A lengthy telenovela by Rede Globo's standards, it was extended not only because of its viewership success, but also because the next production, Salomé (1991), was delayed. After the originally planned 189
episodes, the creator conceived another 54, totaling 243 episodes over nine months.
Tied with the original version of Selva de Pedra (1972), so far this is Rede Globo's fourth longest telenovela, behind O Homem Que Deve Morrer (1971), with 258 episodes, Irmãos Coragem (1970), with 328, and the titleholder A Grande Mentira (1969), which had 341.
Creator Glória Perez brought back doctors Molina ( Mário Lago ) and Brown ( Beatriz Segall ) in O Clone (2001), where they discuss human cloning.
Glória Perez made Ana and Clara's characters equally sympathetic to viewers. Their expectations, however, were mostly that Clara kept the baby as she was the one who had actually conceived the child.
54 more episodes were produced due to a delay in the production of its substitute series Salomé (1991). As a result, this is one of the longest running Brazilian telenovelas.