The Last Stand of La Luna Sangre

The most physically demanding series in the careers of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla will come to an end this week.

After 185 episodes, ‘La Luna Sangre’ officially closes its curtain Friday night. The third series in the ‘Lobo’ trilogy, ‘La Luna Sangre’ saw Kathryn and Daniel (as Malia and Tristan respectively) grow up from being mere mortals to full-fledged vampires while enduring some of the toughest challenges that proved their worth.

But KathNiel was not the only main attraction. The series also marked a comeback of sorts for Richard Gutierrez, who as the villainous Sandrino, tried to convince Malia to join the dark side.

The original duo of ‘Imortal’ in Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz likewise made a cameo earlier on as Lia and Mateo respectively, though Angel returned midway through the series as Jacintha. The duo’s presence helped connect the story of ‘La Luna Sangre’ to its predecessor.

Throughout its lengthy run, ‘La Luna Sangre’ provided an avenue for new talent to shine. The series would mark the acting debut of another rising love team in MayWard (Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber), as well as former ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ participant Tony Labrusca.

Not to be outdone are industry veterans who were also part of ‘La Luna Sangre’, namely Randy Santiago, Gelli de Belen, Maricar Reyes and Albert Martinez. Overall, an estimate of over 50 actors, whether in a supporting or cameo role, were included in ‘La Luna Sangre’.

As far as its performance is concerned, ‘La Luna Sangre’ far and away made a huge impression. The series constantly earned ratings in the 30s while it dispatched its GMA rivals in ‘My Love from the Star’, ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’, ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ season 2 and ‘Kambal Karibal’.

That said, the high ratings and the long run of ‘La Luna Sangre’ are further proof of KathNiel’s wide commercial appeal. But more than just KathNiel’s brilliance is the fact that both Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez rekindled some huge memories of past GMA projects, albeit not as a love team of years past.

It will be an interesting final five episodes for this thrilling ABS-CBN primetime series. Best of luck to ‘La Luna Sangre’ on making its last stand.

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‘Mrs. Real’ Has a New Rival

‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ replaced the highly-rated series ‘The Legal Wife’ last Monday. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ is off to a poor start, but fortunately for them, their erstwhile rival ended its run the previous week. However, a new challenger awaits.

‘The Legal Wife’ finished its run last Friday to the tune of a 36.2% rating. That stat, according to Kantar, was more than quadruple than that of ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’, which finished a paltry 8.8%. In addition, topics related to the program were among the most trended on Twitter.

‘The Legal Wife’ also beat ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ in the AGB Nielsen ratings. The former drew a 32.3% while the latter managed a 12.8% nationally.

The finale saw Monica (Angel Locsin) and Adrian (Jericho Rosales) separate and enter a new chapter of their lives. Their separation came after several tumultuous years of marriage, which only intensified after Nicole (Maja Salvador), Monica’s friend, got into an affair with Adrian.

With ‘The Legal Wife’ now a thing of the past, ABS-CBN is now banking on its replacement to deliver similar, if not higher, numbers that the former achieved throughout its run. Enter ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’, which premiered on the vacated timeslot of ‘The Legal Wife’ last night.

The new series marked the return of Bea Alonzo into the primetime spotlight. In her first television series since ‘A Beautiful Affair’ over a year ago, Alonzo will be playing two different roles in the series. First, she is Rose, a woman who was accused for a crime she did not commit. Then as the series go on, she undergoes plastic surgery in order to assume the role of Emmanuelle, a feisty lawyer with a mission for revenge.

Joining Alonzo will be Paulo Avelino, Albert Martinez, Dina Bonnevie, Maricar Reyes, Tonton Gutierrez, Eddie Garcia, Anita Linda, and Susan Roces. Jerome Pobocan and Trina Dayrit will direct the series.

While it is still early to predict the amount of viewers that the program will receive, it is expected that the series will become a highly-rated one, although not as highly-rated as its predecessor ‘The Legal Wife’. And based on ABS-CBN’s recent track record of airing highly-rated series, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ is assured to be a ratings winner.

On the other hand, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ is facing an uphill battle. After an unimpressive 8.8% performance last Friday, the the directors of the series will now have to devise some strategies in hopes of not repeating this performance again. Otherwise, an easy victory for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ will await the former.

Honesto Debuts, The Gift Still Uncertain, NBA Season Begins

ABS-CBN will have a new teleserye debuting tonight. The drama series ‘Honesto’ focuses on a child named Honesto, whose recurring nasal allergies were a result of telling lies to others. The lead character’s willingness to remain honest and truthful amid the lies and conflicts surrounding his friends and family will be the main theme of the series, which airs tonight after ‘TV Patrol‘.

‘Honesto’ will be topbilled by young child actor Raikko Mateo, and playing supporting roles are Paulo Avelino, Maricar Reyes, Eddie Garcia, Janice de Belen, Melai Cantiveros, Jason Francisco, Angel Aquino, Nonie Buencamino, Joel Torre, Joseph Marco and Melissa Ricks. The series replaces the highly-rated Coco Martin starrer ‘Juan Dela Cruz’ which ended last Friday.

Meanwhile, the airing date of TV5’s ‘The Gift’ is still being determined. The series was supposed to start last October 14, but due to the then-ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, it was rescheduled for a future air date. The shelving of ‘The Gift’ forced the reshuffling of the network’s ‘Everyday All the Way’ primetime lineup, with ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ airing at 7:00 p.m. followed by ‘Madam Chairman’ at 7:30 p.m. As of today TV5 management have yet to make an announcement regarding ‘The Gift’.

And for basketball fans in the Philippines, the 2013-14 NBA season gets underway this Wednesday morning. The Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers square off to begin the NBA season at 7:00 a.m. on Basketball TV. Over at Studio 23, the defending champion Miami Heat will raise their banner and begin their quest for a third straight title against the returning Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 a.m. And at BTV, the Hallway Series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers concludes opening night at 10:40 a.m. Both the Heat-Bulls and Clippers-Lakers matchups will also be aired live on NBA Premium TV.