Abstract
Telenovela literature has looked at the reasons why Latinos in the United States like to view telenovelas and the implications of it. However, this literature mostly focused on women and children who viewed these programs and completely ignored the male audience. Telenovela viewing statistics in the U.S. indicate that the number of male viewers has rapidly increased in the past few years. This study investigated the phenomenon of the rapid increase in men who view telenovelas, and the possible role that narco-novelas played in this development. The Uses and Gratification Approach was used as the theoretical foundation to explore the possible motivations that Latino men have for viewing telenovelas. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with nine Latino men who viewed telenovelas. Results indicated that Latino men viewed telenovelas to gratify five primary social and psychological needs; surveillance, integration and social interaction, escaping, culture, and violence/sex. Additional findings suggest that Latino men prefer narco-novelas to traditional telenovelas which may explain the rapid increase in the number of Latino men who view these programs.