GMA’s Maynila Turns 20

One of GMA’s longest-running programs is celebrating a milestone.

‘Maynila’, a drama anthology hosted by former Manila mayor and now congressman Lito Atienza, will enter its 20th year on television this month. The show recently premiered a three-part series last Saturday with Ken Chan and Ruru Madrid in a starring role.

‘Maynila’ first aired on November 23, 1998. At the time, the show served as a vehicle for then-mayor Atienza to promote the city he headed back then, while providing inspirational and value-laden stories that young individuals can understand.

Initially aired on weekday afternoons, ‘Maynila’ moved to Saturday mornings in 2002 where they remain to this day. Over its 20-year history, ‘Maynila’ received numerous accolades including an Anak TV Seal award in 2006 and a special award in the 2017 PMPC Star Awards for being one of the longest-running drama anthologies.

In contrast to more serious drama anthologies like ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and ‘Magpakailanman’, ‘Maynila’ is generally considered as more light-hearted in tone. But in some instances such as the three-part series with Ken Chan and Ruru Madrid, ‘Maynila’ may dwell into a darker route if necessary.

Still, it does not prevent the show from presenting stories that are deemed helpful and motivational to the youth. Which is exactly what Lito Atienza wanted on ‘Maynila’: a show that can help young ones, not only in Manila but in other cities as well, to be positive role models.

Twenty years after it first aired, ‘Maynila’ is still going strong. That said, viewers can only hope that the show will continue to provide stories that are worth learning for.

‘Maynila’ airs every Saturday at 9:45 a.m. on GMA.

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Thoughts on Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show

A filler show to end all filler shows.

With the 2018 remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ set to air right before ‘TV Patrol’ starting this Monday (more on that later this week), ABS-CBN decided to fill the void with a transitional show on the timeslot normally occupied by its Asianovelas. And this is no ordinary show.

Back in April, ABS-CBN announced a worldwide audition tour called ‘Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Auditions’. The tour began in Manila on the weekend of April 20, after which the network hosted further auditions in both the Philippines and abroad.

Their purpose is to find aspirants that will become part of various ABS-CBN talent and reality shows. Examples include ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘I Can See Your Voice’, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, ‘Dance Kids’, ‘Little Big Shots’, ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and the soon-to-be-launched ‘World of Dance Philippines’.

Beginning Monday, ABS-CBN will air highlights from these auditions as part of ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’. Hosted by former ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ alums Kim Chiu, Robi Domingo, Alex Gonzaga and Melai Cantiveros, the program will take a look at some of the aspirants and their backstories.

This is perhaps a mere short-term solution for ABS-CBN. After all, there are high hopes surrounding the remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ that airing the Asianovela on its normal afternoon timeslot may hinder its viewership due to the ‘TV Patrol’ regional newscasts in the provinces.

Not wanting to risk a loss of viewers, ABS-CBN decided to place ‘Meteor Garden’ on the leadoff slot of Primetime Bida. This leads to ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’ taking over the regular Asianovela timeslot of Kapamilya Gold.

Honestly, it makes perfect sense for ABS-CBN to produce a filler show on a timeslot where not all areas will receive it. With regional versions of ‘TV Patrol’ being plugged into this timeslot, ABS-CBN realized that a filler show like ‘Star Hunt’ will be much better than, let’s say a teleserye, because ratings are of no concern to the program and it only serves as a stopgap.

With that, good luck to ABS-CBN for this temporary endeavor. Regardless of how it performed, the most important part is that it served its purpose.

In 100 Words: Gawad Tanglaw 2018

Guess which stations are tied for Best TV Station at the 16th Gawad Tanglaw Awards.

There were obviously no surprises here as long-time rivals ABS-CBN and GMA shared the honor of being the top television station in the country at this year’s Gawad Tanglaw Awards. But despite the tie, it was ABS-CBN which wound up with more individual awards, bagging 30 to GMA’s 13.

ABS-CBN’s total haul was highlighted by the four awards given to the cast of ‘Wildflower’, three to ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and nine to the ABS-CBN News Channel. Meanwhile, GMA’s haul was dominated by its news division, with 12 of the 13 awards given to its news programs and personalities.

