Asianovelas Goblin and Legend of the Blue Sea to Premiere Monday on ABS-CBN

The revenge of the Kapamilya Asianovela continues.

On Monday, ABS-CBN will premiere not one, but two Asianovelas on the same day. The two series are as follows:

Legend of the Blue Sea

Starring Lee Min-ho and Jun Ji-hyun, ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ tells the love story of a con-artist and a mermaid who travels across the ocean to find him. The series aired in its native Korea from November 2016 to January 2017 and earned six SBS Drama Awards.

‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ also spawned a soundtrack album starring some of Korea’s top artists. More importantly, the series is aired in syndication in select Asian countries, the United States, and Canada.

Goblin

Best known in its native Korea as ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God’ and known internationally as ‘Goblin’, this drama tells the story of an immortal goblin who, along with an amnesiac grim reaper, takes care of the afterlife and evaluates all souls who pass here. However, a woman with an innate ability to see ghosts soon falls in love with the goblin and ended up becoming engaged with him.

The series stars Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook, Yoo In-na, and Yook Sung-jae. It ran from December 2016 to January 2017 and was popular (though controversial at times) in both Korea and international markets.

‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ will be assigned to the Kapamilya Gold block replacing ‘Minute to Win It’, while ‘Goblin’ will be placed on Primetime Bida’s final slot to replace ‘Love in the Moonlight’. While ‘Goblin’ will have no problems filling in on primetime, ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ will have their hands full considering that not all areas will receive the Koreanovela at the same time.

Nevertheless, the premiere of two Kapamilya Asianovelas this Monday should add more excitement to KDrama fans. After several years of on-and-off Koreanovelas, all signs indicate that ABS-CBN’s FTHA (First and True Home of Asianovelas) slate is back in business.

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I Do and Other Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Following the conclusion of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’, a few changes were made on ABS-CBN’s programming.

The most significant of these changes will come this weekend, as ‘I Do’, dubbed the first ‘realiserye’ on the Kapamilya network, premieres this Saturday. Hosted by Judy Ann Santos, the upcoming reality program will feature nine couples with an existing relationship, all of which will vie for a P1 million cash prize, a house and lot, and a grand wedding.

Joining Juday in the upcoming series will be co-host Jason Gainza, along with life coach Pia Acevedo and marriage counselor Dr. Julian Montano.

The nine couples will reside in the ‘I Do’ village in Cavite, where they will undergo a series of challenges that will test their ability to forge a strong relationship. The council, led by Acevedo and Dr. Montano, will evaluate and decide the fate of each couple at the end of each challenge, while fan votes will determine the winner of the aforementioned prizes at the end of the series.

‘I Do’ will air every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and every Sunday after ‘Rated K’.

Weekday Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Both ‘Kapamilya Gold’ and ‘Primetime Bida’ entered Monday with a different look after PBB ended.

On ‘Kapamilya Gold’, the lineup was reduced to only three programs, and as a result, the telenovela ‘Ana Manuela’ extended its running time to compensate for the departure of ‘PBB Uber’.

‘Ana Manuela’ will now air two episodes per day, and will be seen after ‘It’s Showtime’ and before the News and Current Affairs block.

Over at ‘Primetime Bida’, the Koreanovela ‘Miss Ripley’ took over the slot vacated by ‘PBB Primetime’. The entry of ‘Miss Ripley’ marked the return of the Koreanovela to ABS-CBN’s primetime lineup after over seven months of airing reality programs.

Starring Lee Da Hae (of ‘My Girl’ fame) as the seductive yet manipulative Emily, and Park Yoo Chun (of ‘Rooftop Prince’ fame) as the handsome and rich hotelier Marco, ‘Miss Ripley’ airs after ‘Aquino and Abunda Tonight’.

Speaking of Koreanovelas, the re-run of ‘Lovers in Paris’ is now on its final week. The second of a series of classic ABS-CBN Asianovelas to re-air on the network will end its run Friday morning.

Also concluding on Friday morning is the latest season of ‘The Singing Bee’. The highly-rated game show, hosted by Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez, will take a bow after a successful ten-month run.

Both programs’ timeslots will be taken over by the delayed telecast of the FIBA World Cup starting next week.

Upcoming Asianovelas on ABS-CBN and GMA

Expect new Asianovelas to air on both ABS-CBN and GMA.

GMA’s newest Koreanovela ‘I Hear Your Voice’ makes its debut later tonight on the Telebabad block. The new series will air after ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ and before fellow Koreanovela ‘Secret Love’.

In a surprise twist, GMA decided to add a second teleserye on the Telebabad block instead of waiting for one of them to end. As a result, Telebabad now has a total of six drama series, two of which are from Korea, compared to only four on the currently all-local ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

And when was the last time two Asianovelas were on primetime on the Kapuso network? That was several years ago, when GMA was at the peak of its powers thanks to its mix of fantaseryes and Koreanovelas. Now GMA hopes to replicate that with a double serving of Asianovelas on Telebabad.

Pretty Man and Miss Ripley on ABS-CBN

Over at ABS-CBN, the re-run on ‘My Girl’ is entering its final week. The Koreanovela ends its run on Friday afternoon, to be replaced by a new Koreanovela titled ‘Pretty Man’ beginning August 18.

Then on August 25, ‘Miss Ripley’ will make its way into the ABS-CBN lineup, with its timeslot yet to be determined.

After several months of re-airing old Asianovelas, ABS-CBN has decided to start fresh. Thus, two new series from Korea were imported by the Kapamilya network in order to appease its legion of Asianovela fanatics.

But perhaps the biggest question mark for the Kapamilya network now is to whether or not bring back the Asianovela to Primetime Bida. Before ‘The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition: Doubles’ and ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ occupied the final slot of the said block, the last time an Asianovela aired on Primetime Bida was ‘When a Man Falls in Love’, and its finale was nearly eight months ago.

Kapamilya fans should hope for the best. After all, Asianovelas on ABS-CBN deserve a piece of the primetime spotlight.

To both stations, good luck in giving Asianovela fans a series to remember.