Thoughts on Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show

A filler show to end all filler shows.

With the 2018 remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ set to air right before ‘TV Patrol’ starting this Monday (more on that later this week), ABS-CBN decided to fill the void with a transitional show on the timeslot normally occupied by its Asianovelas. And this is no ordinary show.

Back in April, ABS-CBN announced a worldwide audition tour called ‘Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Auditions’. The tour began in Manila on the weekend of April 20, after which the network hosted further auditions in both the Philippines and abroad.

Their purpose is to find aspirants that will become part of various ABS-CBN talent and reality shows. Examples include ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘I Can See Your Voice’, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, ‘Dance Kids’, ‘Little Big Shots’, ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and the soon-to-be-launched ‘World of Dance Philippines’.

Beginning Monday, ABS-CBN will air highlights from these auditions as part of ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’. Hosted by former ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ alums Kim Chiu, Robi Domingo, Alex Gonzaga and Melai Cantiveros, the program will take a look at some of the aspirants and their backstories.

This is perhaps a mere short-term solution for ABS-CBN. After all, there are high hopes surrounding the remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ that airing the Asianovela on its normal afternoon timeslot may hinder its viewership due to the ‘TV Patrol’ regional newscasts in the provinces.

Not wanting to risk a loss of viewers, ABS-CBN decided to place ‘Meteor Garden’ on the leadoff slot of Primetime Bida. This leads to ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’ taking over the regular Asianovela timeslot of Kapamilya Gold.

Honestly, it makes perfect sense for ABS-CBN to produce a filler show on a timeslot where not all areas will receive it. With regional versions of ‘TV Patrol’ being plugged into this timeslot, ABS-CBN realized that a filler show like ‘Star Hunt’ will be much better than, let’s say a teleserye, because ratings are of no concern to the program and it only serves as a stopgap.

With that, good luck to ABS-CBN for this temporary endeavor. Regardless of how it performed, the most important part is that it served its purpose.

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ABS-CBN Shakes Up Weekend Lineup with Entry of I Can See Your Voice

Changes are indeed aplenty on ABS-CBN this weekend.

Last weekend marked the season 3 finale of ‘Bet on Your Baby’. The 36th and final episode was aired last Sunday and it featured a reunion of original ‘Mara Clara’ stars Judy Ann Santos and Gladys Reyes.

Although ‘Bet on Your Baby’ enjoyed impressive ratings throughout its run, the game show faltered in its final few episodes, prompting ABS-CBN to shelve it for the time being. Initially, ‘Bet on Your Baby’ was to be replaced by ‘I Can See Your Voice’, but ABS-CBN made a drastic move and placed the program on primetime starting this weekend.

Hosted by Luis Manzano alongside judges Angeline Quinto, Alex Gonzaga, Kean Cipriano, Wacky Kiray and Andrew E, ‘I Can See Your Voice’ is the first Kapamilya franchised program to originate from Korea. For more information on its game play, click this link.

‘I Can See Your Voice’ will air every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sunday after ‘Rated K’. All told, ABS-CBN will bring back the game/talent/reality show format at the 9:30 p.m. slot, something that was not seen since ‘I Can Do That’ ended.

The premiere of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ casts some doubt on the fate of ‘Lethal Weapon’. The Tagalized American action series aired its 14th episode last Saturday, and according to some knowledgeable sources, the first season of ‘Lethal Weapon’ still had four more episodes to go.

However, no teaser for the next episode was aired, and for some unexplained reason, ABS-CBN effectively canceled ‘Lethal Weapon’ before its season really ended. This despite the fact that the program enjoyed good ratings during its short run.

As for the vacated slot of ‘Bet on Your Baby’, ABS-CBN decided to fill the Saturday slot with a rerun of the ‘Shake Rattle & Roll’ anthology series. Then on Sundays, ABS-CBN opted to extend ‘Kapamilya Weekend Blockbusters’ instead of adding another program to its slate.

It will be interesting to see how these changes will affect ABS-CBN’s weekend lineup. But for those who await to see ‘I Can See Your Voice’ on the small screen, good luck and have fun.

