Pinoy Boyband Superstar Premieres Tomorrow

ABS-CBN’s own search for an up-and-coming Filipino boyband gets underway tomorrow.

Boys aged 14 or older, with a knack for good looks, charm and excellent singing and dancing talent, will have the opportunity to become one of the five members of a soon-to-be named boyband. Their journey begins this weekend on ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’, the Filipino adaptation of ‘La Banda’.

The original ‘La Banda’ was created by Simon Cowell and former Menudo member Ricky Martin. In order to avoid claims that the show is actually creating a ‘band’ consisting of a vocalist and instrumentalists, ABS-CBN renamed the show as ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ in order to make it clear that they are looking to form a boyband.

The premise of ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ is simple. The boyband aspirants must impress the girls with their looks and talent in order to make it to the next round, after which they face the judges who will evaluate their singing prowess as well as their image.

If one of the aspirants failed to pass the first round, they may be given another chance, provided they show enough potential to convince judges. Eventually, some of the aspirants will be eliminated until there are five left standing.

‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ will be hosted by Billy Crawford. The show’s judges will be Yeng Constantino, Vice Ganda, Aga Muhlach, and Sandara Park.

Even before its premiere, comparisons between ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ and rival GMA’s ‘To the Top’ were very evident from the beginning. Both had a similar premise of forming a boyband, not to mention the journey of selecting the members.

The difference, however, lies on the production. Though ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ is more of a franchise than the originally created ‘To the Top’, ABS-CBN did not seek help from its news and current affairs department to produce the former, unlike GMA whose Public Affairs team was responsible for the latter.

And considering that ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ will be aired at a more convenient timeslot (unlike ‘To the Top’ which aired on late nights), the former could become even more successful. Still, it will be up to the audience to see how it all happens.

The journey of the next great Pinoy boyband begins this weekend. Good luck.

‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ airs Saturdays after ‘Home Sweetie Home’, and Sundays after ‘Goin’ Bulilit’.

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TV Remake of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ to Air Starting This Monday

Big things are indeed coming for Rhian Ramos.

The beginning of July saw Rhian make her debut as a cover girl for FHM. Then came the series that could make or break her, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’.

Much like her first-ever sexy pictorial on FHM, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will portray a more mature and serious Rhian. Her role as Clara is simple: she was abused by a womanizer in Roman (Rafael Rosell), then ended up falling in love to Jason (Kiko Estrada), who is not happy with his marriage to Hannah (Jazz Ocampo).

Clara and Jason’s love affair was soon exposed, however. And as the series rolls on, that revelation could pose a severe threat to their own lives.

Also joining the cast of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ are Michael de Mesa, Glydel Mercado, Cheska Diaz, Sherilyn Reyes, Stephanie Sol, Gee Canlas, JC Tiuseco, and Gab de Leon. The series will be directed by Ricky Davao.

‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ the drama series is a remake of the 1992 hit film directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes. The film was headlined by Vilma Santos, Gabby Concepcion, Aga Muhlach, and Aiko Melendez.

But if the film version was a blockbuster, what chances will the TV remake have in store? As far as the entire nation is concerned, all eyes are on Julia Montes and ‘Doble Kara’ every weekday afternoon, and its domination of the 3:15 p.m. slot has not been a good sight for a Kapuso fan everywhere.

Indeed, GMA is wasting time producing these dramas without any sufficient promotion. Just look at the series ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will replace, ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, which at the beginning was heavily promoted by the network only to cease further support after the first week of airing.

With ABS-CBN’s ‘Doble Kara’ nearing its one-year anniversary this August, it will be interesting to see if ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ can fare well against this afternoon juggernaut. Yes, Rhian Ramos is about to take the next step in her evolution as an actress, but will this translate to impressive ratings?

Find out starting this Monday, as ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ premieres after ‘Magkaibang Mundo’.

So Long, ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’

TV5’s ‘Face the People’, along with ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’, bid adieu on November 21, 2014. (Photo credit: TV5)

The last remnants of the original ‘Everyday All the Way’ block are gone.

