Demoted: Ika-5 Utos to Move to Second Slot of Afternoon Prime

After only 36 episodes, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will move to a new timeslot next week and will no longer air on Saturdays as it continues to underachieve in the ratings. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

Talk about ending a relationship before it even started.

Starting Monday, October 23, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will air in the second slot of GMA’s Afternoon Prime to make way for the upcoming series ‘Karibal Ko ang Asawa Ko’ (more on that later this week). The series will take over the timeslot that will be vacated by ‘The Stepdaughters’.

‘Ika-5 Utos’ was initially placed in the leadoff slot of Afternoon Prime when it first premiered last September 10. The spiritual successor of the successful ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, many expected ‘Ika-5 Utos’ to be as competitive and as formidable as its sister series.

Instead, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ never lived up to the hype. Its premiere episode only scored 10% while ‘It’s Showtime’ managed 16.2%.

From that point forward, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ barely hit the 10% mark in some of its episodes while ‘It’s Showtime’ scored around 15% or better. However, things only got worse once Saturday arrived.

On average, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ only scored 6% less than ‘It’s Showtime’ every Saturday; in contrast, its weekday episodes average 4-5% less. Considering these factors, it is clear that viewer fatigue is starting to set in and they grew disinterested with another episode on Saturdays.

Overall, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will have aired 36 episodes by the time the show moves to a new timeslot next week. The good news for the series moving forward is that there will be no more Saturday episodes, a day in which ‘Ika-5 Utos’ tends to underachieve more.

It will also mean a new opponent for ‘Ika-5 Utos’. Instead of getting humiliated by Vice Ganda, the series will now have to face Beauty Gonzalez, Dimples Romana, Adrian Alandy and Albert Martinez of ‘Kadenang Ginto’.

But this does not mean the end of ‘Ika-5 Utos” troubles. If the pilot episode is of any indication, then ‘Kadenang Ginto’ could become a difficult hurdle for ‘Ika-5 Utos’ to overcome.

Next week will be a new place and a new time scenario for ‘Ika-5 Utos’. But can a change of scenery help ‘Ika-5 Utos’ reverse its fortunes?

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Kadenang Ginto: Golden Opportunity or Golden Letdown?

Welcome to the ‘better late than never’ era of Kapamilya Gold.

Gone are the days when the block starts at 3:20 p.m. as soon as ‘It’s Showtime’ ended. These days, Vice Ganda and his big mouth are the main attraction for over half the afternoon while Kapamilya Gold could only helplessly watch as they were pushed back by 30 minutes.

While the ratings of Kapamilya Gold remain excellent despite the late start time, an upcoming series or two could derail whatever momentum this block had attained. Over the next two weeks, Kapamilya Gold will have two new programs in store, and one of them is already feeling the pressure.

This early, ‘Kadenang Ginto’ is hard-pressed to fill the void left by ‘Asintado’. The series, which will be led by Albert Martinez, Dimples Romana, Adrian Alandy and Beauty Gonzalez, lacked the star power of ‘Asintado’, and while the four are already accomplished actors they are still supporting player material in the eyes of viewers.

‘Kadenang Ginto tells the story of Romina (Beauty), Carlos (Adrian), Robert (Albert) and Daniela (Dimples). Both Romina and Carlos are initially engaged to one another, but after Romina is raped by an unknown man, Carlos breaks up with her and worse, the rape incident results in Romina bearing a child.

Romina then finds refuge and true love in Robert, the owner of the company she works for; Romina’s child Cassandra (Francine Diaz) is then adopted legally by Robert. However, Robert’s daughter Daniela disapproves of their relationship and accuses Romina of being a gold digger.

Eventually Daniela leaves her family behind, falls in love with Carlos and bears a child named Margaret (Andrea Brillantes). This leads to a blood feud between her and Romina for the right to inherit Robert’s wealth.

Also part of ‘Kadenang Ginto’ are Eula Valdez, Ronnie Lazaro, Luke Conde, Nikko Natividad, Adrian Lindayag, Kat Galang, and Savannah Rosales. The series will be directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng.

Come this Monday ‘Kadenang Ginto’ should have its hands full in keeping viewers to their seats. It will be interesting to see how this new series plays out, so good luck.

‘Kadenang Ginto’ airs weekdays after ‘It’s Showtime’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

The Greatest Love’s Last Week, Plus D’Originals’ Premiere Week

For one week only, it will be ‘The Greatest Love’ versus ‘D’Originals’.

