Long-Running Doble Kara Enters Final Week

After 382 episodes, ‘Doble Kara’ is finally bowing out.

The ABS-CBN afternoon drama series will officially conclude its stellar run as daytime’s top drama this coming Friday. And for fans of Julia Montes, ‘Doble Kara’ will forever be remembered as the series that catapulted her to the top of the afternoon circuit.

‘Doble Kara’ first came on the air on August 24, 2015. At first, the series was originally planned to replace ‘Flordeliza’, but at the last second, ABS-CBN hastily premiered ‘Doble Kara’ amid the dominance of another long-running drama, GMA’s ‘The Half-Sisters’.

One week later, ‘Doble Kara’ was placed opposite ‘The Half-Sisters’, and following a slow start, the former gradually displaced the latter as the Philippines’ top afternoon drama. Along the way, rivals such as ‘Wish I May’, ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ and ‘Hahamakin ang Lahat’ came along, but none were able to topple ‘Doble Kara’.

It was during the run of ‘Doble Kara’ that ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold block eventually overtook GMA’s Afternoon Prime as the most-watched daytime drama block in the country. The overwhelming success of ‘Doble Kara’ was later felt on succeeding dramas such as ‘All of Me’, ‘Tubig at Langis’ and ‘The Greatest Love’ .

But perhaps the most important legacy of ‘Doble Kara’ is the growth of Julia Montes as an actress. Portraying twin characters Sara and Kara, Julia’s dual role proved to be the most challenging of her career, but through it all, she managed to pull it off effectively.

To sum it all up, Julia owed her success with ‘Doble Kara’ to the many viewers that have stuck with her for the past year. In a statement during the show’s final press conference, she said,

Every day, you warmly welcome me into your homes. I am beyond thankful for the memories and the people I met throughout this journey. Thank you because you made me feel that I am not alone, that I am part of one family.

Come this Friday, ‘Doble Kara’ will have its curtain call. And when it’s all said and done, this series should earn its well-deserved round of applause.

TV Remake of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ to Air Starting This Monday

Big things are indeed coming for Rhian Ramos.

The beginning of July saw Rhian make her debut as a cover girl for FHM. Then came the series that could make or break her, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’.

Much like her first-ever sexy pictorial on FHM, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will portray a more mature and serious Rhian. Her role as Clara is simple: she was abused by a womanizer in Roman (Rafael Rosell), then ended up falling in love to Jason (Kiko Estrada), who is not happy with his marriage to Hannah (Jazz Ocampo).

Clara and Jason’s love affair was soon exposed, however. And as the series rolls on, that revelation could pose a severe threat to their own lives.

Also joining the cast of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ are Michael de Mesa, Glydel Mercado, Cheska Diaz, Sherilyn Reyes, Stephanie Sol, Gee Canlas, JC Tiuseco, and Gab de Leon. The series will be directed by Ricky Davao.

‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ the drama series is a remake of the 1992 hit film directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes. The film was headlined by Vilma Santos, Gabby Concepcion, Aga Muhlach, and Aiko Melendez.

But if the film version was a blockbuster, what chances will the TV remake have in store? As far as the entire nation is concerned, all eyes are on Julia Montes and ‘Doble Kara’ every weekday afternoon, and its domination of the 3:15 p.m. slot has not been a good sight for a Kapuso fan everywhere.

Indeed, GMA is wasting time producing these dramas without any sufficient promotion. Just look at the series ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will replace, ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, which at the beginning was heavily promoted by the network only to cease further support after the first week of airing.

With ABS-CBN’s ‘Doble Kara’ nearing its one-year anniversary this August, it will be interesting to see if ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ can fare well against this afternoon juggernaut. Yes, Rhian Ramos is about to take the next step in her evolution as an actress, but will this translate to impressive ratings?

Find out starting this Monday, as ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ premieres after ‘Magkaibang Mundo’.

Dominant Tubig at Langis Faces New Rival

It is no secret that ‘Tubig at Langis’ is a clear ratings winner in its timeslot.

From the moment it premiered, the ABS-CBN afternoon series captivated audiences with its controversial and intense storyline. While the acrimonious departure of Vivian Velez helped fuel the fire, the frequent confrontations between Irene (Cristine Reyes), Clara (Isabelle Daza) and occasionally Lucy (Dionne Monsanto) only added to its mystique and popularity.

