Of Gandang Gabi Vice and GMA’s Inability to Beat the Show

Sunday nights have not been kind to GMA in recent years, thanks to shows like ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ has victimized GMA programming for the past three years.

Not only is GGV a top-rater on ABS-CBN and a social media hit, but it also forced GMA to make some changes in an attempt to beat the program. Still, no matter how many changes GMA would make, Vice Ganda’s show will always find a way to stay on top.

Among the notable victims of GGV’s success were a pair of Manny Pacquiao’s programs in ‘Show Me da Manny’ and ‘Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na ‘To’, the ill-fated talk show ‘Pare & Pare’, the sitcom ‘Andres de Saya’, and most recently the public affairs program ‘Imbestigador’.  All of the aforementioned programs, save for ‘Imbestigador’ which moved to a new timeslot, were axed by GMA.

Making it even worse for GMA is the guesting of their prized talents on Vice’s program. While contracted GMA artists Richard Gutierrez and Dingdong Dantes managed to make an appearance on GGV to promote their films (and subsequently get high ratings), the same cannot be said for Marian Rivera, who last year turned down a guesting stint on GGV out of respect for her mother network.

Nevertheless, the guestings of Chard and Dong will always prove that GGV is welcome to all artists, no matter which network they belong. Even the embattled Aljur Abrenica, who recently filed a case to void his GMA contract, is welcome to guest on Vice’s program.

Moving on, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ will have a new opponent two Sundays from now. ‘Sa Puso ni Dok’, the upcoming medical docudrama on GMA, will premiere this Sunday night, but with the finale of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All-In’ expected to run for two hours, the rivalry between the two shows will have to wait for another week.

The new series, starring Dennis Trillo and Bela Padilla, follows a similar formula that was used on critically-acclaimed GMA News docudramas ‘Katipunan’, ‘Bayan Ko’ and ‘Titser’. ‘Sa Puso ni Dok’ was originally slated to air on GMA News TV, before it was decided that the show will instead air on GMA in order to attract a bigger audience.

Whether or not ‘Sa Puso ni Dok’ will overcome the juggernaut that is ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ will always be a formidable and strong opponent, no matter what show it faces.

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Upcoming Asianovelas on ABS-CBN and GMA

Expect new Asianovelas to air on both ABS-CBN and GMA.

GMA’s newest Koreanovela ‘I Hear Your Voice’ makes its debut later tonight on the Telebabad block. The new series will air after ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ and before fellow Koreanovela ‘Secret Love’.

In a surprise twist, GMA decided to add a second teleserye on the Telebabad block instead of waiting for one of them to end. As a result, Telebabad now has a total of six drama series, two of which are from Korea, compared to only four on the currently all-local ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

And when was the last time two Asianovelas were on primetime on the Kapuso network? That was several years ago, when GMA was at the peak of its powers thanks to its mix of fantaseryes and Koreanovelas. Now GMA hopes to replicate that with a double serving of Asianovelas on Telebabad.

Pretty Man and Miss Ripley on ABS-CBN

Over at ABS-CBN, the re-run on ‘My Girl’ is entering its final week. The Koreanovela ends its run on Friday afternoon, to be replaced by a new Koreanovela titled ‘Pretty Man’ beginning August 18.

Then on August 25, ‘Miss Ripley’ will make its way into the ABS-CBN lineup, with its timeslot yet to be determined.

After several months of re-airing old Asianovelas, ABS-CBN has decided to start fresh. Thus, two new series from Korea were imported by the Kapamilya network in order to appease its legion of Asianovela fanatics.

But perhaps the biggest question mark for the Kapamilya network now is to whether or not bring back the Asianovela to Primetime Bida. Before ‘The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition: Doubles’ and ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ occupied the final slot of the said block, the last time an Asianovela aired on Primetime Bida was ‘When a Man Falls in Love’, and its finale was nearly eight months ago.

Kapamilya fans should hope for the best. After all, Asianovelas on ABS-CBN deserve a piece of the primetime spotlight.

To both stations, good luck in giving Asianovela fans a series to remember.