Broken Promise

A Promessa is a Portuguese adaptation of the Turkish series Zalim İstanbul, created by Aysun Erdogan, Seda Cakir Avunduk and Ozlem Tasagal Yakici, adapted for Portuguese television by Inês Gomes and Cândida Ribeiro, with Ribeiro making her debut as lead writer of a telenovela.

The show was originally going to be titled 'Circo de Feras' during pre-production, before SIC confirmed 'A Promessa' as the definitive title in May 2024.

The three seasons were filmed simultaneously as a cost-containment measure, resulting in 110 produced episodes for season one, 103 for season two, and 44 for the final season.

Lourenço Ortigão initially turned down the role of Tomás, but changed his mind and accepted once he learned he would be starring alongside his ex-girlfriend Sara Matos, on the condition that his schedule be adjusted so he could spend time with his young son.

Bárbara Branco was originally attached to play the villainess Verónica but dropped out wanting a break after headlining Flor sem Tempo; she was replaced by Joana Ribeiro, marking Ribeiro's return to SIC after having moved to TVI in 2018 and stepping away from telenovelas since 2019 to focus on film and series.

Sofia Alves initially declined the role of Maria but ultimately accepted after being personally invited by SIC's director of programming, Daniel Oliveira, whose offer she found impossible to refuse.

Pepê Rapazote joined the main cast in the second season as Luís, marking his return to SIC seven years after having moved to rival channel TVI.

Soraia Chaves and Joana Santos, cast as Olga and Bianca respectively in season two, previously worked together on the telenovela Dancin' Days (2012).

To de-age José Wallenstein and Ana Padrão by 20 years for flashback scenes, the production used artificial intelligence, marking the first time this technique was used in a Portuguese fiction production; Soraia Chaves's character was later de-aged with the same AI technology in season two.

Filming began on 8 April 2024 in the village of Vilarinho de Negrões in Montalegre, Trás-os-Montes, before moving to SP Televisão's studios on 17 April 2024, with further location shooting in Sintra, Lisbon, Cascais, Carcavelos and Cacém, plus later sessions in Belmonte and Castelo Branco; production wrapped on 4 December 2024.

SIC and the production team filmed two alternate endings for the series: one where Laura ends up with Miguel and another where she chooses Tomás instead; the channel ultimately chose to air the original ending with Miguel.

The theme song 'Eterno', performed by the band Os Anjos, was recorded on 30 May 2024 and announced as the opening theme on the show's premiere day, 18 June 2024.

A Promessa premiered right after Portugal's opening match at the Euro 2024 football championship and scored the best pilot-episode ratings for SIC since A Serra (2021), drawing 13.4 rating points and a 27.0% audience share, with a peak of 25.7 rating and 44.6% share.