ABS-CBN Raises the ‘Daring’ Stakes, Plus GMA’s Inability to Respond

The trend towards mature and dark subject matter on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida continues with ‘Bridges of Love’. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

Tonight’s premiere of ‘Bridges of Love’ on ABS-CBN has From the Tube wondering: Why is GMA not responding to the increasingly ‘daring’ route of Primetime Bida?

Mature and dark relationship-oriented themes have virtually become a norm on Primetime Bida’s 9:15 p.m. slot. Last year, ‘The Legal Wife’ became a rousing success due to the seemingly shocking portrayal of jealousy and infidelity involving the love triangle of characters portrayed by Jericho Rosales, Maja Salvador and Angel Locsin.

And just recently, viewers were treated to a similar display of deception and envy in the adaptation of the Koreanovela ‘Two Wives’. Like ‘The Legal Wife’, the series involved a love triangle, this time between the characters portrayed by Jason Abalos, Kaye Abad and Erich Gonzales.

Although ABS-CBN has trended in the right direction with the more mature-oriented teleseryes, it all began, however, with one bold move from its rival in Timog: ‘My Husband’s Lover’.

The 2013 GMA drama starring Carla Abellana, Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo made the same-sex relationship a must-see during its run. Running from June to October 2013, ‘My Husband’s Lover’ briefly provided a boost to the sagging ratings of Telebabad.

Unfortunately, the Kapuso network failed to create a successful follow-up to ‘My Husband’s Lover’. The teleseryes that followed MHL (‘Akin Pa Rin ang Bukas’, ‘Rhodora X’, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’, ‘Hiram na Alaala’, ‘Second Chances’) didn’t feel up to the task of elevating the dark and moody themes to a new level.

As a result, the 9:15 slot of Telebabad returned to its old sinking ways, while Primetime Bida continued to increase its gap. Worse for the Kapuso network, ‘The Legal Wife’ and later ‘daring’ Kapamilya dramas became a local and international social media sensation.

That said, GMA’s regression back to more wholesome and ‘tweener’ stories in the latter part of Telebabad became its undoing. And it only gets worse.

Next on ABS-CBN’s ‘daring’ list is ‘Bridges of Love’. Like ‘The Legal Wife’ and ‘Two Wives’, a love triangle will be involved in the series, only this time, it’s between two men fighting for the love of one woman.

‘Bridges of Love’ will be led by Maja Salvador, Jericho Rosales and Paulo Avelino. The story will feature two brothers (Echo and Paulo) who were separated by guilt and hatred, but were bridged together by love through one woman (portrayed by Maja).

The upcoming Kapamilya series should pose a big threat to its Kapuso counterpart ‘Second Chances’. The latter series failed to keep up with the success of ‘Two Wives’ during its first two months, and it won’t be a surprise if its new opponent makes a similar impact.

Now GMA should start revisiting the very theme that made ‘My Husband’s Lover’ a success. A new strategy should be in store for Telebabad if they still want to keep in step with Primetime Bida, otherwise there will be more trouble for the embattled block.

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A Sad Ending to Ilustrado, Plus Second Chances Moved to Early 2015

The highly-budgeted but low-rated GMA bayaniserye ‘Ilustrado’ will end this Friday . (Photo credit: GMA Network)

‘Ilustrado’ ends this Friday with little to show for.

GMA’s so-called ‘bayaniserye’, which was produced by the News and Public Affairs department, failed to impress in the ratings throughout its run. This despite the fact that it boasted a more hi-tech production and added a more educational approach to the story.

Figures from both Kantar and AGB Nielsen showed that ‘Ilustrado’ was way behind ABS-CBN’s ‘Two Wives’ in the ratings for much of its run. ‘Ilustrado’ also failed to make an impact on social media, as netizens focused more on the intimate and hostile scenes between the characters of Jason Abalos, Erich Gonzales and Kaye Abad rather than Alden Richards’ portrayal of Jose Rizal as a student in Europe.

‘Ilustrado’ premiered on October 20 amid high expectations. GMA gave the show’s producers a big budget, investing on the latest computer technologies to digitally recreate the look of late 19th century Europe.

But the big investment did not translate into ratings success, even though more advertisers pitched in to help recover the losses. That said, expect GMA to lose more money after the disastrous returns of ‘Ilustrado’.

With ‘Ilustrado’ about to leave the airwaves this Friday, a new series will come to the Kapuso network starting November 17.

Contrary to earlier reports, ‘Second Chances’ will not be the replacement for ‘Ilustrado’. The teleserye, starring Jennylyn Mercado, Rafael Rosell, Raymart Santiago and Camille Prats, will now air beginning the first quarter of 2015.

Instead, ‘More Than Words’, starring Elmo Magalona and Janine Gutierrez, will replace ‘Ilustrado’, but not at the latter’s old timeslot. The series is expected to move at an earlier time.

Like ‘Ilustrado’, ‘Second Chances’ is expected to be a big-budgeted series. For the second consecutive year, a series starring Jennylyn Mercado will lead a list of GMA’s first quarter offerings, with the first being ‘Rhodora X’.

The move of ‘Second Chances” to an early 2015 premiere should boost its chances somewhat, as the series’ producers will now use the time to improve the story, production and character development.

This does not mean, however, that ‘Second Chances’ will be a potential hit. As it has been proven time and time again, GMA’s overreliance on its veterans have cost them both ratings, young talent and ad loads, and this latest venture shows how poor GMA is at managing and developing talent.

As 2014 winds down, expect yet another down year for the Kapuso network, both in financial health and in viewership. And it only gets worse.

