hiding his real identity as the artist Fausto Vivaldi, comes to Amanda’s rescue. Amanda then tells Dante that she knows who he really is and that the accusation that is thrown at him (a fire which engulfed his house and killed his wife) has been withdrawn and therefore he’s free. Overwhelmed, Dante embraces and kisses Amanda. But then due to much panic, Dante collapses in front of the millions who are following them on the web.

What happens to Dante in the next episode won’t be a surprise. In a romantic comedy like Amanda O, the protagonist’s love interest would most definitely be around until the end.

What the viewers can expect is a heated match-up between the two Amandas plus the much-anticipated confession of Dante’s real feelings for Amanda in front of the camera. But will he really do it? We will soon know. “Amanda O” airs every Thursday night, 8:30 p.m, on Q Channel 11.