Faith Restored: Halik’s High Ratings a Godsend for ABS-CBN Primetime Bida

ABS-CBN finally got it right.

It turns out ‘Halik’ was the series ABS-CBN needed to resuscitate the fortunes of its much-maligned fourth slot on Primetime Bida. The October 25 episode of ‘Halik’ garnered a series-high 27.1% rating according to Kantar, besting rival series ‘Pamilya Roces’ by 16.5%.

The episode in question featured an intense confrontation between Lino (Jericho Rosales) and Ace (Sam Milby) over the latter’s act of cheating. During that scene, Lino caught Ace and Jade (Yam Concepcion) cheating on him and Jacky (Yen Santos), leading to a fight between Lino and Ace.

‘Halik’ also became the most-viewed program on iWant TV, reaching over two million views per week. Thursday’s episode also trended on Twitter and memes related to the aforementioned confrontation scene also spread on social media.

In many ways, this episode of ‘Halik’ encapsulates what the fourth slot of Primetime Bida is all about. For Kapamilya audiences here and abroad, this timeslot always tingle their senses whenever they see scenes of confrontation, jealousy, anger, sensuality and desire.

No offense to the lighter-themed dramas that were aired on the fourth slot (e.g. ‘On the Wings of Love’, ‘A Love to Last’), but it is obvious that viewers wanted something that will keep them awake and tense deep into the night. And if ‘Halik”s ratings are of any indication, they are probably right in their assessment.

First aired on August 13, ‘Halik”s ratings have been on a gradual upswing from the start. The series started with an 18.2% rating during its debut, reached 20% by the end of August, and peaked at 27.1% last Thursday.

That said, it will not be a surprise to see ‘Halik’ reach 30% in the near future. This series has been by far ABS-CBN’s best offering in the fourth slot and if it continues to please audiences, it might as well enjoy a long and fruitful run.

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More of the Same: Pamilya Roces Premieres Monday

GMA’s status quo remains the same.

The third slot of GMA Telebabad remains the domain of light-hearted series that could either laugh or bore the audience. And the new series ‘Pamilya Roces’ is no exception.

Let’s begin with a little preview of the series courtesy of GMA’s Public Relations team.

On the outside, ‘Pamilya Roces’ is perfectly happy and whole. They have wealth, power, and they own the biggest jewelry empire in the country. But that is just an illusion because the truth is that the patriarch has not just one, not two, but three families.

And when he, unfortunately, gets a heart attack, each of his families rush to his side. With this revelation, things get complicated. Suddenly, three women and five sisters find their lives outrageously and well, hilariously, intertwined.

The series showcases different perspectives of a family that viewers will find amusing, but more importantly, witness relatable scenes that will tug at their heartstrings and endear them to its characters all throughout.

‘Pamilya Roces’ is led by Roi Vinzon as Rodolfo, the family patriarch who is the root cause of their drama. He has three families in all, and they are as follows.

Rodolfo’s legal family includes wife Natalia (Gloria Diaz), sister-in-law Camilla (Snooky Serna), and daughters Crystal (Carla Abellana) and Jade (Gabbi Garcia). Crystal is married to Hugo (Rocco Nacino) while Camilla has an adopted son in Gareth (Andre Paras).

His second family is composed of Violet (Elizabeth Oropesa) and her daughter Amber (Sophie Albert). Amber was the result of Violet and Rodolfo’s one-night stand and will later have a secret affair with Crystal’s husband Hugo.

Rodolfo also has a third family, led by Lily (Ana Roces), whom he considers his true love. Lily bears two daughters in Amethyst (Shaira Diaz) and Pearl (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), the latter of which falls in love with Gareth.

Three other individuals will also play key roles in Rodolfo’s life. Ralph (Christian Bautista) is the family lawyer and a secret admirer of Crystal; Donnatela (Mika dela Cruz) is Jade’s best friend; and Gil (Manolo Pedrosa) is a budding photographer who gets rejected by Jade.

Talk about an unpredictable story. In essence, ‘Pamilya Roces’ is one light-hearted yet complex series that should border towards the laughable.

