Talk about a regular occurrence.
After the Koreanovela remake series ‘My Love from the Star’ ended its 55-episode run Friday night, it is the turn of ‘I Heart Davao’ to take the cancellation ax. This time, its run is not even close, with 40 episodes in total.
‘I Heart Davao’, the latest entertainment project of GMA Public Affairs, premiered on June 26 as a replacement to ‘Meant to Be’. The series starred Carla Abellana, Tom Rodriguez and Benjamin Alves, with Catherine Rem playing a special role as the heart donor to Carla’s character.
80% of ‘I Heart Davao”s scenes were shot in Davao, while the characters learned the Davaoeño dialect to further infuse the region’s culture into the series. Throughout the course of its run, viewers learned to appreciate the distinct and friendly appeal Davao has to offer, from its scenery to the people involved.
Despite ‘I Heart Davao”s unique approach, its performance was not enough to overcome rival ABS-CBN series ‘A Love to Last’. That, coupled with the involvement of GMA Public Affairs, made it clear that the series is destined to run for only a short period of time.
While ‘I Heart Davao’ was still a great series as far as promoting one’s culture is concerned, they do not deserve a short 40-episode run. Had GMA Public Affairs not meddled with its production, then this series would have lasted much longer.
Nevertheless, for viewers who stuck with ‘I Heart Davao’ despite the overwhelming odds, it was a great experience to see the beautiful landscape of Davao. As unfortunate as it was to end so soon, the captivating and tear-jerking scenes of ‘I Heart Davao’ will forever be embedded into the viewers’ hearts.
This Friday will be the conclusion of an inspiring yet brief love affair with Davao and its culture. For ‘I Heart Davao’, all they need is a lasting impression so that viewers will remember all the good things that this show can offer.
From the Tube 
A great effort to promote Davao, yun nga lang, it fell short. Last Monday nga, I Heart Davao scored a 9.5 rating sa Kantar vs. A Love To Last’s 15.8 rating. All data are based from Kantar.
Single digit rating nightmare na talaga ang I Heart Davao, despite its initial promise to promote Davao to mainstream audiences, especially sa mga taga-Imperial Manila. Davao really is more than just Pres. Duterte’s hometown indeed, but I Heart Davao’s efforts fell short.
GMA airing some teleseryes that are short-term in nature is really baffling. No. 1 daw sila pero ang iilang teleserye nila di umaabot ng 80 episodes or more. What’s the point of their claims right now?
Of course, 2017 will be another frustrating year for GMA overall. I’m willing to wait for this year’s Year in Review which will happen by late December.
Timow’s Zeltgeist for 2017 is also a must-read too.
The replacement program, My Korean Jagiya, will star Heart Evangelista and Korean actor Alexander Lee (formerly of U-KISS).
Will write about that tomorrow.