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Motivated both by her hyper-Catholic grandmother and the teenage pregnancy of her mother, Jane Gloriana Villanueva decides to save the “flor” of her virginity until marriage. A medical mishap sees Jane artificially inseminated with (cue soap opera music) the sperm of her boss/one time crush, reformed playboy Rafael. Throw in Jane’s beleaguered boyfriend, the machinations of Rafael’s scheming wife, a murder investigation, revelations of paternity and the search for a drug kingpin — and that’s just the first four episodes.

The telenovela, repent with ostentatious sets, impossibly beautiful actors and storylines that strain credibility, stands in direct opposition to the tortured and gritty nature of contemporary prestige television. Jane the Virgin’s strength lies in its ability to be faithful to the tone and aesthetic of its South American inspiration while knowingly utilising the genre’s conventions  to enact a subtle exploration of the nature of relationships, both romantic and familial. It also makes the Latino community the centre of its fictional environ rather than an island of the Other in a white world — characters are actually allowed to converse in Spanish. Relying heavily on scandalous twists, it remains to be seen whether the series can preserve its initial momentum across a full season. With its unabashed cheesiness and sympathetic heroine, it has the potential to bring a fresh perspective to the dramedy.