I Can Do That: ABS-CBN’s Latest Foreign Franchised Show

Franchised shows and ABS-CBN continue to be inseparable.

This weekend will be no exception, as the Kapamilya network premieres its latest acquisition. Enter ‘I Can Do That’, ABS-CBN’s newest talent reality show where celebrities perform the riskiest and most imaginative of acts in order to entertain the audience.

‘I Can Do That’ originated in Israel under the watchful eyes of Armoza Formats. Twenty countries, including the United States, have put their own spin on the franchise.

The Philippine franchise of ‘I Can Do That’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo and Alex Gonzaga. The show will be headlined by eight actors known as the I CANdidates: Cristine Reyes, Arci Muñoz, Pokwang, Sue Ramirez, JC Santos, Gab Valenciano, Wacky Kiray and Daniel Matsunaga.

Via ABS-CBN PR, here is how ‘I Can Do That’ is played:

Every week, the I CANdidates will perform extraordinary acts in pairs. The fun begins when different groups of professional performers demonstrate a variety of acts that I CANdidates have never done before.

If the I CANdidates think they can do a certain act, they will make their way down the stairs towards the performers. The first to reach the fourth and last step will be locked in to perform the act and will get to choose the I CANdidate who he or she believes will help him or her give a winning performance.

Given only one week to practice, the I CANdidates should be able to perform their assigned act and entertain the audience.

The weekly winner will be determined based on the combined scores culled from the scores given individually by the iCANdidates and the extra points granted to the winner of the audience vote.

With ‘I Can Do That’ bordering towards improvisation and danger, expect lots of pain and exhaustion from the I CANdidates and the professional performers. This show is definitely not for the weak at heart.

Still, despite the death-defying acts, expect no shortage of entertainment and laughter among the eight I CANdidates. After all, ‘I Can Do That’ is about captivating the audience with every move they make.

‘I Can Do That’ airs Saturdays after ‘MMK’ and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN.

Pinoy Big Brother Needs Fill-In Hosts Amid Toni and Mariel Pregnancy Leave

Toni Gonzaga-Soriano and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are both pregnant.

Both are expected to take a maternity leave, and as a result, they have no choice but relinquish their hosting duties on ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7. That said, ABS-CBN must figure out a way to spread the hosting workload for the reality show while Toni and Mariel are tending to their soon-to-be offspring.

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Ahoy ⚓️ its a boy!!! 👶🏻🍼🍭 extremely happy for you Toni 💙 congratulations to you and Paul 👪 #StarStudioToniPaul #StarStudioBabyShower #WorkingMomBabyShower

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With the two out of the picture, only Robi Domingo and Bianca Gonzalez-Intal are left to shoulder the burden. So where will ABS-CBN go at this point?

They could consider Toni’s sister Alex Gonzaga to fill in for her. After all, she had hosting experience of her own, having hosted ‘ASAP’ on a regular basis, and more recently played the same role on season 2 of ‘The Voice Kids’.

They could also use Billy Crawford as well, whose prior hosting experience may be an asset. Or they may consider Anne Curtis, whose only hosting job at this point is on ‘It’s Showtime’.

Overall, ABS-CBN has a vast reservoir of talents who can also be capable host. But it will be up to them to decide on who will fill in for both Toni and Mariel.

Meanwhile, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7 introduced a new set of teen housemates shortly after returning to Manila earlier this week. They are:

• Maymay Entrata
• Rita Gabiola
• Kisses Delavin
• Edward Barber
• Aizan Perez
• Vivoree Esclito
• Marco Gallo
• Christian Morones
• Fenech Velloso
• Yong Mujahil
• Kristine Hammond
• Heaven Peralejo

The 12 teen housemates join the ‘Lucky 2 Stars’ Jinri Park and Hashtags McCoy de Leon and Nikko Natividad inside the refurbished Big Brother house in Quezon City. Over time, however, some of the teen housemates will either be evicted or leave for personal reasons to make way for the regular ones, which will be announced soon.