This week will mark the last for ‘The Greatest Love’, the top-rating afternoon drama that starred Sylvia Sanchez as a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The series first premiered on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold block on September 5, 2016, and will finish its 163-episode run this Friday afternoon.

‘The Greatest Love’, which also starred Dimples Romana, Andi Eigenmann, Matt Evans, Arron Villaflor, Ellen Adarna and Nonie Buencamino among others, was also a constant trending topic on social media. Its inspiring and tear-jerking storyline gripped the nation and the world, giving them greater awareness to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

On the other side of the spectrum, GMA’s Public Affairs team will once again try to salvage whatever shortcomings the Entertainment team has had of late. Their latest project is a sexy comedy drama series, ‘D’Originals’, which will premiere today.

‘D’Originals’ (click its synopsis here) will be the network’s replacement to the short-lived ‘Pinulot Ka Lang sa Lupa’, whose brief 53-episode run concluded last Holy Wednesday. ‘D’Originals’ will also be LJ Reyes’ second project in a row on the afternoon slot after starring as Angeli in ‘Pinulot Ka Lang sa Lupa’.

Also part of ‘D’Originals’ cast are Ms. Jaclyn Jose, Kim Domingo, Katrina Halili, Jestoni Alarcon, Mark Herras, Meg Imperial, Archie Alemania, Lovely Abella, Mikoy Morales, Arny Ross, Elyson De Dios, and Chlaui Malayao. The director of the series is Adolf Alix Jr.

If ‘The Greatest Love”s impressive ratings are of any indication, then ‘D’Originals’ is in for a rude awakening. Recent GMAPA-produced entertainment shows (see ‘Dangwa’, ‘To the Top’, ‘#Like’) have failed to make a desirable impact, thus putting tremendous pressure on ‘D’Originals’ to defy all expectations.

With the dominance of ABS-CBN in the afternoon slot (save for the surprisingly popular ‘Ika-6 na Utos’), this is one battle that ‘D’Originals’ must win. Saving the reputation of both GMA Entertainment and GMA Public Affairs is a must for the series, otherwise the blame game should continue for both departments.

It’s either win or give up for ‘D’Originals’ and GMA Public Affairs. Good luck.

New Teleserye Alert: The Greatest Love and Someone to Watch Over Me

Two new teleseryes premiere today on ABS-CBN and GMA respectively.

On the former’s Kapamilya Gold, ‘The Greatest Love’ will finally make its long-awaited debut. The series will star veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez in what is perhaps her most definitive starring role yet.

In ‘The Greatest Love’, Sylvia will play the role of Gloria, a mother of four who is determined to have a happy and lovely family. But a terrible secret soon broke the bond between Gloria and her children, and what remained of her are memories of her problematic past.

As the story goes on, Gloria begins to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a crippling disorder that could erase her memories. As a result, she must find a way to reunite with her children before her condition proves too much to overcome.

Gloria’s children will be portrayed by Dimples Romana (as Amanda), Matt Evans (as Andrei), Arron Villaflor (as Paeng), and Andi Eigenmann (as Lizelle). The supporting cast of ‘The Greatest Love’ will consist of Joshua Garcia, Nonie Buencamino, Rommel Padilla, Tonton Gutierrez, Ejay Falcon, Ellen Adarna, Junjun Quintana, Aleck Bovick, Luis Alandy, Bobby Andrews, Alex Medina, Mercedes Cabral, and Guji Lorenzana.

It will be interesting to see how ‘The Greatest Love’ fares on its first week. But as far as ABS-CBN is concerned, the recent streak of good fortune on Kapamilya Gold should be more than enough to ease the pressure on the newcomer.

Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, Mervyn Brondial, and Dado Lomibao, ‘The Greatest Love’ airs weekdays after ‘Doble Kara’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

Over on GMA’s Telebabad block, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will mark the full return of more serious dramas on primetime. The series will be headlined by Lovi Poe, Tom Rodriguez and Max Collins.

Like ‘The Greatest Love’, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will explore the harsh effects of Alzheimer’s disease. In the upcoming series, TJ (Tom) is an office worker who is married to his wife Joanna (Lovi), but after TJ begins to suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, Joanna decides to take care of her ailing husband.

Soon after, Irene (Max), TJ’s ex-girlfriend, is allowed by Joanna to enter their home. After that, things begin to change as TJ loses memory of Joanna and instead recognizes Irene as his true love.

‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will also include Edu Manzano, Jackie Lou Blanco, Isay Alvarez, Ronnie Lazaro, Boy 2 Quizon, Ralph Noriega, and Frances Makil. The series will be directed by Maryo J. delos Reyes.

It will be interesting to see how this upcoming GMA drama will fare against ‘Born for You’. With the latter series on a roll, and with GMA’s talent problems already well-documented, this is going to be a difficult journey for Lovi, Tom, Max and company.

‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ airs weeknights after ‘Descendants of the Sun’.

 

Destiny Rose, And I Love You So End Tomorrow

Another ‘Battle of the Finales’ takes place tomorrow afternoon.

ABS-CBN’s ‘And I Love You So’ and GMA’s ‘Destiny Rose’ will officially conclude after their respective runs of 70 and 130 episodes. The two series have been on a collision course since December of last year, with both shows exchanging ratings victories on numerous occasions.

‘Destiny Rose’ premiered on September 14, 2015, and was the latest GMA series to tackle LGBT issues (similar to ‘My Husband’s Lover’ and ‘The Rich Man’s Daughter’). The series starred Ken Chan as a transwoman, and was joined by Fabio Ide, Katrina Halili, Manilyn Reynes, Michael de Mesa and Joko Diaz, among others.

Replacing ‘Healing Hearts’ on Afternoon Prime, ‘Destiny Rose’ initially struggled in the ratings when it premiered, but soon managed to win the hearts of viewers with the transformation of Ken’s character into a woman. Like the two prior LGBT-themed GMA series, its story received numerous praise from critics.

‘And I Love You So’, on the other hand, premiered on December 7, 2015, and it starred Julia Barretto and Miles Ocampo as rivals turned stepsisters. They were joined by Dimples Romana, Tonton Gutierrez and Angel Aquino, among others.

Premiering as a replacement to the short-lived Kapamilya series ‘Walang Iwanan’, ‘And I Love You So’ proved that it can keep up with ‘Destiny Rose’ in the ratings. But unlike their fellow Kapamilya Gold dramas ‘Doble Kara’, ‘All of Me’ and ‘Tubig at Langis’, ‘And I Love You So’ was unable to dominate, which should bother the cast given the potential of both Julia and Miles.

In any event, this should be an exciting ‘Battle of the Finales’. For ‘And I Love You So’ and ‘Destiny Rose’, it’s all about finishing on a right note, and tomorrow afternoon, viewers will find out how their stories conclude.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN and GMA have announced replacements for the two series. The Kapamilya network will go back to airing Koreanovelas with ‘My Love Donna’, while the Kapuso network will counter with ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’.

More on that in upcoming articles.

Revamp for Kapamilya Gold

‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ may be affected in the regional networks as Kapamilya Gold revamps its lineup with the move of the NCA block to late nights. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

A brand-new Kapamilya Gold awaits viewers later today.

As previously announced, ‘And I Love You So’ will take over the slot once occupied by the recently concluded (albeit short-lived) series ‘Walang Iwanan’. The new series, starring Julia Barretto, Miles Ocampo, Angel Aquino and Dimples Romana, will air after ‘All of Me’.

The revamp does not end there, however. Starting today, the News and Current Affairs block will no longer air on Kapamilya Gold, and will instead move back to its original timeslot following ‘Bandila’.

The NCA block lineup will remain the same following the timeslot change. ‘Mission Possible’ airs on Mondays, followed by ‘My Puhunan’ on Tuesdays, ‘Red Alert’ on Wednesdays, ‘Sports U’ on Thursdays, and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ on Fridays.

Now that the NCA block has moved to late nights, how will this affect the Kapamilya Gold lineup in the regions? As it stands, this is how the Kapamilya Gold block will look like starting today, as far as Metro Manila viewers are concerned.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

One program likely to be affected with the change in the regions will be ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. With the regional networks’ own broadcast of ‘TV Patrol’, they may be forced to preempt ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ in their area.

As such, the ‘available in select areas’ advisory may apply during episode previews for ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, in order to inform viewers of a possible preemption. Here’s how it may potentially look like in the regional networks.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal/TV Patrol regionals

That said, ABS-CBN has a decision to make regarding Kapamilya Gold in the regions. After all, they don’t want to risk shedding some viewers outside Metro Manila with this move.