Along the way, three rival series went down to ‘Tubig at Langis’. First it was ‘Buena Familia’, then ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’ (currently ongoing, but is now up against ‘Doble Kara’), and most recently ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’.

Now they await a fourth opponent. Enter GMA’s newest afternoon series ‘Sa Piling ni Nanay’.

The upcoming GMA drama reunites three former aspirants from season 1 of ‘StarStruck’: Mark Herras, Yasmien Kurdi, and Katrina Halili. The three will play a central role in a plot that tackles the issue of surrogacy.

In ‘Sa Piling ni Nanay’, Ysabel (Yasmien) works as a personal assistant to Scarlet (Katrina). But Scarlet is unable to bear a child, so Ysabel agrees to become a surrogate in order to pay the bills for her daughter Maymay’s bone marrow transplant.

Tragedy struck Ysabel when Maymay dies in an unfortunate accident. Depressed and lonely, she decides to break up her surrogacy agreement with Scarlet and flees alongside her daughter, naming her Maya (Sofia Jayzel Cabatay) in honor of the fallen Maymay.

Unknown to Ysabel, Jonas (Mark) is secretly in love for her. But upon realizing Ysabel’s intentions of raising Maya instead of giving it to Scarlet, Jonas decides to cease ties with her, and the battle is on between Ysabel and Scarlet for the rights of Maya.

‘Sa Piling ni Nanay’ also stars Nova Villa, Bettina Carlos and Antonio Aquitania. It will be directed by Gil Tejada, Jr.

As ‘Tubig at Langis’ prepares for a new opponent, how much longer can they keep up their momentum? And for ‘Sa Piling ni Nanay’, how will they be able to overcome the odds placed against them?

These and more will come starting this Monday afternoon. ‘Sa Piling ni Nanay’ airs weekdays after ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’ on GMA’s Afternoon Prime.

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’.

Big Blow for Tubig at Langis with Resignation of Vivian Velez and Entry of New Rival

The resignation of Vivian Velez forces ‘Tubig at Langis’ to make adjustments. (Photo credit: Vivian Velez official Facebook)

A lot of adjustments await the ABS-CBN drama series ‘Tubig at Langis’.

On Sunday, March 6, cast member Vivian Velez announced on Facebook that she would irrevocably resign immediately from the show. The official announcement is as follows, as seen on this post below.

In an exclusive conversation with PEP.ph, Vivian cited Cristine Reyes’ rude behavior as a reason behind her resignation. According to Vivian, during one of their recent tapings, she and Cristine shared a designated standby room, but Cristine asked her to leave and then threw a fit by slamming the door and shouting at her.

Both ABS-CBN and Cristine’s camp have yet to issue a statement regarding Vivian’s resignation.

Vivian’s departure from ‘Tubig at Langis’ will be a huge blow to the series. Prior to her resignation, she played the role of Conching, the mother-in-law of Irene (Cristine Reyes), and had a pivotal role in the character progression of the latter.

Now that Vivian’s out, the series’ production team has no choice but to make revisions to the story. Writing off the character of Conching won’t be easy though.

Meanwhile, ‘Tubig at Langis’ will have a new rival starting today. GMA’s upcoming Afternoon Prime series ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, starring Bea Binene and Derrick Monasterio, will take over the slot of the just-concluded ‘Buena Familia’.

In ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, Bea will play the role of Ana, a feral child who was kidnapped and forced to live in isolation her entire life. After escaping from the clutches of Odessa (Ina Feleo), she was found in the woods by a psychology student named Calvin (Derrick), where he would try to reintegrate Ana back into society and show her the real meaning of true love and compassion.

Also starring in ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’ are Raymart Santiago, Angelika dela Cruz, Kim Rodriguez, Rita Avila, Ramon Christopher, Luz Valdez, Shyr Valdez, Marco Alcaraz, and Jak Roberto. Laurice Guillen will direct the series.

With all the recent events taking place, this will not be an easy walk in the park this week for ‘Tubig at Langis’. The combination of an upcoming rival and a cast member’s resignation over the rude behavior of another may cast a spell on the series’ ratings, so it’s up to them to deliver despite all the odds.