Another Revamp for ABS-CBN’s NCA Programs

If there is one department that ABS-CBN needs to improve, it’s the News and Current Affairs department.

Starting this week, the NCA afternoon block, formerly known as ‘Pinoy True Stories’, will have a new look. Four new programs will make their debut on the newly-revamped block, with only ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ retained from the previous group.

The new programs are:

Mission Possible

Hosted by Julius Babao, ‘Mission Possible’ will showcase inspiring stories from struggling individuals, no matter the circumstances. At the end of the program, a surprise gift will await the featured person.

‘Mission Possible’ airs every Monday.

3 in 1

Hosted by Karen Davila, K Brosas and Atty. Claire Castro, ‘3 in 1’ will discuss a wide variety of topics, from news to general interest stories. The talk show will be seen live every week.

‘3 in 1’ airs every Tuesday.

RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib

Hosted by Atom Araullo, ‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ will feature death-defying home videos from various parts of the world. Warning: this program is not for the faint of heart.

‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ airs every Wednesday.

Sports U

Hosted by Dyan Castillejo, ‘Sports U’ will profile the lives of Filipino athletes from various sports. The program will be a spinoff to the long-running ‘Sports Unlimited’.

‘Sports U’ airs every Thursday.

The four programs will replace ‘Bistado’, ‘My Puhunan’, ‘Mutya ng Masa’ and ‘Red Alert’. It is the third such revamp on the NCA block since it moved to the afternoon slot nearly three years earlier.

This latest turnover clearly shows the lack of consistency within ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs department. While news programs such as ‘TV Patrol’ made the said department one of the most credible, it is their public affairs programs that still need some work, both in terms of storytelling and longevity.

For the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, establishing these attributes begin with these four new programs and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’. If GMA proved that with their award-winning public affairs programs, so can ABS-CBN, and it all starts now.

The ABS-CBN NCA block airs weekdays after ‘Fated to Love You’ on Kapamilya Gold, available only on select areas nationwide.

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Trenderas Pilot Special Tomorrow

Starring (from L-R) Katrina Velarde, Lara Maigue and Isabelle de Leon, ‘Trenderas’ will make its debut on TV5 tomorrow night. (Photo credit: Trenderas Official Facebook Page)

It’s a thumbs-up for TV5’s ‘Trenderas’.

A story about three trinket vendors aspiring to become singing superstars, ‘Trenderas’ will have its pilot episode aired tomorrow night. The one-hour special will focus on the three vendors’ humble beginnings as they embark on a quest towards fame and stardom.

It can be recalled that teasers for ‘Trenderas’ began to air as early as July. But for some unexplained reason, TV5 pulled out the teasers due to the lack of any programming space at the time, thus shelving the project for the time being.

Then ‘It Takes Gutz to Be a Gutierrez’ ended its first season in August, and new teasers for ‘Trenderas’ began to air on the Kapatid network. This time, TV5 made sure that ‘Trenderas’ will finally have the go-signal it deserves.

The upcoming musical comedy drama series will star Isabelle de Leon (as Isabelle), Katrina Velarde (as Diva), and Lara Maigue (as Lara). Joining the trio in their rags-to-riches journey are Dingdong Avanzado (as Julio), Ara Mina (as Diane), Tina Paner (as Veronica), Carl Guevarra (as EJ), and Edward Mendez (as Benjo).

‘Trenderas’ will not be complete without the three villains who will try to thwart the dreams of Isabelle, Diva and Lara. The ‘Tres Malditas’, as they are called, will star K Brosas (as Katy), Cacai Bautista (as Miley), and Kitkat (as Lady). Completing the cast are veteran talents Francine Prieto (as Viveka) and Rez Cortez (as Mother Pearl).

Also joining the series is a special guest star that needs no introduction. The one and only ‘Superstar’ Nora Aunor (as Celestina Cruz) will play the role of a famous singer-turned-mentor and guiding light to Isabelle, Diva and Lara.

Overall, ‘Trenderas’ is a series that is worth watching. With a mix of song and dance numbers, confrontations between the ‘Tres Malditas’ and the ‘Trenderas’ girls, and some comedic, romantic and dramatic scenes in between, ‘Trenderas’ will definitely capture the sensibilities of both music lovers and viewers alike.

‘Trenderas’ premieres tomorrow night after ‘Tropa Mo Ko Nice Di Ba’ on TV5.

On TV5, Quiet is the Name of the Game

Host Richard Gomez and Freemantle Media senior executive producer Howard Huntridge take command on TV5’s newest game show ‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’. (Photo credit: Interaksyon.com)

A new game show is on its way to TV5. But this is not any ordinary game show.

Enter ‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’, TV5’s latest venture into the game show genre. Hosted by Richard Gomez, the upcoming program is set to premiere this Sunday.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ is part of TV5’s ‘Signal No. 5: Umuulan ng Saya’ campaign that started in July. The new program will replace the recently concluded ‘JasMine’ that starred Jasmine Curtis-Smith.

The concept of the game show is simple. Contestants must accomplish a series of tasks in a short amount of time without setting off the giant noise meter, which rings an alarm if it reaches a certain noise level. Eventually, the goal of the program is to perform each task without any noise in order to win the jackpot prize.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ is produced by Freemantle Media, the same group that brought the Philippine franchise of ‘Killer Karaoke’ to TV5. It will also be the first program in the ‘Quiet Please!’ franchise.

Joining Richard Gomez will be K Brosas, who will provide a lively and humorous take on the game show.

Sunday’s first episode will feature a celebrity cast of contestants. Joining Goma and K on the maiden episode are Derek Ramsey, Alice Dixson and Wendell Ramos of ‘Team Sexy’, and Anjo Yllana, Joey Marquez and Snooky Serna as ‘Team BFF’.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ airs every Sunday on TV5, right after ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and before ‘Wow Mali Lakas ng Tama’.