My Super D Premiere Leads to Late-Afternoon Shakeup

It’s going to be an afternoon of change for ABS-CBN next week.

On Monday, April 18, the superhero drama series ‘My Super D’ will officially premiere on the Primetime Bida block. That was the good news.

The bad news, there are no free slots for ‘My Super D’ on the current Primetime Bida lineup. Its intended replacement, ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’, has not announced a final episode date due to its impressively high ratings, and ABS-CBN has no intention of replacing it at this point.

So where does ‘My Super D’ end up? Luckily, ABS-CBN freed up one slot for the upcoming series when it announced that ‘Game ng Bayan’ will air its final episode tomorrow afternoon.

The sudden cancellation of ‘Game ng Bayan’ came barely a month after it premiered to replace ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. Clearly, ABS-CBN knew what was coming, as ‘Game ng Bayan’ not only struggled in the ratings, but also became a logistical nightmare for the network.

With ‘Game ng Bayan”s cancellation now official, its old timeslot will now be filled by ‘We Will Survive’, the drama series starring Melai Cantiveros and Pokwang. It will still face GMA’s ‘Wowowin’, but not all areas will receive ‘We Will Survive’, which is a problem for ABS-CBN’s Regional Network Group.

Whether or not ABS-CBN will keep ‘We Will Survive’ on the Primetime Bida slot or move it to Kapamilya Gold remains to be seen. However, they need to find a way to make the broadcasts of ‘We Will Survive’ as simultaneous as possible, so as not to sacrifice its decently good ratings.

Going back to ‘My Super D’, this superhero drama series follows the footsteps of fellow ABS-CBN original creations such as ‘Super Inggo’, ‘My Little Juan’ and ‘Juan Dela Cruz’. With each of these series becoming successful hits for the network, the pressure is now on ‘My Super D’ to deliver similar results.

In ‘My Super D’, Dominic Ochoa will play the titular superhero role as Super D. He will be supported by Marco Masa and Bianca Manalo, who will play the role of son and wife respectively.

Joining them in the series are Atoy Co, Ryan Rems, Myrtle Sarrosa, Jef Gaitan, Louie Domingo, Marina Benipayo, Bong Regala, Jason Francisco, Marvin Agustin, Noni Buencamino and Ronaldo Valdez. It will be directed by Frasco Mortiz and Lino Cayetano.

With these changes now official, the question is, can ‘My Super D’ fly higher than ‘Wowowin’? And can ‘Wowowin’ be able to stave off this new threat?

We’ll find out.

‘My Super D’ premieres this Monday, and airs weeknights before ‘TV Patrol’.

It’s Showtime Extended, Kapamilya Gold Down to Three Programs

A game of one-upmanship continues on ABS-CBN.

The Kapamilya network’s afternoon slot had a different look beginning yesterday. With the conclusion of the Koreanovela ‘My Love Donna’ last Friday, ABS-CBN chose not to replace the said program, and reduced Kapamilya Gold to just two teleseryes (‘Doble Kara’, Tubig at Langis’) and ‘Game ng Bayan’.

On top of that, ‘It’s Showtime’ had its running time extended to three hours, and as a result, Kapamilya Gold now begins much later, at 3:15 p.m.

By all accounts, it seems like ABS-CBN is once again trying to give GMA a run for its money. With the 30-minute extension, ‘It’s Showtime’ now has to contend not only with perennial rival ‘Eat Bulaga’, but also the teleserye ‘Wish I May’, whose run will come to an end soon.

Over at Kapamilya Gold, ‘Doble Kara’ will now have to face ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, while ‘Tubig at Langis’ will be up against ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’. And with the exception of regional networks, ‘Game ng Bayan’ will once again have to contend with the first 45 minutes of ‘Wowowin’.

 

Overall, the move provided some sense of anticipation for ABS-CBN. Knowing that GMA and TAPE, Inc. could extend ‘Eat Bulaga’ to another 30 minutes in case of a lack of replacement for ‘Wish I May’, ABS-CBN quickly took action, in hopes that GMA may indeed make a game-changing response.

Still, is three hours on weekdays too much for ‘It’s Showtime’? And is the three-program approach on Kapamilya Gold all worth it for ABS-CBN?

Let’s face it, ‘It’s Showtime’ may have overtaken ‘Eat Bulaga’ following its low point that is the AlDub vs. Pastillas rivalry, but they don’t need a 30-minute extension on weekdays. After all, the viewers need some siesta time as well, not to mention the fact that the hosts’ busy schedule were being compromised by this extension.

And what about Kapamilya Gold? With just two teleseryes and a move to a later timeslot, this may not bode well for the block’s ratings, especially with GMA consistently taking over the lead at around 4:00 p.m. in the lead-up to ‘Wowowin’.

That said, this latest programming change of ABS-CBN in the afternoon may not be helpful in the long run. While they are still winning, this new lineup will not make sense if they started to lose steam.

Now that ABS-CBN once again tweaked its afternoon lineup, will GMA respond to its rival’s move? Find out soon.

In 100 Words: The Millionaire’s Wife Premieres Today

Andrea Torres returns to drama with the upcoming series ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’.

The series, which also stars the likes of Mike Tan, Robert Arevalo, Sid Lucero, Ina Raymundo and Jaclyn Jose, tells the story of a woman who had to choose between two things: love or money, in order to save her life. ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ will be directed by Albert Langitan, with Roy Iglesias serving as its creative director.

Replacing ‘Destiny Rose’ on GMA’s Afternoon Prime, ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ is expected to have a great start to its run, considering its opponent is an ABS-CBN Koreanovela in ‘My Love Donna’ (some areas will receive ‘Game ng Bayan’ instead). Still, it remains to be seen whether or not Andrea Torres’ return to drama will pay off.

‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ airs weekdays at 4: 15 p.m., after ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’.

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.