I Can Do That: ABS-CBN’s Latest Foreign Franchised Show

Franchised shows and ABS-CBN continue to be inseparable.

This weekend will be no exception, as the Kapamilya network premieres its latest acquisition. Enter ‘I Can Do That’, ABS-CBN’s newest talent reality show where celebrities perform the riskiest and most imaginative of acts in order to entertain the audience.

‘I Can Do That’ originated in Israel under the watchful eyes of Armoza Formats. Twenty countries, including the United States, have put their own spin on the franchise.

The Philippine franchise of ‘I Can Do That’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo and Alex Gonzaga. The show will be headlined by eight actors known as the I CANdidates: Cristine Reyes, Arci Muñoz, Pokwang, Sue Ramirez, JC Santos, Gab Valenciano, Wacky Kiray and Daniel Matsunaga.

Via ABS-CBN PR, here is how ‘I Can Do That’ is played:

Every week, the I CANdidates will perform extraordinary acts in pairs. The fun begins when different groups of professional performers demonstrate a variety of acts that I CANdidates have never done before.

If the I CANdidates think they can do a certain act, they will make their way down the stairs towards the performers. The first to reach the fourth and last step will be locked in to perform the act and will get to choose the I CANdidate who he or she believes will help him or her give a winning performance.

Given only one week to practice, the I CANdidates should be able to perform their assigned act and entertain the audience.

The weekly winner will be determined based on the combined scores culled from the scores given individually by the iCANdidates and the extra points granted to the winner of the audience vote.

With ‘I Can Do That’ bordering towards improvisation and danger, expect lots of pain and exhaustion from the I CANdidates and the professional performers. This show is definitely not for the weak at heart.

Still, despite the death-defying acts, expect no shortage of entertainment and laughter among the eight I CANdidates. After all, ‘I Can Do That’ is about captivating the audience with every move they make.

‘I Can Do That’ airs Saturdays after ‘MMK’ and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN.

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Till I Met You Underachieves As It Enters Finale

The tumultuous run of ‘Till I Met You’ is about to end.

The second teleserye to star James Reid (as Basti) and Nadine Lustre (as Iris), ‘Till I Met You’ marked a change of direction for the love team. While their previous series ‘On the Wings of Love’ was presented as more of a light-hearted drama, ‘Till I Met You’ incorporated more serious themes such as LGBT relationships, as evidenced by the addition of JC Santos (as Ali).

‘Till I Met You’ first premiered on August 29, 2016. At first, it was placed in the second slot of Primetime Bida, as ABS-CBN hoped that the series can maintain the standard of excellence that KathNiel (‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’) and LizQuen (‘Dolce Amore’) instilled earlier that year.

Unfortunately for JaDine, it was not to be. ‘Till I Met You’ only mustered around 26% average ratings in its first two weeks (in contrast, ‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’ and ‘Dolce Amore’ scored around 30% or more in each episode), forcing ABS-CBN to demote the drama to the third slot in favor of ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’.

Despite JaDine’s familiarity with the third slot, ‘Till I Met You’ found it hard to win back viewers, at least locally. Unlike ‘On the Wings of Love’ which scored better than 25% during its run, ‘Till I Met You’ only managed 13% on average.

To make matters worse, ‘Till I Met You’ failed to dominate its timeslot, and even lost in the ratings battle at times to rival GMA series ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘Meant to Be’. The series’ seemingly familiar plot (remember ‘My Husband’s Lover’?) may have turned off some more knowledgeable viewers.

Overall, even with the total count of 105 episodes by Friday’s finale, ‘Till I Met You’ is considered a ‘bust’ by JaDine’s standards. There may have been some moments worth talking about (e.g. Basti and Iris’ car scene), but other than that, ‘Till I Met You’ essentially underachieved under the bright lights of primetime.

Whether or not JaDine can bounce back with their next TV project remains to be seen. But for the viewers who have enjoyed watching ‘Till I Met You’ despite its underachieving status, the last week of the series should be worth the price of admission.

JaDine Returns with Till I Met You

JaDine is back on the small screen.

Seven months after the conclusion of the love team’s breakout TV hit ‘On the Wings of Love’, James Reid and Nadine Lustre return for a greater dose of ‘kilig’, but at the same time tackle more serious storylines. Their newest project, ‘Till I Met You’, will showcase a more mature JaDine, while it introduces a new star.

‘Till I Met You’ will focus on the lives of three people, each with a story to tell. Iris (Nadine) and Basti (James) are a couple and are set to marry, but things soon turn when Iris’ best friend Ali, played by JC Santos, is revealed to have a secret relationship with Basti.

Like more recent ABS-CBN dramas featuring their love teams, ‘Till I Met You’ will also highlight a particular tourist attraction. The early portion of the series was shot in Greece, a country that features a mild Mediterranean climate and a vast tradition of civilization and commerce.

Joining JaDine and JC on ‘Till I Met You’ are Carmina Villaroel, Zoren Legaspi, Pokwang, Angel Aquino, Kim Molina, Noel Trinidad and Robert Seña, with Richard Yap and Jay Manalo playing special roles. The series will be directed by Antonette Jadaone and Andoy Ranay, both of whom have been the directors of JaDine’s projects in the past.

The hype for ‘Till I Met You’ has been tremendous leading up to its premiere. News regarding the upcoming series became a constant trending topic on social media, and as such, fans of JaDine cannot stop talking about ‘Till I Met You”s hit potential.

This should cause a concern for GMA, whose continuous failures to concoct their own popular love teams have been well documented. The expected popularity of ‘Till I Met You’ could keep GMA out of it, especially now that they are airing a Koreanovela (in this case ‘Descendants of the Sun’) as a last resort.

It will be interesting to see how the new and improved JaDine will fare the second time around. But as far as viewers are concerned, there will be no surprises, as they are poised to once again generate high ratings for ABS-CBN based on past reputation.

‘Till I Met You’ premieres this Monday, and airs weeknights after ‘Ang Probinsyano’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.