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ season 7 currently airs weeknights after ‘Born for You’, Saturdays after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN. An afternoon edition also airs weekdays after ‘Tubig at Langis’, except for select regional areas.

ABS-CBN Pulls the Plug on Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ ends its latest run tomorrow afternoon. Whether or not the show will be cancelled or go on another hiatus remains to be seen. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

Is this the end for ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’?

Tomorrow, the said game show will air what appears to be its series finale, in order to give way to a new game show in ‘Game ng Bayan’. An uncertain future now awaits ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, as ABS-CBN remains unsure if this will be another temporary hiatus or a permanent vacation.

‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, a Filipino franchise of Endemol-owned ‘Deal or No Deal’, has been airing on and off for 10 years, and has a total of five seasons and 875 episodes under their belt. These totals overall helped ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ become one of the country’s longest-running game shows.

Over the years, the show endured numerous format changes and two different hosts (Kris Aquino and Luis Manzano), but its popularity never wavered. The most recent edition of ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ took them to various barangays in the country, and residents there had the opportunity to play for P1 million, and a chance to either ‘deal or no deal’ with the banker.

Unfortunately for ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, GMA’s recent decision to extend ‘Wowowin’ by 30 minutes caught ABS-CBN by surprise. Ratings for the show suddenly plummeted against ‘Wowowin’, and it became clear that ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal”s lengthy run is nearing its end.

Which leads to the impending finale of ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. If this is indeed the last dance, then what a run it has been, but if ABS-CBN has a surprise in store, then brace for it.

As for its replacement ‘Game ng Bayan’ (to be hosted by Robin Padilla and Alex Gonzaga), they will endure a huge weight on their shoulders. It will not be easy equaling the success of ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, but if they can make it as interesting as possible, they could be just as successful.

So long, ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. Thanks for all the memories.

New Host, New Timeslot for Celebrity Playtime

In addition to ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, Luis Manzano will now host ‘Celebrity Playtime’, replacing Billy Crawford. Luis debuts on the show starting this Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

‘Celebrity Playtime’ is on the move.

Starting this Saturday, ‘Celebrity Playtime’ will now be seen at 10:30 p.m., right after ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’. The timeslot change meant that the show will go up against GMA’s ‘Celebrity Bluff’, a game show that ABS-CBN tried to at least emulate when they conceived ‘Celebrity Playtime’.

Its original timeslot will now be occupied by ‘Dance Kids’, a new kid’s talent show hosted by Alex Gonzaga and Robi Domingo. Meanwhile, ‘Celebrity Playtime’ will take over the timeslot of ‘Banana Split’, who moved to Sunday afternoons under the new name of ‘Banana Sundae’.

That is not the only change for the show, however. Due to ABS-CBN’s policy of not allowing its talents to appear on consecutive programs, erstwhile host Billy Crawford has decided to relinquish his duty as host of ‘Celebrity Playtime’, and cede the role to Luis Manzano.

The decision makes sense, since Crawford is already hosting ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’, the show that precedes ‘Celebrity Playtime’. Appearing in consecutive programs may not be helpful to viewers at all for fear of overexposure, hence a strict rule that is implemented by ABS-CBN to all its talents.

Here is the new schedule on ABS-CBN every Saturday night:

6:15 p.m. – Dance Kids

7:00 p.m. – Home Sweetie Home

7:45 p.m. – Maalaala Mo Kaya

9:30 p.m. – Your Face Sounds Familiar

10:30 p.m. – Celebrity Playtime

11:00 p.m. – The Bottomline with Boy Abunda

Now that ‘Celebrity Playtime’ is moving to a later timeslot, viewers should look forward to its long-awaited rivalry with ‘Celebrity Bluff’. The latter show is now on its third year, and has survived competition from ABS-CBN’s reality and talent shows despite the huge odds.

That said, viewers of ‘Celebrity Bluff’ should finally welcome a more equally imposing challenger. ‘Celebrity Playtime’ may be fairly new to many, but it’s also gaining its own following the same way that ‘Celebrity Bluff’ is doing, so let’s see if they’re up to the task of keeping up with the latter.