The merciful end of ‘Contessa’ has finally arrived.
After a run of 147 episodes, ‘Contessa’ will officially close its book Saturday afternoon. And while 147 episodes seem like a successful run by GMA’s standards, its performance was anything but.
When ‘Contessa’ began, GMA initially penciled the series to air only from Monday to Friday. But when no suitable replacement for the Saturday timeslot came, GMA reluctantly added a Saturday episode to ‘Contessa’.
That said, GMA placed extremely high expectations on ‘Contessa’. They thought that airing ‘Contessa’ six times a week would capitalize on the gains made by its predecessor ‘Ika-6 na Utos’.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. ‘Contessa’ started slow, registering ratings of under 10% during its initial few weeks.
While the series was able to increase its ratings to 12-14% over the next several months, it was clear that ‘Contessa’ underachieved in comparison to ‘Ika-6 na Utos’. Many viewers felt that the series was never compelling enough to begin with and some even went as far as comparing ‘Contessa’ to ABS-CBN’s ‘Wildflower’ due to its similar themes.
It also did not help that ‘Contessa’ struggled against ‘It’s Showtime”s ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’. Even with the criticism surrounding the latter’s penchant to go overtime (thank you Vice Ganda), ‘Contessa’ was unable to capitalize simply due to the viewers’ apathy of the situation.
If there is one solace for ‘Contessa’, it is that it gave Glaiza de Castro a chance to play the victim. Normally known for her antagonistic roles, Glaiza’s complete 360 on ‘Contessa’ proved that she is just as good playing the compassionate and sometimes vengeful characters.
Still, it did not change the fact that ‘Contessa’ never became a hit series despite its long run. Let’s face it, adding a Saturday episode was a mistake and viewers got burned out, consequently resulting in poor ratings.
In the end, GMA should learn a harsh lesson from this debacle. Airing a series five times a day was enough, but six was simply too much to feed your viewers.
On Saturday, it will be ‘Contessa”s last stand. Perhaps the time has come for GMA to end this charade once and for all.
From the Tube 
It lasted a lot longer than most expected (many thought it wouldn’t reach 80 episodes), but it just didn’t really seem to catch fire. It had its fans and its following, but it failed to reach its potential.
The slow start really dug them in. Like I said, there are bandwagon viewers who didn’t like the show and would rather switch back to Vice and his/her over-the-top antics. It simply didn’t have the memorable moments IANU had.
Kaya lang naman yata sumikat ang IANU dahil sa mga cat-fight eh, na kinagat talaga ng viewers; not to mention yung panggigigil ng mga tao kay Georgia, which showed how good Ryza Cenon is, unexpectedly.
Sa Contessa naman, masyado nilang pinakita na nakakaawa siya/Bea. Pero kung gagawin naman nilang strong si Contessa/Bea, baka naman sabihin din na gumagaya sila sa Wildflower.
Honestly, masyadong high yung binigyang expectations ng GMA sa Contessa, lalo na noong binigyan ito ng episode tuwing Sabado. Unfortunately, it failed to deliver from the start. Mukhang absolute failure itong Contessa considering how hugely popular IANU was at hindi nila na-sustain ito.