Aside from television, the Gawad Tanglaw Awards also honors the best in film. Click the highlighted links for the list of winners.

ABS-CBN Shakes Up Weekend Lineup with Entry of I Can See Your Voice

Changes are indeed aplenty on ABS-CBN this weekend.

Last weekend marked the season 3 finale of ‘Bet on Your Baby’. The 36th and final episode was aired last Sunday and it featured a reunion of original ‘Mara Clara’ stars Judy Ann Santos and Gladys Reyes.

Although ‘Bet on Your Baby’ enjoyed impressive ratings throughout its run, the game show faltered in its final few episodes, prompting ABS-CBN to shelve it for the time being. Initially, ‘Bet on Your Baby’ was to be replaced by ‘I Can See Your Voice’, but ABS-CBN made a drastic move and placed the program on primetime starting this weekend.

Hosted by Luis Manzano alongside judges Angeline Quinto, Alex Gonzaga, Kean Cipriano, Wacky Kiray and Andrew E, ‘I Can See Your Voice’ is the first Kapamilya franchised program to originate from Korea. For more information on its game play, click this link.

‘I Can See Your Voice’ will air every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sunday after ‘Rated K’. All told, ABS-CBN will bring back the game/talent/reality show format at the 9:30 p.m. slot, something that was not seen since ‘I Can Do That’ ended.

The premiere of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ casts some doubt on the fate of ‘Lethal Weapon’. The Tagalized American action series aired its 14th episode last Saturday, and according to some knowledgeable sources, the first season of ‘Lethal Weapon’ still had four more episodes to go.

However, no teaser for the next episode was aired, and for some unexplained reason, ABS-CBN effectively canceled ‘Lethal Weapon’ before its season really ended. This despite the fact that the program enjoyed good ratings during its short run.

As for the vacated slot of ‘Bet on Your Baby’, ABS-CBN decided to fill the Saturday slot with a rerun of the ‘Shake Rattle & Roll’ anthology series. Then on Sundays, ABS-CBN opted to extend ‘Kapamilya Weekend Blockbusters’ instead of adding another program to its slate.

It will be interesting to see how these changes will affect ABS-CBN’s weekend lineup. But for those who await to see ‘I Can See Your Voice’ on the small screen, good luck and have fun.

Lethal Weapon: ABS-CBN’s Latest Tagalized American Series

ABS-CBN has once again imported an American series and dubbed it in Filipino.

Unfortunately, viewers will not get to see a third season of ‘Jane the Virgin’, whose first two seasons were aired by the network last year with lukewarm results. Instead, ABS-CBN will premiere another American TV series which, based on the title, should be familiar to moviegoers worldwide.

Remember the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series of films? Between 1987 and 1998, the franchise released four films starring Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh, each of which were commercially successful.

Fast forward to 2016, and the ‘Lethal Weapon’ franchise now has its own TV series. This time, the roles of Martin and Roger were given to Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans respectively.

The ‘Lethal Weapon’ series also stars Jordana Brewster, Keesha Sharp, Kevin Rahm, Johnathan Fernandez, Michelle Mitchenor, Chandler Kinney and Dante Brown. Recurring cast members include Floriana Lima, Richard Cabral, Tony Plana, Hilarie Burton and Thomas Lennon.

In the United States, ‘Lethal Weapon’ premiered on September 21, 2016, and was aired on FOX. The series was renewed for a second season following a strong performance in the ratings.

But as ‘Lethal Weapon’ makes its way to Philippine free TV, there are some doubts as to whether or not this series will fare well with most Filipino viewers. For starters, the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series is currently aired on Warner TV Philippines, which means some are already familiar with the story.

And considering their unenthusiastic response to ‘Jane the Virgin’, ABS-CBN may have taken a huge risk with this move. While ‘Lethal Weapon’ is only a mere filler for the network in anticipation for yet another franchised reality show (the first season has 18 episodes in total), it only defies the fact that ABS-CBN wanted nothing more than to dominate every chance they get.

That said, the next several Saturdays could see ABS-CBN slip up a bit after a long reign atop the ratings game. ‘Lethal Weapon’ may only be a temporary fix, but a period of losing could be in the offing.

‘Lethal Weapon’ airs every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ on ABS-CBN.

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.