On Friday, November 21, 2014, ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ aired for the final time on TV5. Three days later, ‘Movie Max 5’ took over the slot vacated by both programs.

And in a related development, both ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’ and ‘T3: Enforced’ were once again cut to 30 minutes. This was in anticipation of the latter program’s year-end reports that are slated to air during Christmas and New Year’s week.

‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ returned with a second season on July 7, albeit on the late morning slot rather than the afternoon and early evening slots, respectively. The move to new timeslots paved the way for TV5 to air two PBA games on weekdays beginning in mid-October.

As a result, ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ served as an appetizer to TV5’s noontime newscast ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’, which debuted the following week.

The two shows also carried new hosts; ‘Face the People’ mainstays Gelli de Belen and Tintin Bersola-Babao were joined by Edu Manzano, while Ogie Alcasid replaced Aga Muhlach on ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’.

In all, 100 episodes were aired on both ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ during their second seasons, which was not a bad run.

‘Face the People’ marked the swan song of Edu Manzano on the Kapatid network. On September 14, it was announced that Manzano will rejoin ABS-CBN following the completion of his obligations with TV5.

Meanwhile, Gelli de Belen and Ogie Alcasid will have new projects come next year, as TV5 recently announced its upcoming slate of programs for 2015. As for Tintin Bersola-Babao, it is unclear if she will stick with TV5 or move to another network.

With the cancellation of both ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’, TV5 now has an opening for any of their upcoming programs. For now, though, the same ol’ boring Tagalized movies on ‘Movie Max 5’ will take over the slot, albeit temporarily.

Face the People, Let’s Ask Pilipinas Return

Ogie Alcasid replaces Aga Muhlach as host of ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’. (Photo credit: Ogie Alcasid’s Instagram account)

TV5’s two standout programs are back, with new hosts eager to make a mark.

It was announced that ‘Face the People’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ will return for another season this Monday. The former will now air at 10:15 a.m., followed by the latter.

In addition, both programs will receive new hosts. Edu Manzano will now join Gelli de Belen and Tintin Bersola-Babao as the third host on ‘Face the People’, while Ogie Alcasid will replace Aga Muhlach for ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’.

Edu was last seen regularly as host of ‘What’s Up, Doods’, which ceased production in December 2013, while Ogie will return to weekday programming three weeks after his tawaserye ‘Confessions of a Torpe’ ended on June 20.

Both programs were once aired as part of the now-defunct ‘Everyday All the Way’ afternoon to evening block. ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ was last seen on March 28, before it was replaced by ‘Beki Boxer’, while ‘Face the People’ aired its last episode on June 6, before it gave way to a re-run of ‘Star Confessions’.

Their transfer to the morning slot is intended towards the accommodation of upcoming sports events on the Kapatid network. TV5 is slated to air the Gilas Pilipinas matches in the FIBA Asia Cup, the FIBA World Cup, and the Asian Games, along with the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.

The return of both programs is just one of several programming changes that TV5 will implement this month. More on the other changes in future articles.

TV5’s New Programs for October (Part II)

TV5 recently unveiled new weeknight programs to be aired starting tomorrow. In Part I, I discussed the news programs under the Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon block, along with changes on ‘Good Morning Club’. For Part II, I will discuss the programs under the ‘Everyday All the Way’ block.

At 4:30 p.m., ‘Face the People’ tries to solve personal problems and conflicts with the help of the audience. The program replaces ‘Face to Face‘ and will be hosted by Gelli de Belen and Tintin Bersola-Babao. After ‘T3: Reload‘ and ‘Aksyon‘, TV5 continues ‘Everyday All the Way’ with ‘Madam Chairman’, a dramatic comedy teleserye starring Sharon Cuneta as a barangay chairman/loving mother and wife struggling to cope up with both politics and family life.

