Last Episodes for I Can Do That, Plus Celebrity Bluff Returns

Two weekend shows are about to hit the crossroads.

On ABS-CBN, ‘I Can Do That’ will enter its final weekend tomorrow night and Sunday night. In these two episodes, the final four iCandidates in Cristine Reyes, Daniel Matsunaga, Gab Valenciano and Wacky Kiray are expected to perform their riskiest and most death-defying acts imaginable.

Judges Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo and Boy Abunda will have the enviable task of evaluating each iCandidates’ performance. Not only that, the viewers will also play a key role in determining the show’s ‘Greatest Entertainer’, who will walk away P1 million richer by virtue of combined scores from the judges and the viewers.

First premiered on March 11, 2017, ‘I Can Do That’ was the latest reality show franchise acquired by ABS-CBN. The program has had contrasting ratings fortunes throughout its 25-episode run; despite averaging a decent 15%, only ‘I Can Do That”s Saturday episodes were consistent winners.

That said, the decent but unsatisfactory performance may be considerable enough for ABS-CBN to relinquish its rights after only one season. The network may have had some successful foreign franchised shows, but ‘I Can Do That’ is not one of them.

Which leads to its one-night-only opponent for tomorrow night. After a season break that lasted over a year, GMA announced the return of ‘Celebrity Bluff’ for its 13th season.

Eugene Domingo will reprise her role as host of this long-running Kapuso game show. She will not be alone though as Edu Manzano will now join Eugene as a special bluffer, while Boobay and resident boyband One Up will also ramp up the entertainment factor even further.

A typical episode of ‘Celebrity Bluff’ is as follows (via GMA Public Relations):

“Celebrity Bluff features three pairs of celebrity contestants as they attempt to outsmart one another by answering questions to be able to advance to the jackpot round, where the winning team could take home half a million pesos.”

Guest bluffers will also be on hand to make fun of this week’s celebrity players. For instance, the premiere of ‘Celebrity Bluff’ season 13 will see Alden Richards and Brod Pete play the role of bluffer.

With its predecessors’ failures to make an impact, the onus is on ‘Celebrity Bluff’ to change GMA’s declining fortunes ever Saturday night. Otherwise, its comeback may turn out to be a dud.

‘Celebrity Bluff’ returns this Saturday after ‘Magpakailanman’ on GMA.

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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.

FTT Year 2016 in Review: The 20 Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part III)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2017, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 20 moments that define the Philippine media this year.

If you missed out on Part I and Part II of this series, click on the highlighted link for more information.

Here is Part III of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

Pinoy Boyband Superstar Answers To the Top

Last year, GMA created its own reality talent show for up-and-coming Filipino boybands, ‘To the Top’. This year, ABS-CBN struck back by bringing the ‘La Banda’ franchise to the Philippines under the name ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’.

Unfortunately for GMA, the popularity of ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ far exceeded ‘To the Top’. The former constantly gained ratings of 30% or better while airing at a more convenient timeslot of 6:50 p.m., whereas the latter only mustered around 7-8% ratings while airing at a not-so attractive timeslot of 9:45-10:00 p.m.

Despite the success of ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’, it remains to be seen if BoybandPH can become a more popular boyband than Top One Project ever was. That said, the key to both boybands at this point is to outsell each other in order to win the hearts of fans.

Delamar Leaves RX 93.1’s The Morning Rush

‘The Morning Rush’ on Monster RX 93.1 is an institution in Philippine FM radio, having aired continuously for over two decades. So when Delamar Arias decided to leave both the show and the station on July 29, listeners, or ‘rushers’, were stunned.

After all, Delamar, along with long-time partner Chico Garcia and recent addition Gino Quillamor, were instrumental in the show’s success, with the ‘Top 10’ segment becoming the most popular segment. Her departure left a glaring hole on ‘The Morning Rush’, one they have struggled to fill since.

Delamar was not the only high-profile departure from the station. A few weeks later, Bea Fabregas left RX to focus on hosting FOX Sports Philippines’ ‘Fox Sports Minute’ and ‘The GOAT’, while Karen Bordador was arrested for alleged drug possession and was de facto removed from the station.

