Best Friends Forever (Indonesian TV series)

Best Friends Forever is an Indonesian teen drama mystery thriller television series produced by MD Entertainment for Trans TV. The story is a loose adaptation of the popular American TV series Pretty Little Liars.[1][2] The series premiered on August 8, 2017, and ended on August 27, 2017.[3]

Best Friends Forever
Created byManoj Punjabi
Screenplay bySetah
Directed byChiska Doppert
Starring
  • Randy Martin
  • Cassandra Lee
  • Beby Tsabina
  • Endy Arfian
  • Afifah Ifah'nda
  • Jennifer Coppen
  • Adzwa Aurel
  • Junior Roberts
  • Shirley Margaretha
  • Natalie Sarah
  • Ratu Felisha
  • Erwin Cortez
  • Juliana Moechtar
  • Fredy Amin
  • Adhitya Alkatiri
  • Didi Riyadi
Opening theme"Cinta Untukmu" by
Sarah Saputri
Country of originIndonesia
Original languageIndonesian
No. of episodes21
Production
Executive producerDhampoo Punjabi
ProducerManoj Punjabi
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkTrans TV
Release7 August (2017-08-07) –
27 August 2017 (2017-08-27)

The series follows the lives of four high school students: Tari, Ami, Yuna, and Saras after they schemed to get rid of their friend, Elsa.[4]

Premise

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Tari, Ami, Yuna, and Saras are the most popular girls at school, led by their kind-hearted leader Elsa. On Elsa's birthday, her best friends are throwing her a surprise party, but secretly scheme to take her down by spiking her drink, causing her to fell from the second floor and got into a coma. Eleven months later, the girls received an anonymous message from "BFF" who threatens to expose their crime, unless they come clean. At first, they think it is Elsa herself, but after knowing Elsa is still in a coma, the girls realize that it is somebody else who wants revenge.[4]

A year after the incident, Elsa wakes up. Upon her return to school, Elsa is excited to be reunited with her friends and boyfriend, but only to find them dismissing her. She also finds out her boyfriend, Erick, is now dating Tari who became the new leader of her former friend group. The girls started to bully and torture Elsa with occasional helps from Erick, just as they receive more messages from "BFF", who is going as far as stalking and threatening their lives.[4]

Other main characters are Elsa's new love interest Alfa, and fellow students Fina and Kevin.

Cast

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  • Randy Martin as Alfa, a student who becomes Elsa's love interest
  • Cassandra Lee as Elsa, the kind leader of her popular clique. Elsa fell into a coma for a year as a result of her friends' scheme.
    • Cassandra Lee also portray Elsa's older twin sister, who is "BFF" in the last episode
  • Beby Tsabina as Tari, the new leader of the group
  • Endy Arfian as Erick, Elsa's former boyfriend who later dates Tari
  • Afifah Ifah'nda as Ami
  • Jennifer Coppen as Yuna
  • Adzwa Aurel as Saras, the smart one of the group
  • Nicole Patricia Slee as Fina, a nerd girl who wants to be popular and a regular victim of the girls' bullying. She followed the girls the night the incident happened and knows their secret.
  • Junior Roberts as Kevin
  • Shirley Margaretha as Shirley
  • Natalie Sarah as Rani
  • Ratu Felisha as Ratu
  • Erwin Cortez as Dafa
  • Juliana Moechtar as Rio
  • Fredy Amin as Fredy
  • Adhitya Alkatiri as Raka
  • Didi Riyadi as Farhan

Reception

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A brief review of the series praised the actors' performances.[5] The series was described as a teen mystery soap-opera.[6]

Governmental warning controversy

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The Central Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (Central KPI) issued a warning about Best Friends Forever[7] considering the program was not paying attention to the provisions regarding the protection of children and adolescents, and that "the program shows many scenes of bullying, terror behavior, and displays clothing that is not in accordance with the ethics that apply in the educational environment".[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Sinopsis Pretty Little Liars yang Diduga Dijiplak Sinetron BFF
  2. ^ Novianti, Reny (2017-08-09). "Teror Best Friends Forever Penuh Misteri". Layar.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  3. ^ "Sinetron BFF Episode Terakhir Tayang Malam Ini". Tabloidbintang.com (in Indonesian). 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  4. ^ a b c Best Friends Forever (BFF) - Episode 01, retrieved 2022-01-27
  5. ^ Biantara (2017-08-15). "Nama dan Biodata Pemain Best Friends Forever (BFF) Trans TV Lengkap" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  6. ^ "Daftar Nama-nama Lengkap Pemain Best Friends Forever (BFF) Trans TV produksi MD Entertainment". Trendesia. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  7. ^ "Sinetron 'Best Friend Forever' Trans TV Ditegur KPI, Ini Penyebabnya". Kanal 247.
  8. ^ RG (2017-08-28). "KPI Pusat Beri Peringatan Program Siaran "Best Friend Forever" Trans TV". Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  9. ^ RG. "Peringatan Tertulis Program Siaran "Best Friend Forever" Trans TV". Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia. Retrieved 2023-12-14.