FTT Wonders: Who Really Aired the First Asianovela in the Philippines?

Taiwanese drama ‘Amazing Twins’ was considered by some viewers to be the first Asianovela to air in the Philippines when it was broadcast on IBC-13 in early 2003. (Photo credit: CTS)

Tagalized Asian dramas are a thing these days.

Also popularly known as ‘Asianovelas’, these programs are imported from neighboring Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Although the initial wave of Asianovelas were of Taiwanese origin, Korean dramas (colloqiually known as Koreanovelas) became a more common sight on Philippine television as the years pass.

But in order to understand the origin of the Asianovela, one must go back to 2003, the year these Tagalized Asian dramas first arrived. For many years, ABS-CBN claimed that they were the ‘First and True Home of Asianovelas’, given that they were responsible for bringing ‘Meteor Garden’ to the small screen around 15 years ago.

However, there is also an argument that IBC-13, with help from Viva Entertainment, was actually the first station to air an Asianovela. Just months before ‘Meteor Garden’ arrived, IBC-13 aired a Taiwanese action series called ‘Amazing Twins’ (locally known as ‘The Legendary Siblings 2’).

Unfortunately for IBC-13, ‘Amazing Twins’ tanked in the ratings, mainly due to the network’s poor reception and reach that persists to this day. It also did not help that the series aired once a week, which makes some viewers impatient given the daily nature of Filipino dramas.

Meanwhile, ‘Meteor Garden’ became a smash hit, turning F4 and Barbie Hsu into household names. The series also benefited from its near-daily airings on ABS-CBN, thus making viewers wait less for the next episode.

Following the success of ‘Meteor Garden’, ABS-CBN, GMA and occasionally ABC/TV5 began to air more Asianovelas. But as time passed, Korean dramas became the most preferred choice thanks to series such as ‘Jewel in the Palace’, ‘Endless Love’ and ‘Lovers in Paris’.

GMA also made history in 2005 by airing ‘Gokusen’, the first Asianovela hailing from Japan. Then earlier this month, the network premiered the Thai drama ‘You’re My Destiny’.

Given that ‘Meteor Garden’ became popular to begin with, it is safe to assume that this series gave birth to the modern-day Asianovela. As much as people would argue about ‘Amazing Twins’ being the first Asian drama to air in the country, it did not quite fit the mold of today’s Asianovela since it failed to become a hit and was only seen once a week.

Still, the jury is on the viewers to decide. Who really is the first Asianovela to air in the country?

Advertisement

Asianovelas on ABS-CBN To Be Affected Again By PBB

The entry of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ should cause some concern to Kapamilya Asianovela fans.

Starting next Monday, weekday editions of PBB: 737 will air twice a day, similar to prior seasons. The afternoon edition will air after ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’, and the primetime edition will air after ‘Aquino & Abunda Tonight’.

The two editions of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ will replace a pair of Asianovelas that are on their final week: Kapamilya Gold’s ‘Let’s Get Married’, and Primetime Bida’s ‘My Lovely Girl’.

With the Asianovelas about to be shut out in the afternoon and primetime slots, ABS-CBN will now have to find a way to maintain interest to these programs in a different timeslot. After all, they don’t want to rob Asianovela fans of their enjoyment and pleasure in watching such series.

One particular option may be the Umaganda block, where the network’s Asianovelas have enjoyed ratings success in recent years. However, the network has not broadcast an Asianovela in the morning since ‘Lovers in Paris’ re-aired from June to August of last year.

Currently the only open slot on Umaganda is ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’, which is merely a filler program. The movie block is up against GMA Asianovelas ‘Secret Garden’ and ‘Two Mothers’, and Latinovela ‘Corazon Indomable’, all of which were decent performers for the Kapuso network.

Replacing ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ with either one or two Asianovelas may help ABS-CBN regain some sense of respectability in the morning block. It should also make up for the presence of PBB in their timeslots, in order to satisfy the cravings of Kapamilya Asianovela fans.

If ABS-CBN decides not to air an Asianovela at all, it will definitely hurt the network’s morale. After all, they are regarded as the ‘First and True Home of Asianovelas’, having first brought one in 2003 with ‘Meteor Garden’.