The Launch of PBA Rush, Plus UFC on TV5 and Olympic Coverage

If Solar Entertainment has NBA Premium TV, then TV5 has its own channel for the PBA in PBA Rush. Launched prior to the 2016 Governors’ Cup, PBA Rush is considered the Filipino version of NBA TV, featuring live and archived PBA games plus special programs dedicated to the league.

The timing of PBA Rush’s launch couldn’t have come at an important time, as that year’s Governors’ Cup saw Barangay Ginebra San Miguel end an eight-year title drought at the expense of the Meralco Bolts. Ginebra’s win would have concluded PBA’s run with TV5, but instead the partnership between the two was renewed in time for the ongoing Philippine Cup.

TV5 also made a high-profile acquisition when it purchased the broadcast rights to the UFC, promising it to air live on its HYPER channel. Unfortunately, TV5’s coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics was a difficult one, as the network struggles to deal with its decline in programming quality.

Other Sports Stories on TV

ABS-CBN Sports replaced the UFC by focusing on local and regional mixed martial arts, namely the Alvin Aguilar-led URCC, and the Southeast Asia-based One Championship. They also brought in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) as part of its continued commitment to local and regional sports.

Solar Sports dabbled into collegiate basketball by airing the NAASCU, while IBC-13 and AksyonTV aired the UCBL and CESAFI tournaments respectively. However, the biggest draws remain the NCAA and the UAAP, where the San Beda Red Lions and the De La Salle Green Archers won their respective championships.

Finally, in women’s volleyball, ABS-CBN Sports acquired the rights to the Shakey’s V-League, beginning a contentious rivalry between the V-League and the TV5-aired Philippine SuperLiga.

Be My Lady Reigns, Ryzza Mae’s Run Ends

‘Be My Lady’, topbilled by real-life couple Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga,was the top draw at the pre-noontime slot for much of this year. Airing for 221 episodes from January 18 to November 25, the series earned ratings of nearly 20%, besting the competition in the process.

The aforementioned competition included a pair of shows starring Ryzza Mae Dizon: ‘Princess in the Palace’, and ‘Calle Siete’. But with Ryzza already entering the pre-teen stage of her life, it was clear that she was no longer the charmingly cute presence of years past.

In the end, TAPE decided to cease starring her on the pre-noontime slot beginning October 24, and gave the BAES (along with Taki Sato) of ‘Eat Bulaga’ a lead role in ‘TROPS’.

Part IV of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Finale Week for Be My Lady

Christmas came early for ‘Be My Lady’.

The popular ABS-CBN daytime series will air its final episode this Friday morning, ending an impressive 221-episode run. It will be replaced by ‘Langit Lupa’ starting next week.

The lengthy near year-long run of ‘Be My Lady’ began on January 18, 2016. The series centered around the lifelong relationship between Brazilian-Japanese bachelor Phil (Daniel Matsunaga) and conservative Filipina Pinang (Erich Gonzales), which mirrored the real-life partnership between the two.

From the very first episode, it was clear that ‘Be My Lady’ was a hit show in the making. Over the course of its ten-month run, the series averaged around 19% in the Kantar national ratings, beating rivals ‘Princess in the Palace’, ‘Calle Siete’ and ‘TROPS’ in the process.

The ratings success of ‘Be My Lady’ also translated into social media, where each episode is usually a trending topic. The high points of the series came during the airing of the ‘Tatlong Bibe’ scenes, and more recently, the much-awaited wedding of Phil and Pinang.

Despite its success, a lot of expectations came ‘Be My Lady”s way. Considering that the series is in the same mold as ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, many think that ‘Be My Lady’ could last a year or more.

Eventually, ABS-CBN decided to pull the plug on ‘Be My Lady’ while at its peak. Knowing that the kiligserye could lose interest if it lasts for more than a year (based on the experiences of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’), it was only right for ABS-CBN to end the series while still enjoying a strong following.

Although ‘Be My Lady’ will come to an end this Friday, it will not be the end of the road for Daniel and Erich. Future projects are in the offing for the two, and soon, another kiligserye will come knocking at the door.

As for the series, enjoy these final four episodes. It will surely be an unforgettable ending.

