While "Verano" scored big numbers, being the leader among youth audience in the country, it provoked much controversy. First, it was accused of plagiarizing the American TV show "Dawson's Creek" although Verano premiered on Telefe a few days before Dawson made his debut on The WB in the U.S. Both shows had huge similarities and some storylines were identical in the first few months. The plagiarizing scandal was explained by Gustavo Yanklevich for "La Nación" newspaper. He confirmed Verano was hugely influenced by the American show and this happened because he went to a screening of the "Dawson's Creek" pilot months before the original airing, fell in love with it and because the show took so long to premier, he thought the drama wasn't picked up by the TV network. He thought the premise had much potential so he asked Morena and the production team to develop a teenage show with a similar story-line. Telefe and Sony ("Dawson's Creek" producer company) reached an amicable agreement when Sony was given the right to distribute Verano around the world.