It was a transfer three years in the making.
On Monday, July 31, former GMA contract artist Aljur Abrenica officially joined ABS-CBN in a deal that was of no surprise to everyone. Welcoming him on the Kapamilya camp are ABS-CBN executives and producers Laurenti Dyogi, Deo Endrinal and Cory Vidanes.
A GMA contract artist and a ‘StarStruck’ alumnus for 11 years, Aljur’s tenure with the network has had some ups and downs. While the early part of his career was a fruitful one with a few successful projects, the last few years saw his stock drop dramatically.
In 2014, Aljur filed a petition to rescind his contract with GMA Network in hopes of restarting his career. Although Aljur and GMA settled the dispute nearly two years later, it was clear that his popular appeal was waning.
Proof of that was Aljur’s final GMA project ‘Once Again’. Paired alongside Janine Gutierrez, Aljur’s swan song turned out to be a bust, as ‘Once Again’ lasted only 59 episodes and was completely overwhelmed by the LizQuen-starred ‘Dolce Amore’.
Aljur was given no further projects by the network following the failure of ‘Once Again’, and his contract officially expired in March 2017. A few months later, speculation run rampant when Aljur suddenly appeared inside the ABS-CBN compound, hinting at the possibility of joining the network.
Although Aljur has yet to ink an exclusive contract with ABS-CBN, the network said a few projects and appearances are lined up for the actor. That said, it is likely that Aljur will be seen on ABS-CBN noontime shows ‘It’s Showtime’ and ‘ASAP’, and talk shows such as ‘Tonight with Boy Abunda’ while his upcoming projects are being planned.
There is also a possibility that Aljur and brother Vin will be seen together, but that will be for another time. In any case, Aljur’s decision to join the network should help resurrect his career, given that ABS-CBN has had a reputation of reviving an artist’s declining fortunes.
It remains to be seen if Aljur will be the latest in a series of Kapamilya reclamation projects, but with the right mindset, he could be on the path back to success. Good luck.
From the Tube 
Good luck Aljur to your new home network.
He’ll do just fine. ABS’ talent development is well-equipped to resuscitate his career, much like some of the other former Kapuso stars who found new life in Mother Ignacia.
His first project as a Kapamilya will be on the top-rated “Ang Probinsyano”
Not a lead role, but better than having no project at all. ABS is probably going to test him first before giving him more challenging roles later on.
I hope Aljur can recover and re-learn his stint that was lost on his original network on his new home’s crash course.
It’s not easy to start from scratch, so it will be up to ABS to figure out the lost greatness of Aljur Abrenica.
Kuha ng kuha ang ABS ng Kapuso artists yet hinde mapakinabang ung other homegrown talents. Ang daming nakatambak sa freezer ng ABS haha
Pero may pakinabang naman ang iba nilang artista. ABS talents are managed very well. Can’t say the same for GMA regarding the state of their talents. Puro yabang sa ratings (even though mayabang ang ABS, pero pinakamayabang talaga ang GMA by insisting they were #1 nationwide eh hanggang Urban Luzon lang sila dominant and even ignored Rural Luzon and VisMin. Pasalamat nga sila dahil sa Tower of Power sa Tandang Sora). #1 pa more.
Exactly. ABS does their talent development thing patiently whereas GMA doesn’t have time for that. The latter relies more on veterans which explains why their young stars do not get the recognition they deserve.
But unlike GMA, ABS is patient enough when it comes to developing their talents. Sa GMA all you see are veterans dominating shows while lacking the patience to develop younger stars. ABS is the other way around; they’re wisely investing on young homegrown talent while those that were picked up from the scrap heap were given time to redeem themselves. In the case of Aljur Abrenica, they gave him a guest role on Ang Probinsyano in order to prepare him for bigger roles ahead.
Another weird thing is one of the reasons Aljur didn’t renew his contract with GMA. Dahil daw ayaw nya ung “sexy star” direction na plano sa kanya ng GMA yet his first role sa ABS is baring abs haha
Very conflicting to say the least. But that’s only a minor concern. Thing is, GMA already has perennial issues with talent development, that’s why some of their former stars found new life in the Kapamilya camp because they can’t progress under GMA’s incapable management.
Dun sa “Aljur was given no further projects by the network following the failure of ‘Once Again’”, nabigyan pa sila ni Janine ng “maiksing” project after nung Once Again, dun yata sa U.R.L.; nagfi-feature sila ng parang miniseries about love. Pero I think di rin naging successful yung show mismo. Yung sa U.R.L. yung last niya.
What I mean by no further projects are teleseryes and other long-term programs that can make an artist busy. This does not include one-off or guest appearances in a mini-series or anthology series. Technically speaking, URL was just a one-off for Aljur by that point and his last real project was indeed Once Again