Originally ‘The Gift’ was scheduled to debut tomorrow, but is rescheduled after the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals. Starring Ogie Alcasid and Joshen Bernardo, the teleserye tells the story of a musician who adopted an orphaned son of his lover. The game show ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ is a local franchise of ‘Let’s Ask America‘, and host Aga Muhlach challenges homeviewers to win P500,000 by answering various question using only laptops, tablets or other mobile devices. The game show was supposed to air at 8:00 p.m., but due to the postponement of ‘The Gift’, it was moved to 7:00 p.m. bumping ‘Madam Chairman’ to the 7:30 p.m. slot.

TV5’s ‘Sine Ko Singko’ movies will continue to air at 8:30 p.m., but on Thursdays, it will give way to a pair of weekly miniseries. ‘Positive’ stars Martin Escudero as a call center agent infected by the HIV virus, and whose life will revolve around tracing the person who infected him. It will be followed by ‘For Love or Money’. The series, starring Derek Ramsay, Ritz Azul and Alice Dixson, will be a story about a decision-changing move involving both wealth and relationships.

In only two months TV5 has made a pair of game-changing moves that catered to a younger and more educative audience. Weekend Do It Better proved to be a hit, and now the Kapatid Network will try to do the same with the ‘Karunungan, Balita, Opinyon’ (KBO) block and the ‘Everyday All the Way’ block.

New and Returning Shows on TV5

Changes are in the air once more for TV5, this time in hopes of attracting a younger audience.

As early as July TV5 has hinted of the changes in their programming lineup, in hopes of attracting a younger audience. With shrinking revenue threatening TV5’s long-term plans, it was revealed that the Kapatid network will cut back costs and focus on a younger viewership in an effort to gain revenue profits within three years. With that in mind, here are several new and returning programs that TV5 will unveil within the next few weeks.

As previously reported, Ogie Alcasid signed a new deal with TV5, not only as a Kapatid talent, but also as the head of the music business unit. Alcasid will headline two shows on TV5: ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’, and ‘Tropa Moko Unli’. On the former, Alcasid will join forces with Sharon Cuneta in the upcoming variety show, and on the latter he will be paired with old ‘Tropang Trumpo‘ castmate Gelli de Belen and young stars Vin Abrenica, Ritz Azul, Eula Caballero, Empoy, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Alwyn Uytingco, Edgar Allan Guzman, Valeen Montenegro,  and Tuesday Vargas. Cuneta will also star in her own teleserye ‘Madam Chairman’.

Alcasid’s former ‘Bubble Gang’ castmate Michael V will likewise have a new show on the Kapatid network. The current Kapuso mainstay will host the Filipino version of ‘Killer Karaoke’, a game show that test the contestant’s ability to sing while overcoming various obstacle courses. Other new programs expecting to debut soon include the showbiz talk show ‘Showbiz Police’ and the midnight musical/talk show ‘What’s Up Doods?’.

The ‘Pinoy Henyo’ duo on GMA’s ‘Eat Bulaga’ will also make their return to TV5. Joey de Leon will once again play host to a new version of ‘Wow Mali‘, titled ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’. Like its prior incarnations, the returning show will again feature practical jokes, bloopers, and other forms of accidental comedy starring people from all walks of life. And Vic Sotto returns with a brand new season of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’, this time featuring new lifelines and game strategies that will bring new life to a long-running game show. And finally, the adventure show ‘Pinoy Explorer‘ returns for its second season, with host Aga Muhlach again travelling around the world in hopes of educating people regarding a variety of global cultures.

Meanwhile, it looks like TV5 has not found a replacement for ‘Face to Face’. Reruns of the program have been airing for nearly two months now and it seems that no effort was given to either tape new episodes or cancel altogether. I have written about the possible axing of ‘Face to Face’ before, but it appears that TV5 is not giving up on the said program. As it stands, there were still no reports at the moment regarding the status of ‘Face to Face’.

TV5’s September shakeup was just the beginning of the needed changes that the network will adopt for the next few months. Expect more news regarding the programming situation within the Kapatid network.