Disappointing Run for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’

‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ is ending with a whimper.

The drama series starring Bea Alonzo and Paulo Avelino will officially conclude their run later tonight. ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ will be replaced by the Filipino adaptation of the Korean series ‘Two Wives’.

Premiering on June 16 amid high expectations, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ failed to replicate or even surpass the success of its predecessor ‘The Legal Wife’. This despite the fact that the show is a constant trending topic on Twitter, and a ratings winner according to Kantar.

The high point of the series came on the September 19 episode. The kissing scene between Emmanuelle (Alonzo) and Patrick (Avelino) not only became a top trending topic on Twitter nationally, but also globally.

The momentum continued on the September 24 episode, where Emmanuelle finally confessed to Patrick that she is indeed his ‘dead’ wife Rose. Like the September 19 episode, it trended both nationally and globally on Twitter.

Still, despite its social media success, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ only managed to score a 15-20% rating in every episode, a far cry from the 25-30% that ‘The Legal Wife’ managed during its run.

Making matters worse, rival ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ began to turn things around. The recently concluded GMA series gave ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ a scare, both on Kantar and AGB Nielsen.

Even though they recaptured the momentum with the entry of ‘Hiram na Alaala’, the damage has been done. ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ proved to be a letdown from the success of ‘The Legal Wife’.

Now ABS-CBN hopes that ‘Two Wives’, starring Erich Gonzales, Jason Abalos and Kaye Abad, will be a huge improvement over ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’. The upcoming teleserye, as mentioned earlier, is an adaptation of a Korean series that aired in 2012.

As for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’, it was a good series, but not a great one that would rank among the Kapamilya network’s greatest teleseryes. Indeed, they are a disappointment.

The Impact of Annaliza on GMA’s Programs

Annaliza’s 10-month run included a near-30% ratings average, and a total of 215 episodes which doubled that of the four different rivals in its timeslot.

For 10 months, the ABS-CBN drama series ‘Annaliza’ was the ratings leader in its timeslot, outplaying its GMA counterparts by a wide margin. As the series concludes this week, let’s look back at how ‘Annaliza’ was able to force GMA to regroup.

Annaliza vs. Home Sweet Home

‘Home Sweet Home’ debuted on GMA’s Telebabad block on April 22, 2013. Meanwhile, ‘Annaliza’ debuted over a month later, on May 27. In its pilot episode, ‘Annaliza’ managed a promising 16.7 % over ‘Home Sweet Home”s 8.8%, setting the stage for its lengthy 10-month run.

While ‘Home Sweet Home’ had a decently good story and a cast led by Raymart Santiago, Bea Binene and Jake Vargas, they were unable to overcome the surprisingly strong acting chemistry between young actress Andrea Brilliantes and co-stars Patrick Garcia, Kaye Abad and Denise Laurel. ‘Home Sweet Home’s final episode on July 19 managed only an 11.4% rating, while ‘Annaliza’ earned 20.4%. ‘Home Sweet Home’ had a total of 64 episodes during its run.

Annaliza vs. Binoy Henyo

‘Annaliza”s next opponent was ‘Binoy Henyo’, featuring another young Kapuso talent in David Remo. ‘Binoy Henyo’ debuted on July 22, but only managed a 12.8% against ‘Annaliza”s 22.1%. Unlike ‘Home Sweet Home’, ‘Binoy Henyo’ enjoyed a rather brief run, lasting for only two months and 45 episodes, with its finale on September 20 managing a paltry 14.4% against ‘Annaliza”s 27%.

Unfortunately for Remo, he was never seen again after ‘Binoy Henyo’, while the showbiz career of Andrea Brilliantes continues to soar with each episode. As a result, GMA decided to create a new series, this time casting a popular love team in hopes of changing their fortunes.

Annaliza vs. Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko

Up next for ‘Annaliza’ was ‘Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko’, starring the tandem of Kris Bernal and Aljur Abrenica. But despite the obvious age and experience gap between Andrea Brilliantes and the so-called ‘Alkris’ love team, ‘Annaliza’ still topped ‘Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko’ on its September 23 pilot, registering a 27.3% over the latter’s 15.1%.

Nevertheless, ‘Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko’ proved to be a more formidable opponent in its five-month run. But formidable was not enough, and it showed by its performance in the ratings. ‘Prinsesa”s final episode on January 24 managed only a 10.5% rating to ‘Annaliza”s 20.6%. After the series, Aljur Abrenica was paired with Louise delos Reyes in ‘Kambal Sirena’, temporarily putting ‘Alkris’ on the shelf.

Annaliza vs. Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw

‘Annaliza”s 10-month run would conclude against ‘Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw’. The series, starring Kim Rodriguez and Kristoffer Martin, debuted on January 27, but only mustered an unimpressive 9.6% against ‘Annaliza”s 23.7%. Like ‘Binoy Henyo’, ‘Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw’ failed because of poor marketing and storytelling, and as a result, it only lasted 45 episodes, with its finale scheduled to air on March 28, which at this point the Julia Barretto-starred ‘Mirabella’ was on its first week.

When it’s all said and done, ‘Annaliza’ had topped them all. In its 10 months on the air, ‘Annaliza’ proved to be a more dramatic, more passionate, and more well-written series than anyone had ever imagined. And its successful run should give Andrea Brilliantes something to look forward to as she moves on to bigger and better things.

As for GMA, it was a harsh lesson to learn. Fortunately for them, ‘Annaliza’ will no longer be the least of their problems come next week. However, the impact that ‘Annaliza”s had on GMA’s programs will continue to reverberate on the Kapuso network in the months to come.