Ang Probinsyano’s Latest Threat: PNP and DILG

It has been a mostly smooth-sailing run for ABS-CBN’s ‘Ang Probinsyano’, until now.

Earlier this week, the Philippine National Police, led by Director General Oscar Albayalde, criticized ‘Ang Probinsyano’ for its supposed unfair portrayal of the police force. This led to the PNP withdrawing any further support to the long-running ABS-CBN action series.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) also sided with the PNP’s opinion on the show and considered filing legal charges against the producers of ‘Ang Probinsyano’. In response, ABS-CBN issued this statement.

“FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” assures the Philippine National Police (PNP) that the characters, places, and incidents in the program are purely fictitious as stated in the disclaimer aired at the start of the show every night. There is no intention to smear the reputation of any organization or portray any person in a negative light.

The program has also portrayed its main character, Cardo, as a hardworking police officer dedicated to saving lives and serving his fellowmen. As in the past years, “FPJAP” has highlighted that good shall always triumph over evil and has shared valuable lessons and family values that have resonated with viewers.

— Kane Errol Choa

Head, Integrated Corporate Communications

Senator Grace Poe, Gabriela, Jasmine Curtis-Smith and the group Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI) sided with ABS-CBN over the matter and chided the PNP and DILG over its perceived censorship of the series. Meanwhile, DILG secretary Eduardo Año would seek a meeting with the MTRCB and ABS-CBN executives regarding the matter.

As of November 16, 2018, ‘Ang Probinsyano’ has aired 813 episodes and is the highest-rated primetime series in the country with an average of 40% in the ratings. But with this latest issue facing the show, it appears as though its dominance may soon taper.

At this point, viewers of the show can only hope against the inevitability of cancellation should the PNP and DILG file and perhaps win its case against ‘Ang Probinsyano’. If that happens, it may become a repeat of ‘Voltes V’ and ‘Daimos’ getting banned from television under the Marcos regime, and it will be utter humiliation for media freedom.

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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.

Ang Panday Replays Everywhere

Richard Gutierrez’s small-screen comeback in ‘Ang Panday’ is given not one, but two replays in just its first week. (Photo credit: TV5)

Seems like TV5 is overhyping ‘Ang Panday’.

Already on its first week on air, TV5 decided to take it too far by airing not one, but two replays of ‘Ang Panday’, due to insistent public demand. In addition to the regular replays every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:45 p.m., it also scheduled another slate of replays (consequentially preempting some programs), which were as follows:

• Thursday, March 3 at 11:30 p.m. (preempted ‘Kaya’)
• Saturday, March 5 at 3:00 p.m. (PBA plays one out-of-town game that day)
• Saturday, March 5 at 10:30 p.m. (preempting ‘MTV Top 20 Pilipinas’)

Quite frankly, that’s a lot of replays. For a network that’s once again taking baby steps with their new partnership with VIVA, that’s not a good idea.

Starring Richard Gutierrez, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Bangs Garcia and Sam Pinto, among others, ‘Ang Panday’ airs Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. on TV5.

Other Notes: TV5 made a few changes in its schedule, the most noteworthy of which is the addition of UFC-related programming on the network. For more on these changes, visit this website.

TV5/VIVA Partnership Updates

‘Tasya Fantasya’ is one of several TV5 and VIVA-produced programs lined up this year. (Photo credit: TV5)

The partnership between TV5 and VIVA Entertainment is off to a flying start.

Four programs will highlight the first few months of the TV5/VIVA collaboration. They are: ‘Born to Be a Star’, ‘Ang Panday’, ‘Tasya Fantasya’, and ‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’.

‘Born to Be a Star’ is VIVA’s latest attempt in discovering future talents. Premiering February 6, the talent search show will be hosted by Ogie Alcasid, alongside Yassi Pressman and Mark Bautista.

Judges for ‘Born to Be a Star’ are Pops Fernandez, Aiza Seguerra, Andrew E and Christian Bautista. The show held auditions recently, with the hope of finding the most promising voices in the country.