Be My Lady Extended, Princess in the Palace Concludes

The gap between ‘Be My Lady’ and ‘Princess in the Palace’ continues to widen.

As the rainy season began, it is clear that the odds were not in favor of ‘Princess in the Palace’. While Ryzza Mae Dizon has shown to be a capable actress, it was not enough to catapault her past the love team of Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga, whose chemistry on ‘Be My Lady’ mirrors that of their real-life relationship.

And ratings for the two shows speak for themselves. On Thursday, June 2, ‘Be My Lady’ (18% rating per episode) won the day with a 20% rating, the second time it ever hit the mark, while ‘Princess in the Palace’ (8.5% rating per episode) only earned 8.7%.

The constantly outstanding ratings of ‘Be My Lady’ led to another extension just recently. The ABS-CBN pre-noontime series will now run until October, which means that it will have a ten-month run, the longest for a pre-noontime show since ‘Be Careful with My Heart’.

On the other hand, TAPE and GMA announced that the week of June 6 will be the last for ‘Princess in the Palace’. Running since September 21, 2015 (a total of 188 episodes by June 10), it was Ryzza Mae Dizon’s first venture as a character actress, and it also starred Eula Valdes, Aiza Seguerra, Boots Anson Roa and Christian Vasquez, among others.

Though ‘Princess in the Palace”s run was just as impressive, the series was unable to overcome the constant success of ABS-CBN’s pre-noontime shows. Both ‘Ningning’ and the aforementioned ‘Be My Lady’ posted ratings that were at best 10 points higher than ‘Princess in the Palace’.

Nevertheless, Ryzza Mae Dizon should be proud of herself. Regardless of the show’s underwhelming ratings, she proved to the world that she can cry and laugh with the best of them, and working with industry veterans is worth the experience.

Despite the fact that ‘Princess in the Palace’ is about to conclude, don’t expect to see the last of Ryzza Mae Dizon every pre-noontime. A new comedy-drama series starring her is currently in the works, and it will premiere on the former’s timeslot next Monday, June 13.

Still, it’s hard to overcome a timeslot that is dominated by ABS-CBN in the last half-decade. That said, best of luck to TAPE and GMA on that new series starring Ryzza Mae Dizon next week.

Be My Lady to Bring Kilig Back to Pre-Noontime

Lighter stories before noontime have become the norm for ABS-CBN in the last four years.

This Monday will be no exception, as the Kapamilya network premieres its newest series ‘Be My Lady’. Starring real-life couple Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga, ‘Be My Lady”s story will focus on the duo’s attempts to overcome their cultural differences in order to forge a life-long relationship.

In ‘Be My Lady’, Erich is Pinang, a simple and conservative Filipina. Her mother, played by Janice de Belen, worked in Singapore as an OFW in hopes of reclaiming the land that her husband (Al Tantay) once owned, but things went downhill for the family when she got deported due to an unfortunate incident.

Daniel, on the other hand, is Phil, an independent and liberal Brazilian-Japanese bachelor who lived with his mother (Priscilla Meirelles) in Singapore. Visiting the Philippines in order to attend the wedding of one of his best friends, he then found himself searching for his childhood friend, which also led him to an unlikely first meeting with Pinang.

The extended cast of ‘Be My Lady’ also includes Yayo Aguila, Almira Muhlach, Yves Flores, Karen Dematera, MJ Cayabyab, RK Bagatsing, Devon Seron, Karen Reyes, Mike Lloren, Ana Abad Santos, Perry Escano, Marife Necesito, and comedy trio No Direction. It is directed by Theodore Boborol and produced by Ruel Bayani.

‘Be My Lady’ will replace ‘Ningning’, whose finale takes place this Friday, January 15. While ‘Ningning’ has rated very well in its timeslot, it is clear that viewers badly missed the late-morning ‘kilig’ that once helped ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ become a hugely successful series.

That said, with all the hype surrounding ‘Be My Lady’, expect big things from the show as it gets underway. For Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga, this series should help bring out their best, both on-screen and off.

‘Be My Lady’ premieres this Monday at 11:30 a.m. on ABS-CBN.