Desperate Times: Ika-5 Utos Represents GMA’s Last Hope for Six-a-Week Relevance

Let’s state the obvious to begin with.

On Monday, September 10, GMA will introduce a new drama called ‘Ika-5 Utos’. And the series will air from Monday to, not Friday, but Saturday afternoons after ‘Eat Bulaga’.

‘Ika-5 Utos” main plot centers around three families whose bonds will be destroyed by a series of incidents. The series, in particular, will take a look at the issue of hazing in college fraternities.

The cast of ‘Ika-5 Utos’ includes Jean Garcia, Gelli de Belen, Valerie Concepcion, Jake Vargas, Kiko Estrada, Inah de Belen, Tonton Gutierrez, Antonio Aquitania, Jeric Gonzales, Migo Adecer and Klea Pineda. The series, like its sister program ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, will be directed by Laurice Guillen.

So another teleserye that will air six times a week? It seems like GMA is obsessed with this new habit.

And since they do not have any further ideas to fill in on a Saturday afternoon (they do not even bother producing a program to match ABS-CBN’s ‘Pareng Partners’), they are stuck with using a teleserye as a desperate ploy to boost ratings. But as seen in the ill-fated tale that is ‘Contessa’, it was a flawed strategy to begin with.

The approach initially worked on ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ due to ‘insistent public demand’ (its finale earned around 20% despite airing on a Saturday). But when ‘Contessa’ took over viewers were soon fed up by GMA’s over-saturation tactics, and instead opted to watch either Vice Ganda running his mouth on national television or Netflix shows online.

As a result, ‘Contessa’ underachieved and GMA’s strategy backfired. With that in mind, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ is now stuck in the crossroads that will either appease its audience to watch the series or force GMA to finally admit the problems in its approach.

It will be interesting to see how this latest maneuver plays out. Can ‘Ika-5 Utos’ deliver on a six-a-week basis, or will GMA ever regret making this risky move?

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The Last Stand of La Luna Sangre

The most physically demanding series in the careers of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla will come to an end this week.

After 185 episodes, ‘La Luna Sangre’ officially closes its curtain Friday night. The third series in the ‘Lobo’ trilogy, ‘La Luna Sangre’ saw Kathryn and Daniel (as Malia and Tristan respectively) grow up from being mere mortals to full-fledged vampires while enduring some of the toughest challenges that proved their worth.

But KathNiel was not the only main attraction. The series also marked a comeback of sorts for Richard Gutierrez, who as the villainous Sandrino, tried to convince Malia to join the dark side.

The original duo of ‘Imortal’ in Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz likewise made a cameo earlier on as Lia and Mateo respectively, though Angel returned midway through the series as Jacintha. The duo’s presence helped connect the story of ‘La Luna Sangre’ to its predecessor.

Throughout its lengthy run, ‘La Luna Sangre’ provided an avenue for new talent to shine. The series would mark the acting debut of another rising love team in MayWard (Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber), as well as former ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ participant Tony Labrusca.

Not to be outdone are industry veterans who were also part of ‘La Luna Sangre’, namely Randy Santiago, Gelli de Belen, Maricar Reyes and Albert Martinez. Overall, an estimate of over 50 actors, whether in a supporting or cameo role, were included in ‘La Luna Sangre’.

As far as its performance is concerned, ‘La Luna Sangre’ far and away made a huge impression. The series constantly earned ratings in the 30s while it dispatched its GMA rivals in ‘My Love from the Star’, ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’, ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ season 2 and ‘Kambal Karibal’.

That said, the high ratings and the long run of ‘La Luna Sangre’ are further proof of KathNiel’s wide commercial appeal. But more than just KathNiel’s brilliance is the fact that both Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez rekindled some huge memories of past GMA projects, albeit not as a love team of years past.

It will be an interesting final five episodes for this thrilling ABS-CBN primetime series. Best of luck to ‘La Luna Sangre’ on making its last stand.

La Luna Sangre, Third in the Lobo Franchise, Premieres Monday

The third series in the ‘Lobo’ franchise is about to unfold.

Starting Monday, the popular tandem of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla will grace the small screen anew in ‘La Luna Sangre’, the third installment in a saga that began with ‘Lobo’ and continued with ‘Imortal’. The new series, which will be set in the world of werewolves and vampires, will also have Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz playing special roles.