‘Ang Panday’, starring Richard Gutierrez, is the latest made-for-TV adaptation of the Carlo J. Caparas classic. It will also star Bangs Garcia, Alonzo Muhlach, Regine Tolentino, Jack Reid, Christopher de Leon and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, with its premiere date still to be determined.

‘Ang Panday’ is no stranger to both film and television. Fernando Poe, Jr., Bong Revilla and Janno Gibbs have starred in the film adaptations, while Jericho Rosales starred in the TV adaptation that ABS-CBN once aired.

‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’ marks the return of Claudine Barretto to teleserye genre in nearly a decade. The upcoming series is a made-for-TV remake of the 1985 film starring Chanda Romero, Tommy Abuel and Janice de Belen.

Also included in ‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’ are Cesar Montano, Meg Imperial, Diether Ocampo, Dindi Gallardo, Roxanne Barcelo, Samantha Lopez, Bernard Palanca, Janelle Jamer, Bret Jackson, Issa Pressman, Mariel de Leon and Nathalie Colipano. The series is scheduled to premiere February 15.

And finally, ‘Tasya Fantasya’ will introduce viewers to budding VIVA star Shy Carlos. Like ‘Panday’, it was created by Carlo J. Caparas, and has also been made into a film and TV series, starring Kris Aquino and Yasmien Kurdi respectively.

‘Tasya Fantasya’ will also star Mark Neumann in his latest project for the network. Also included in the series, which premieres February 6, are AJ Muhlach, Ara Mina, John Lapus, Candy Pangilinan, Donnalyn Bartolome, Giselle Sanchez, Malak So, Arvic Romero, Jasmine Hollingworth, and Kim Molina.

Aside from the programs, VIVA and TV5’s satellite TV affiliate Cignal also joined forces in the launch of the Sari-Sari Network. The said channel features purely entertainment content, and also handles production responsibilities for TV5’s entertainment group.

It will be a very busy period for Vic del Rosario and company as far as content is concerned. That said, it’s up to TV5 to try and make an impact this year.

My Fair Lady Remake to Air on TV5 Next Week

‘My Fair Lady’ airs starting this Monday at 9:30 p.m. on TV5. It will star Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Vin Abrenica and Luis Alandy. (Photo credit: TV5/My Fair Lady TV5 Official Facebook)

It seems like TV5 is having fun remaking Koreanovelas that were previously aired on another network.

After the remake of ‘The Baker King’, it is now the turn of ‘My Fair Lady’ to embrace the TV5 airwaves. The new adaptation will be led by Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Vin Abrenica and Luis Alandy, and will replace the former starting this Monday.

Like ‘The Baker King’, the original ‘My Fair Lady’ never aired on TV5. Instead, it aired on ABS-CBN in 2011, as part of the Kapamilya Gold block.

The original series first aired in Korea in 2009, and earned high ratings and numerous awards in its home country despite airing only 16 60-minute episodes. It starred Yoon Eun-hye, Yoon Sang-hyun, Jung Il-woo, and Moon Chae-won.

Unlike several hit Koreanovelas, ABS-CBN chose to relinquish the rights to ‘My Fair Lady’ due to its low ratings. TV5 picked up the rights to the series early last year, with the intent towards producing a remake.

The remake of ‘My Fair Lady’ will air for only 30 minutes, in contrast to its Korean counterpart. There will be a few tweaks along the way, but overall, expect the adaptation to not deviate from the style and approach of the original.

Joining Jasmine, Vin and Luis on ‘My Fair Lady’ will be Chanel Morales, Katrina Legaspi, Eddie Gutierrez, Marjorie Barretto, Jenny Miller, DJ Durano, Joross Gamboa, and Yayo Aguila. The series will be directed by Ricky Rivero.

It will be interesting to see how the fans of the original ‘My Fair Lady’ will respond to the remake. That said, the onus is now on TV5 to create something memorable for their loyal viewers.

‘My Fair Lady’ airs weeknights starting September 14 at 9:30 p.m. on TV5.

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.