‘Ika-6 na Utos’ is down to its last six episodes.
That’s right, the series is really down to its last six episodes. Unlike typical teleseryes whose finales end on a Friday (or Wednesday if it falls during Holy Week), ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ will air its last episode this Saturday, an unusual yet satisfying way to end such a successful series.
To cut the long story short, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ first aired on December 5, 2016, extended to Saturdays starting April 1, 2017, and by August became the highest-rated afternoon teleserye in the country. In doing so, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ joined ‘The Half-Sisters’ as the only GMA teleseryes to air for over a year this decade.
But in the lead-up to its final few episodes, controversy sparked between ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ and ABS-CBN’s ‘It’s Showtime’. When the latter (whether intentional or not) decided to extend its running time to 3 hours and 30 minutes, GMA responded by having ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ air for another 30 minutes.
Consequently, the extended airtime between the two programs pushed its primetime newscasts to air at a later-than-expected time. Both ‘TV Patrol’ and ’24 Oras’ now air at around 6:40 p.m., largely due to the brewing rivalry between ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ and ‘It’s Showtime’.
It was clear that ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ was having ‘It’s Showtime”s number. So much so that ABS-CBN, whether intentional or not, went all-out in an attempt to dispose a teleserye they couldn’t solve, even going as far as allowing Vice Ganda plenty more time to talk on the microphone during ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’.
But regardless of this controversy, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ provided a moral victory for GMA. While its other programs continuously fail to make an impact against its ABS-CBN counterparts, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ gave GMA some semblance of hope.
This is proof that ABS-CBN, no matter how dominant it is, still has some weaknesses in its arsenal. And ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ was one of them.
This Saturday will mark the 383rd and final episode of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’. It will be interesting to see how this convoluted love story between Rome (Gabby Concepcion), Emma (Sunshine Dizon) and Georgia (Ryza Cenon) turn out to be, and whether or not the first two will enjoy a satisfying conclusion.
From the Tube 
Now the question is if its replacement, or any of the other Afternoon Prime shows, can fill in the big shoes that IANU will be leaving. Kapamilya Gold still seems strong despite the Showtime overtime thing (particularly Asintado), but with their leads being single digit, KG still seems vulnerable. A job well done for GMA, but it might also be a bit of a pyrrhic victory considering IANU is really their only show now that can beat ABS shows on a consistent basis even nationwide. Now GMA has to find a way to maintain that advantage; KG remains vulnerable, but if ABS makes the right moves, GMA’s reign as king of the afternoons could come to an end.
BTW: is the replacement show also doing Monday-to-Saturday, or will it be back to Monday-Friday for Afternoon Prime?
Have you read his tweets lately? Contessa will revert back to its weekday frequency.
Not really following GMA shows as much so I didn’t know that, thanks.
Speaking of Contessa, this early it’s already become controversial due to allegations that it’s a rip-off of Wildflower, but 1. it’s too soon to tell since it hasn’t even aired yet, and 2. let’s save such a discussion for the post on Contessa.
Besides, GMA only extended IANU to Saturdays due to ‘insistent public demand’ which somehow worked despite doubts surrounding viewer burnout. They have no intention of continuing this experiment with Contessa, unless of course this series becomes a hit.
Still, this is just a temporary victory for GMA as far as we’re concerned. We’ll see how Contessa will do next week. If it succeeds, good, if not, then expect Vice to make plenty of jokes against its Afternoon Prime rival.
Sa akin, title pa lang ng kanilang Daytime Drama, Biblical ang dating, pero sa mga eksena, kahit panoorin ko pa yung replay ng ilang episodes niyan, may aral din as one family.
Probably there are some lessons to learn, but the reason why IANU became so popular is because of the campy scenes, yung tipong gamit ng water gun o balut during some fight scenes. Doon mas nakaakit ang mga manonood.
They became popular because of their genre of cheating or having an affair with someone while you are still committed on a relationship with someone. Idk, but my mom loves to watch shows like these. Remember shows like My Husband’s Lover, The Legal Wife, and Ang Dalawang Mrs Real? They have one thing in common, and that is cheating or having another affair with someone. I think Filipinos like these type of stories.
The only problem is that such stories tend to be overused, lacking any sort of originality whatsoever. We saw that when ABS aired The Better Half and Pusong Ligaw to poor ratings and lack of critical acclaim.
IANU finally would come to an end. Now when would Ang Probinsiyano end?
It’s up to ABS on when will that happen. But given its high reception, they won’t even bite on that for as long as they want to.
And now Book 3 was launched with Edu, Mark Anthony and others in the mix, FPJAP is on the run again.
We’ll never know when will AP end. But one thing’s for sure: IANU ends this Saturday and that’s a final.
I had enough with Vice’s too much prattling and insults.
He cannot beat Diego Llorico, even the latter ain’t even showing himself on other shows.
We can’t do anything about it since that’s his style. But ABS should convince Vice to restrain himself and not have his talking affect Showtime.
And it’s official: Ryza Cenon is now a Kapamilya. So much for those water guns, NERF guns, and balut throwing. And so much for IANU being king of the afternoon.
On the other hand, seems John Estrada is jumping over da bakod to the guys at Timog. I guess for GMA (and sometimes ABS) artists, you win some you lose some.
John, being a veteran artist at over 40 years old, is more of a freelancer now. Those with exclusive contracts are ones that are usually 35 or younger.
Anyway, Ryza’s jump to ABS was a severe blow to GMA. Her career was revitalized with IANU yet GMA did not even reward her with a fresh contract. It really goes to show how poor GMA’s treatment to their artists really is.
Tingnan nalang natin kung makakaya ng kanyang water gun makisabay sa mga baril ni Cardo. Good luck to her I guess.
I doubt about the water gun scene though since AP is more serious.