That said, keeping up with GMA’s ‘Heart of Asia’ should help ABS-CBN continue its tradition of bringing quality Asianovelas to the small screen. The Asianovela-loving fanbase is growing, so ABS-CBN has to heed to their demands.

So Long, Throwback Asianovelas (For Now)

Throwback Asianovelas are taking a bow, at least for now.

ABS-CBN’s ‘Lovers in Paris’ and GMA’s ‘Jewel in the Palace’ will air their final episodes later today. The two Asianovelas were re-aired as part of the 10th anniversary of the genre’s Philippine television debut.

‘Lovers in Paris’ was the second Asianovela to re-air on the Kapamilya network this year, after ‘Meteor Garden’. The love story between Carlo (Park Shin-Yang) and Vivian (Kim Jung-Eun) became a huge hit when it first aired, and it even received an equally successful local adaptation starring Piolo Pascual and KC Concepcion.

The re-run of the original ‘Lovers in Paris’ became a decent hit on ABS-CBN’s ‘Umaganda’ slot, despite the fact that the early morning block receives fewer viewers than ABS-CBN’s other programming blocks.

Meanwhile, ‘Jewel in the Palace’ re-aired on GMA in order to respond to the successful re-run of ‘Meteor Garden’. The tale of a medieval Korean physician named Jang Geum (Lee Young-Ae) became GMA’s first true hit Asianovela, and it helped viewers forget about the commercial failure of ‘My MVP Valentine’.

‘Jewel in the Palace’ also fared decently well on GMA’s ‘Afternoon Prime’ slot, even though it was matched up against ABS-CBN’s own hit Koreanovelas ‘The Heirs’ and ‘My Girl’.

Nevertheless, it became clear to both networks that neither ‘Lovers in Paris’ nor ‘Jewel in the Palace’ will equal, if not surpass, the impact that ‘Meteor Garden’ has had to the Asianovela craze. The F4-starred Asianovela remains a benchmark for other Asianovelas to come, and if there is one thing that both networks learned, it is that no one will ever top ‘Meteor Garden’ as the greatest Asianovela ever aired on Philippine television.

Right now, both networks will focus on their newest Asianovelas. But for the fans of these classic Asianovelas, it was fun while it lasted.

I Do and Other Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Following the conclusion of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’, a few changes were made on ABS-CBN’s programming.

The most significant of these changes will come this weekend, as ‘I Do’, dubbed the first ‘realiserye’ on the Kapamilya network, premieres this Saturday. Hosted by Judy Ann Santos, the upcoming reality program will feature nine couples with an existing relationship, all of which will vie for a P1 million cash prize, a house and lot, and a grand wedding.

Joining Juday in the upcoming series will be co-host Jason Gainza, along with life coach Pia Acevedo and marriage counselor Dr. Julian Montano.

The nine couples will reside in the ‘I Do’ village in Cavite, where they will undergo a series of challenges that will test their ability to forge a strong relationship. The council, led by Acevedo and Dr. Montano, will evaluate and decide the fate of each couple at the end of each challenge, while fan votes will determine the winner of the aforementioned prizes at the end of the series.

‘I Do’ will air every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and every Sunday after ‘Rated K’.

Weekday Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Both ‘Kapamilya Gold’ and ‘Primetime Bida’ entered Monday with a different look after PBB ended.

On ‘Kapamilya Gold’, the lineup was reduced to only three programs, and as a result, the telenovela ‘Ana Manuela’ extended its running time to compensate for the departure of ‘PBB Uber’.

‘Ana Manuela’ will now air two episodes per day, and will be seen after ‘It’s Showtime’ and before the News and Current Affairs block.

Over at ‘Primetime Bida’, the Koreanovela ‘Miss Ripley’ took over the slot vacated by ‘PBB Primetime’. The entry of ‘Miss Ripley’ marked the return of the Koreanovela to ABS-CBN’s primetime lineup after over seven months of airing reality programs.

Starring Lee Da Hae (of ‘My Girl’ fame) as the seductive yet manipulative Emily, and Park Yoo Chun (of ‘Rooftop Prince’ fame) as the handsome and rich hotelier Marco, ‘Miss Ripley’ airs after ‘Aquino and Abunda Tonight’.

