Last summer ABC debuted the first trailer for their English-language remake of the popular Spanish television series, Gran Hotel. The newly dubbed Grand Hotel was high on sexiness and salaciousness, a departure from the original series that’s been called the Downton Abbey of Spain. But since that trailer dropped there’d been little new information and no premiere date. That’s all changed as ABC has now revealed that the Eva Longoria-produced drama will arrive this summer.
Grand Hotel follows the Mendoza family, owners of the last “family-owned hotel in Miami,” the Riviera Grand. Mendoza patriarch, Santiago (Oscar-nominee Demian Bichir) wants to sell the hotel, but his decision is causing strife with his children, as well as his new wife, played by Rosalyn Sanchez.
The first trailer certainly looks perfectly suited for ABC. The mix of high drama and beautiful people should make for a great soap opera, but will it be enough to appease fans of the original series? The original series, which ran for three seasons in 2011, was set in the early-1900s, a far cry from the hyper-modern Miami landscape the new show is focused on. It certainly fits within the brand of the new network, but is it prestige television? Probably not. Thankfully, the cast of talent assembled, particularly Bichir and Sanchez, look like they’re having the time of their lives and should do a lot towards keeping audiences enthralled.
Grand Hotel premieres on ABC June 17th at 10pm