Picking up from where ‘Imortal’ left off, ‘La Luna Sangre’ begins with the former’s lead characters Lia (Angel) and Mateo (John Lloyd) now living a simple life as mortal beings. During their transition to normalcy, they raised a daughter named Maila (Kathryn).

Unknown to them, a prophecy called “La Luna Sangre” is about to haunt them. The prophecy says that “the child of the most powerful vampire and the chosen wolf will end the evilness of the vampire imprinted with the cursed ink”.

Shortly after raising Maila, a vampire named Sandrino (Richard Gutierrez) arrived in an attempt to kill Lia and Mateo, and in the process turn Maila over to the dark side. Try as they might, Lia and Mateo have no more powers to save them, and in the end, Maila was orphaned to Sandrino’s world in hopes of fulfilling the prophecy.

But after turning 21, it turns out Maila was still a mortal woman, and she decided to leave the dark side in order to resume her normal life. There, she met and befriended Tristan (Daniel), a young man who seeks to kill one of the vampires that killed his father.

As the story goes along, Maila’s thoughts will be conflicted between vampire hunter Tristan and the dark world she left behind. That said, expect ‘La Luna Sangre’ to encounter some twists and turns in this haunting struggle between immortality and justice.

The supporting cast of ‘La Luna Sangre’ will include the likes of Randy Santiago, Gelli de Belen, Desiree del Valle, Niña Dolino, Dino Imperial, Bryan Santos, Ina Raymundo, Nikki Valdez, Mike Agassi, Joross Gamboa, Tony Labrusca and Sue Ramirez. It will be directed by Cathy Garcia Molina and produced by Star Creatives.

If the previous small screen success of KathNiel (and of Cathy Garcia Molina) is any indication, then expect ‘La Luna Sangre’ to enjoy a similar path. Still, it will not be easy to follow a pair of popular predecessors in ‘Lobo’ and ‘Imortal’, so let’s see how this upcoming series will unfold in front of millions of viewers.

‘La Luna Sangre’ airs weeknights after ‘Ang Probinsyano’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

Struggling JaDine Demoted; Magpahanggang Wakas to Face Alyas Robin Hood

Two weeks in, and ‘Till I Met You’ is not living up to expectations.

Even though it is the third most-watched show in Kantar’s national ratings, ‘Till I Met You’ is only averaging 26% through its first eight episodes. This was a far cry from the consistent 30% or better marks enjoyed by KathNiel’s ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’, and LizQuen’s ‘Forevermore’ and ‘Dolce Amore’.

To make matters worse, the GMA Koreanovela ‘Descendants of the Sun’ closed the gap to within 3% as it airs its final few episodes. With the controversial series ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ nearing its premiere, it is clear that JaDine is in real trouble.

Thus, ABS-CBN decided to demote ‘Till I Met You’ to the third slot in hopes of giving JaDine less pressure to succeed. Though the duo is used to the slot during the time of ‘On the Wings of Love’, it is an entirely different story since the demotion clearly affected the morale of not only JaDine, but also their fans.

With the move of ‘Till I Met You’ to the third slot, it will now be a battle of two debuting series starting this Monday. Going toe-to-toe with ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ will be ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’, the new Kapamilya series starring Jericho Rosales, Arci Muñoz, and John Estrada.

In ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’, Jericho (as Waldo) and Arci (as Aryann) will play two young lovers who were tightly connected to one another. However, Waldo was accused of a crime that was accidental, and after his release, he appeared to have been murdered by the brother of Aryann’s would-be rapist.

Soon after, Aryann moved on and found a new love interest in Tristan (John). But after realizing that Waldo is alive, a series of complicated events begin to take place between the three.

‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ will also star Gelli De Belen, Rita Avila, Danita Paner, Liza Lorena, Lito Pimentel, Justin Cuyugan, Marco Gumabao, Maika Rivera, and Jomari Angeles. It will be directed by FM Reyes.

It will be interesting to see how the unexpected move to the second slot will affect ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’. The fact that it is a mature and sexually-charged series may not be worth a shot, considering the recent tradition of the second slot that involves young love teams.

Then again, as proven by ‘Pasion de Amor’ when it was slotted to the early evening slot, it will not be a hindrance. Still, ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ will have its hands full as they face the ever-motivated ‘Alyas Robin Hood’.

‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ airs weeknights after ‘Ang Probinsyano’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

Happy Truck Becomes Happinas Happy Hour

‘Happy Truck’ No More: TV5 will relaunch ‘Happy Truck HAPPinas’ as a gag show entitled ‘Happinas Happy Hour’. (Logo courtesy of TV5)

‘Happy Truck HAPPinas’ has a new format and a new name.

Starting tonight, the one-time Sunday afternoon variety show will be relaunched as a gag show entitled ‘Happinas Happy Hour’. Taped as live, it will air every Friday at 9:00 p.m. after the PBA games.

‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will feature virtually the same cast as its predecessor, led by Ogie Alcasid and Janno Gibbs. Other cast members include Gelli de Belen, Tuesday Vargas, Mark Neumann, Eula Caballero, Ella Cruz, Kim Idol and Alwyn Uytingco.

 

In contrast to ‘Happy Truck”s ‘Eat Bulaga’-like approach, ‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will employ a setting similar to ABS-CBN’s ‘Banana Sundae’. This means that the presentation of the show will be made in front of a live audience, similar to those seen in comedy bars and on live stand-up comedy concerts.

‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will be TV5’s first gag show since’ Tropa Mo Ko Unli’, and the first under the VIVA regime. It is expected to draw comparisons with GMA’s ‘Bubble Gang’, but neither show will directly compete with each other (‘Bubble Gang”s first 20-30 minutes will be up against ‘Happinas Happy Hour”s final 20-30 minutes).

While ‘Happy Truck Happinas’ (and its predecessor ‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’) was not bad of a variety show, it still suffered due to the intense two-way battle between ABS-CBN’s ‘ASAP’ and GMA’s ‘Sunday PinaSaya’. As a result, TV5 and VIVA decided to play it safe and converted ‘Happy Truck’ into a gag show, along with a change of timeslot so as not to directly with compete with programs of similar genres.

It will be interesting to see how ‘Happinas Happy Hour’ can become a viable alternative to the teleseryes of ABS-CBN and GMA. But even if the viewers fall in love with ‘Happinas Happy Hour’, it is still up to TV5 on whether or not they will be able to sustain the show, considering their penchant for cutting promising shows short.

A New Breed of Sunday Noontime Show

‘ASAP’ finds itself with a different kind of opponent.

Last Sunday, GMA and APT Entertainment launched ‘Sunday PinaSaya’, a new variety show that features mostly comedy skits with a few hints of musical performances. The new Sunday noontime show is hosted by Marian Rivera, Ai Ai Delas Alas, Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Alden Richards, Julie Anne San Jose, Barbie Forteza, Valeen Montenegro, and Jerald Napoles.

‘Sunday PinaSaya’ marked the first time that GMA did not play a key role in producing a Sunday noontime show. The said program is produced by APT, whose founder, Tony Tuviera, is the director of ‘Eat Bulaga’.

The new offering did give ‘ASAP’ a run for its money, scoring a 21.4% rating over the latter’s 16.8% in the AGB Nielsen NUTAM figures. In the Kantar ratings, however, ‘ASAP’ still emerged the winner, but just barely (17.1% over ‘Sunday PinaSaya”s 16.1%).

Judging from the first week, it is safe to say that ‘Sunday PinaSaya’ is still a work in progress. Their ratings in the first week are purely based on the viewers’ curiosity, so it remains to be seen whether or not the show’s second week will have the same kind of performance.

 

‘Sunday PinaSaya’ is not the only Sunday noontime show that is offering something different, however. Just ask TV5’s ‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’.

The two-month-old program employs a more unconventional approach, as they hold shows in various barangays. It is essentially a modern-day ‘Kwarta o Kahon’, albeit outdoors, with various games and segments to entertain the audience.

Though ‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’ airs an hour earlier, it is still considered a noontime variety show for all intents and purposes. The show is hosted by Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Derek Ramsay, Gelli de Belen, Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, and various other Kapatid stars.

While its ratings pale in comparison to ‘ASAP’ and ‘Sunday PinaSaya’, TV5 seems unconcerned about its performance. After all, the Kapatid network values alternative programming, and ‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’ exemplifies that.

Gone are the days where musical performances dominate every viewer’s Sunday noontime habits. A new dawn in Sunday noontime programming has indeed arrived, with skits and games to keep people entertained.

The Sunday noontime slot is definitely back in business.