Speaking of Koreanovelas, the re-run of ‘Lovers in Paris’ is now on its final week. The second of a series of classic ABS-CBN Asianovelas to re-air on the network will end its run Friday morning.

Also concluding on Friday morning is the latest season of ‘The Singing Bee’. The highly-rated game show, hosted by Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez, will take a bow after a successful ten-month run.

Both programs’ timeslots will be taken over by the delayed telecast of the FIBA World Cup starting next week.

Asianovelas on ABS-CBN Go Full Retro Mode

The original ‘My Girl’ returns to ABS-CBN this Monday afternoon. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

Throwback Asianovelas are becoming the norm on ABS-CBN, at least for the time being.

After ‘Meteor Garden’ and ‘Lovers in Paris’, it is the turn of ‘My Girl’ to embrace the throwback theme. The re-run of the said Koreanovela premieres this Monday afternoon, replacing the recently concluded ‘The Heirs’.

‘My Girl’ will also air on Jeepney TV every Monday to Friday at 8:00 p.m., with replays in the morning.

The original ‘My Girl’ first aired in 2006, and tells the story of Jasmine (Lee Da-hae) and Julian (Lee Dong-wook) falling in love under strange circumstances. Jasmine had to support herself following the escape of her debt-ridden father, first by selling illegally picked oranges, and then working as a tour guide. She then crossed paths with Julian, who would later hire her in his hotel business.

The success of the original ‘My Girl’ led to a Filipino adaptation two years later, starring Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson. The re-imagined ‘My Girl’ was also successful in the ratings.

With ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ still occupying the slot typical reserved for an Asianovela, there are currently no plans for ABS-CBN to bring in new Asianovelas with the lack of available slots. For now, the network hopes that the re-run of ‘My Girl’ will be as successful as its original broadcast.

Final Week for Mirabella; Lovers in Paris Airs in the Morning

The final episode of ‘Mirabella’ will air this Friday, July 4.

ABS-CBN’s ‘Mirabella’ enters its final week.

Just as GMA is beginning to warm up with the debut of ‘My BFF’ later today, ABS-CBN has decided to pull the plug on Julia Barretto’s debut teleserye. The final episode of ‘Mirabella’ is scheduled this Friday, July 4.

‘Mirabella’, a series that featured Barretto in two contrasting roles, debuted on March 24. The daughter of Marjorie Barretto played Mira, a woman with a strange wood-like skin, and as the series progressed, she morphed into her beautiful alter ego in Bella.

Both characters would later attract the attention of Jeremy, played by Enrique Gil, who soon became the subject of her affection.

In its four months on air, ‘Mirabella’ was unable to maintain the high level of success attained by its predecessor ‘Annaliza’. Nevertheless, the series averaged better than 20% in the TNS Kantar ratings, which is not bad even though it is the lowest-rated teleserye on the ‘Primetime Bida’ block.

However, in the GMA-dominated AGB Nielsen ratings, ‘Mirabella’ only averaged less than 15%, while rival series ‘My Love from the Star’ was a hit, averaging over 20% per episode.

Even though ‘Mirabella’ was a decent hit by ABS-CBN standards, its uncharacteristically low 20% rating only justifies that the series will be a mere short-term fix. Still, it was a good debut for Julia Barretto, and it will only give her greater amounts of exposure.

‘Mirabella’ will be replaced by ‘Pure Love’ this July 7.

Lovers in Paris Rerun Today

Meanwhile, ‘Lovers in Paris’ will be placed in the mid-morning slot. The re-run of the successful Koreanovela replaces ‘Kapamilya Kiddie Blockbusters’ starting today on the ‘Umaganda’ block.

Because ‘The Heirs’ will continue to air this week, the rivalry between ‘Lovers in Paris’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’ will not happen anytime soon, if not altogether. Instead, ‘Lovers in Paris’ will be up against ‘Return of the Wife’, the third sequel to GMA’s highly successful ‘Temptation of Wife’, which has been airing since late May.

‘Lovers in Paris’ starred Park Shin-Yang and Kim Jung-Eun as Carlo and Vivian, respectively. The series was a hit when it first aired in 2005, and its success eventually led to an equally successful Filipino adaptation starring KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual in 2009.