New Challenger for A Love to Last: My Korean Jagiya

‘A Love to Last’ has a new opponent.

Through 158 episodes (as of August 18, 2017), the ABS-CBN primetime series has overcome all challenges thrown at them. Initially pitted against ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ season 1 (10 episodes from January 9-20), ‘A Love to Last’ has since made mincemeat of fellow romantic comedy series ‘Meant to Be’ (108 episodes from January 23-June 23) and ‘I Heart Davao’ (40 episodes from June 27-August 18).

Now they look to claim another victim starting next week. However, their next opponent is no ordinary romantic comedy.

In the past several years, both GMA and ABS-CBN imported several successful Korean dramas to fill in programming hours. Now GMA takes over Korean cultures and landscapes in the form of ‘My Korean Jagiya’.

Leading the way for ‘My Korean Jagiya’ will be Heart Evangelista. Her character Gia is a Korean grade school tutor and a dedicated K-drama fan girl who was nonetheless teased that she is next in her family to become an old maid.

Gia’s dream is to meet her long-time crush and once-famous Korean superstar Kim Jun-ho, portrayed by top Korean star Alexander Lee. At first, Gia searched for Kim in Korea while on a scholarship training, but wound up returning to Manila to find Kim drunk and beaten by gangsters in a bar, beginning a seemingly fruitful friendship.

‘My Korean Jagiya’ will also star Janice de Belen, Ricky Davao, Iya Villania, Edgar Allan Guzman, Valeen Montenegro, Frances Makil Ignacio, Myke Solomon, Jinri Park, Divine Aucina, and Khane dela Cruz. Korean stars David Kim, Michelle Oh, and Jerry Lee will play special roles in the series as well.

Parts of ‘My Korean Jagiya’ were shot in South Korea, and featured several key spots that were made famous by several iconic Koreanovelas such as ‘Jewel in the Palace’, ‘My Name is Kim Sam Soon’, My Love from the Star’ and ‘Winter Sonata’. The Seoul Film Commission and Seoul Metropolitan Government assisted the series’ producers in the production process.

While ‘My Korean Jagiya’ is a uniquely wonderful series for both Filipinos and Koreans to enjoy, their biggest hurdle to success comes in the form of ‘A Love to Last’. Despite being perceived as ‘boring’ in the minds of critics, ‘A Love to Last’ continues to beat all comers, and this is something that should concern ‘My Korean Jagiya’ a lot.

One can only hope that ‘My Korean Jagiya’ will not be the short-lived drama that befell more recent romcoms ‘My Love from the Star’ and ‘I Heart Davao’. If the series can somehow go beyond 80 episodes, then that should be good enough for their morale.

Directed by Mark Reyes, ‘My Korean Jagiya’ airs weekdays after ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’ on GMA Telebabad.

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A Congested Schedule Coming Up for Kapamilya Gold

An extremely congested schedule looms on Kapamilya Gold next week.

From August 24-28, a total of six programs will be seen on Kapamilya Gold from 2:30 to 5:50 p.m. This is due to the hasty premiere of ‘Doble Kara’, an upcoming teleserye starring Julia Montes.

‘Doble Kara’ was supposed to replace ‘Flordeliza’ once the latter finishes on August 28. But due to the continuous success of GMA’s ‘The Half-Sisters’ (who are airing for over a year now), the former is now scheduled to air after ‘Flordeliza’ instead, after which it will air once ‘It’s Showtime’ concludes.

As a result, at least for next week, three local teleseryes will be bunched together on Kapamilya Gold for the first time in nearly two years. After which, though, the said block will revert back to airing two local dramas every weekday afternoon.

‘Doble Kara’ stars Julia Montes as twins Sarah and Kara, who were separated by their mother after Kara was diagnosed with leukemia. Both twins went on to enjoy different lives, but fate soon intervened that will eventually bring them back together.

The series also stars Edgar Allan Guzman, Anjo Damiles, Carmina Villarroel, Ariel Rivera, Mylene Dizon, Gloria Sevilla, John Lapus, Allen Dizon, and Alora Sasam, with a special appearance from Alicia Alonzo. Emmanuel Palo and Jon Villarin will serve as the series’ directors.

With ‘Doble Kara’ premiering next week, here is how Kapamilya Gold’s schedule will look like from August 24-28:

2:30 p.m. – Flordeliza

3:05 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:40 p.m. – Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita

4:15 p.m. – Pinoy Big Brother: 737 Gold

4:50 p.m. – News and Current Affairs Block (Mission Possible, My Puhunan, Red Alert, Sports U, Tapatan ni Tunying)

5:15 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

Waiting for ‘Flordeliza’ to end would have served ABS-CBN and ‘Doble Kara’ well. Instead, they are now forced to compensate for airing six programs in nearly 3 1/2 hours (commercial breaks included).

A risky programming decision is uncharacteristic of ABS-CBN’s well-planned programming schemes. But who knows? Perhaps beating ‘The Half-Sisters’ with a proven Julia Montes in ‘Doble Kara’ may be a blessing in disguise after all.

Three Teleseryes Debut on ABS-CBN This Monday

A trio of Kapamilya teleseryes will be launched on the same day.

To kick off its 2015 slate of new programs, ABS-CBN will have its ‘Kapamilya Thank You Day’ on January 19, and as part of the occasion, three teleseryes will have their pilot episodes aired throughout the day. The new teleseryes are:

Flordeliza

Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin will headline this upcoming teleserye, making it their first project together on the Kapamilya side since 2002. They will be joined by Desiree del Valle and child actresses Ashley Sarmiento and Rhey Bustamante.

‘Flordeliza’ will focus on two families whose daughters will become the best of friends, only to be torn apart by a heartbreaking revelation. The title itself will be based on the names of the aforementioned lead cast.

The series will also feature Carlo Aquino, Elizabeth Oropesa, Tetchie Agbayani, and Juan Rodrigo in supporting roles.

Oh My G!

Once a supporting cast member of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, Janella Salvador will now headline her own teleserye with ‘Oh My G!’

The new series will focus on a teenager’s struggles following the death of her parents, and is said to be inspired by the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila.

Joining Salvador in the light-hearted series will be fellow ‘Be Careful’ castmate Marlo Mortel, ex-‘Pinoy Big Brother’ housemate Manolo Pedrosa, and veteran actors Sunshine Cruz, Dominic Ochoa, John Arcilla, Edgar Allan Guzman, and Janice de Belen.

Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ housemates Jane Oineza, Loisa Andalo and Joshua Garcia will be front and center on the upcoming series ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’.

The series, which focuses on a daughter’s search for her lost father, will be based on the 1986 film of the same name.

Written by famed scriptwriter Ricky Lee, ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ will also feature Vina Morales, Denise Laurel, Christian Vasquez, and Jerome Ponce in supporting roles.

Notwithstanding their dominant performance the previous year, ABS-CBN knows that there are still some improvements to make. The afternoon block Kapamilya Gold, for example, has been left in ruins thanks to the network’s decision to air ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ in the midst of rival GMA Afternoon Prime’s string of success.

That said, bringing Kapamilya Gold back to relevance will be ABS-CBN’s priority for the early part of the year. Two of the three new teleseryes will likely be seen in the afternoon, while one will take the place of the seasonal drama ‘Give Love on Christmas’, whose finale will be aired this Friday.

For ABS-CBN, a good start to 2015 is all they need to keep the streak of good fortune going. And three teleseryes premiering on the same day is a great start.

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.