Still, it remains to be seen if it will able to overcome the equally unpredictable ‘Halik’. That said, ‘Pamilya Roces’ should have a fighting chance and if things go their way, they might as well steal a few wins from the opponent.

Directed by Joel Lamangan, ‘Pamilya Roces’ airs weeknights after ‘Onanay’ on GMA Telebabad.

Inday Will Always Love You to Conclude Friday

Longer than expected.

For ‘Inday Will Always Love You’, airing 100 episodes is a surprising accomplishment considering it was produced by GMA Public Affairs, an outfit notorious for short-term but quality-laden dramas. But viewers embraced this series particularly well, even if the results say otherwise.

First aired on May 21, 2018, ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ starred Barbie Forteza and Derrick Monasterio and is set in Cebu. While the series is generally a romantic comedy, it did not shy away from showcasing some elements of seriousness seen in more mature teleseryes.

‘Inday Will Always Love You’ first aired opposite ‘Since I Found You’, ABS-CBN’s own romantic comedy. While it gave the latter a hard time in the ratings (at one point the margin was close to 1%), in the end ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ still fell short.

Next came ‘Halik’, a more seriously toned adversary. This time, it was a more lopsided affair, as ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ could not close the gap to 4% against ‘Halik’.

Despite these shortcomings, ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ was still good enough that it was extended on a few occasions. By the time it airs its finale Friday, it will have 100 episodes, a new high for a GMA Public Affairs-produced series.

With all things considered, ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ will go down as GMA Public Affairs’ most successful non-news series, both in terms of popularity and duration. Still, being produced by GMA’s news division had its fair share of doubters, and ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ did not quite receive its well-earned respect.

But as far as Cebuanos are concerned, ‘Inday Will Always Love You”s focus on the Visayan island’s culture is more than enough to make them proud. In many ways, the series was a showcase of sorts to witness the uniqueness and beauty of Cebu, an island that only rivals Manila in terms of population and cultural impact.

The focus of ‘Inday Will Always Love You”s final week centers on Happylou’s (Barbie) escalating feud with Amanda (Gladys Reyes) and Ericka (Kim Rodriguez). One can only hope that the climax will end just like Happylou’s name: a happy one.

Back to the Serious Stuff: Halik Premieres Monday

It is back to the more serious and daring stuff on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida this Monday.

After not getting the much-needed results with the light-hearted romantic series ‘Since I Found You’, ABS-CBN will use the fourth slot for an intense and more tantalizing drama. But can ‘Halik’ recapture the magic of prior daring teleseryes?

‘Halik’ stars Jericho Rosales and Yen Santos as Lino and Jacky respectively. Once childhood lovers, they were separated when Jacky’s parents disapprove of Lino who is a son of one of their workers, only to renew acquaintances years later.

At this point, however, Lino is married to Jade (Yam Concepcion), an ambitious and headstrong woman, while Jacky lives together with Ace (Sam Milby), a rich man whose sweetness hides a secret. Neither Jade nor Ace are committed and trusty spouses, so it will be up to Lino and Jacky to rekindle their love that was once lost.

‘Halik’ also stars Amy Austria, Alan Paule, Precious Lara Quigaman, Romnick Sarmenta, Cris Villanueva, Almira Muhlach, Christian Bables, Hero Angeles, Chai Fonacier, JC Alcantara, Jane De Leon, and Gab Lagman. The series will be directed by Cathy Camarillo and Carlo Po Artillaga, and is under the Ruel S. Bayani (RSB) drama unit.

Traditionally speaking, the fourth slot of Primetime Bida has long been the domain of mature and daring dramas. This is the slot where ‘The Legal Wife’ became a huge hit, and more recently, this is where ‘The Good Son’ thrived and kept viewers’ senses awake with each captivating scene.

But as ‘Halik’ enters the fray, it remains to be seen if they will be able to follow the footsteps of its more serious predecessors. The series may have the star power bar none, but a rarely-used commodity like Yen Santos could set viewers back a bit.

That said, it will take some time for ‘Halik’ to make its presence felt. Realistically, the opening few weeks of this series should hover within the 17-19% range as far as ratings go, but if they are lucky enough, they might as well surpass the 20% mark.

‘Halik’ airs weeknights after ‘Bagani’ on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.