16 (original title: Dieciséis) is a Chilean teen drama television series written by Marcelo Leonart. It premiered on Televisión Nacional de Chile on June 9, 2003, and concluded on October 22, 2003. The series stars Francisca Lewin and Cristián Arriagada.
Throughout the series, topics such as bullying, bulimia, and drug use are explored within the setting of a prestigious high school. Due to its success, a sequel series titled 17 was released, continuing the main storyline.
After an intense summer break, a new school year begins at Antumapu High School. It's a time for students and teachers to reunite and welcome new members of the school community.
Magdalena Arias (Francisca Lewin), the principal's daughter, feels lonely but is thrilled when her cousin Matilde (Fernanda Urrejola) joins her class along with her friends Alejandra (Luz Valdivieso) and Canela (Isabel Ruiz) after their liberal private school went bankrupt. The group calls themselves "the witches." New classmates Fabiana (Antonella Orsini), Estrella (Francisca Tapia), and Ariela (Paola Giannini) also join.
The school year brings challenges as Manuel Arias (Willy Semler), the strict school principal and Magdalena's father, introduces new rules, such as segregating the school's common areas by gender. Magdalena and her friends lead a protest against these rules, which they see as oppressive.
While navigating these struggles, Magdalena faces personal conflicts, including falling in love with Nacho (Cristián Arriagada), a scholarship student and the janitor's son, despite dating JoaquÃÂn (Cristián Riquelme), the student council president. Her romance with Nacho sparks tension with her father, but Magdalena refuses to let social differences dictate her heart.
The lives of other characters at Antumapu High involve themes of love, jealousy, friendship, rebellion, and family relationships.
The project was approved for the 2003 programming lineup by Televisión Nacional de Chile in October 2002. Jorge Marchant provided script consulting. The school scenes were filmed at the Patrocinio de San José School in Providencia.
This was the first Chilean telenovela designed for an early evening time slot, such as 5:30 PM. Its overwhelming successâÂÂachieving higher ratings than TVN's prime-time telenovelas of the season, Puertas adentro and PecadoresâÂÂled to its nearly immediate rerun in the summer of 2004 and the production of a sequel, titled 17, which aired in the summer of 2005. It also sparked TVN's interest in exploring new time slots for telenovelas, including nighttime programming starting in 2004. The telenovela stood out for portraying typical adolescent issues, such as bulimia, represented by Paola Giannini.