The Malta Independent on Sunday
Take2 returns in great fashion for 11-part dramedy Miraklu
It has been five years since Deceduti and Take2 return to the local screens with a brand new concept, the 11 part dramedy Miraklu, airing on Net TV on Mondays at 8.50pm.
Set in the fictitious small town of ĦalSaflieni somewhere in the Maltese Islands, the story revolves around one Joey Il-Paps Bonavia. A widower with four young children and one more on the way Paps is dead set on turning his life around. With the approaching marriage to his new girlfriend, the very pregnant Romanian bombshell Lena and a very lucrative business opportunity in real estate with Jeffrey, his business partner, it looks as though Paps’s ship has finally come in. But there is one small matter that still needs to be resolved. Paps’s son Jethro has a serious drug abuse problem and Paps has vowed that before the birth of his fifth child and the wedding, he will sort out his son, come what may. It is time to turn a brand new page and there is nothing that will stand in Paps’s way.
At a visit to the rehab centre with Jethro, Paps’s hopes are shattered when he is informed that there is a six month waiting list. Paps is not impressed, he cannot wait six whole months. In a moment of wanton inspiration he decides to take matters into his own hands. He must get his son into rehab and thus formulates a daring plan that will achieve his purpose. Everything goes horribly wrong!
Touching on such cusp-of-an-era topics like immigration, the rising cost of living, overdevelopment as well as the modern fragmented family and religion and created by Carlos DeBattista – writer/producer – and Abigail Mallia - director/producer.
Miraklu airs on Net TV on Mondays at 8.50pm prime time.
Carlos revealed that once the full se- ries has aired on Net TV, Miraklu will be repackaged into five, one-hour long television films, subtitled and exported to other countries.
“It has been an incredible experience,” Carlos commented, “I can honestly say that from all the productions we have produced, Miraklu is perhaps the project closest to my heart.”
Four years in the making and sponsored by the Malta Art’s Council ‘Kultura TV’ fund, Miraklu is truly one of a kind and a first for Maltese television.
“It is a dramedy,” Carlos goes on to explain. “The potentially dramatic plot line marries well with comically flawed characters to bring out an eclectic mix of comedy at times dark and brooding at others flippant and irreverent while at moments it will have you in tears as the drama takes over.”
Abigail and Carlos admit that Miraklu has been both immensely fulfilling but also very arduous.
But the results speak for themselves in this fast paced, tightly crafted plotline that exudes comedic tension at every turn. Miraklu is a fun packed roller coaster ride for all the family.
Featuring some of the hottest local talent, Ludwig Farrugia as Paps, Davide Tucci as Fr. Randolph, Ileana Cutajar and Matteo Calleja Tonna as paps's twins Niki and Justin, Ryan Mark DeBattista as Axel, Kurt Magri as Jethro, Doriana Portellli as Lena and introducing Naledi Sehlolo as Princess and backed by the talented crew at Take2 productions, this uniquely quirky dramedy is set to take Malta by storm.
“I hope audiences will receive the story well and enjoy watching as much as we've enjoyed making it,” says Abigail while with a smile she invites all viewers to offer their comments on the page during the episodes.