Tag Archives: McCoy De Leon

drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

The Good Son: One Last Time

‘Who killed Victor?’

For several months, ‘The Good Son’ has been trying to solve the mystery behind the gruesome murder of Victor, played by Albert Martinez. Now it has come down to which one of Victor’s four sons and their immediate family will be proven innocent of the crime.

Since its premiere on September 25, 2017, ABS-CBN’s ‘The Good Son’ became one of the network’s top-rated programs. During its run, the series averaged around 20% in the ratings, besting more light-hearted competition in GMA’s ‘My Korean Jagiya’ and ‘The One That Got Away’.

The return to a more serious formula and the emphasis towards young stars have helped ‘The Good Son’ achieve tremendous success throughout its run. In past years, lighter dramas dominated Primetime Bida’s fourth slot, but after ‘On the Wings of Love’ the approach wore thin.

Reverting back to a darker atmosphere reminiscent of series such as ‘The Legal Wife’ may have been the most daring decision that ABS-CBN ever did, but ‘The Good Son”s unexpected surge has brought new life to Primetime Bida’s fourth slot. However, this was not the only reason behind its popularity.

Continuing ABS-CBN’s commitment towards youth, the series gave rising artists Nash Aguas, Jerome Ponce, Joshua Garcia, McCoy de Leon, Loisa Andallo, Alexa Ilacad and Elisse Joson the green light to show their acting prowess. It was a formula that somehow worked to ‘The Good Son”s favor, helping the series outpace its GMA counterparts who continued to rely on older stars.

More importantly, these artists gained a new legion of followers, both on television and on social media. For Joshua Garcia, starring in a series without frequent on-screen partner Julia Barretto may be a risky choice, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to thrive alongside his contemporaries.

In many ways, ‘The Good Son’ became a series that ABS-CBN should be proud of. More than just the young stars that thrived in a starring role, it was the series’ themes of innocence, guilt and doubt that helped ‘The Good Son’ become a top-ten program in the country.

Friday will mark ‘The Good Son”s 143rd and final episode. On its last night, the innocent one will be revealed, but who will be rightfully called ‘The Good Son?’

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drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

Getting Serious: ABS-CBN Goes No More Mr. Nice Guy with The Good Son

It will be a new-look and more serious Primetime Bida starting next week.

Gone were the ‘kilig-seryes’ that permeated the fifth slot of ABS-CBN’s ever-popular evening block. With all due respect to JaDine (‘On the Wings of Love’, ‘Till I Met You’) and TonDeng (Ian Veneracion and Bea Alonzo of ‘A Love to Last’), this formula is starting to wear thin.

Instead, ABS-CBN goes back to a more serious approach that made ‘The Legal Wife’ and ‘Two Wives’ runaway successes. The newest drama, ‘The Good Son’, despite its designation as a family drama, leans more on the mature and dark side.

While rival GMA continues to lean too much on aging and at times overexposed veterans for their primetime dramas, ABS-CBN cashes in on their deep roster of young talent for ‘The Good Son’. The series will be led by Jerome Ponce, Nash Aguas, Joshua Garcia and McCoy de Leon, and joining them are fellow rising stars Loisa Andallo, Elisse Joson and Alexa Ilacad.

In ‘The Good Son’, Jerome (as Enzo), Nash (as Calvin), Joshua (as Joseph) and McCoy (as Obet) are four siblings who live a simple and happy life without their father Victor (Albert Martinez), a man whose identity remains a secret. But Victor’s mysterious death led to a series of events that saw the four siblings accused of murder, and the ensuing battle to prove who is innocent from the crime is on.

‘The Good Son’ will also include Mylene Dizon, Eula Valdez, John Estrada, Ronnie Lazaro, Jeric Raval, Alex Medina, and Kathleen Hermoso. The series will be directed by Manny Palo and Andoy Ranay.

Considering ABS-CBN’s reputation for turning rising stars into superstars, the pressure is now on ‘The Good Son”s up-and-coming actors to continue this budding trend. However, it remains to be seen if the series’ untested group of young talent will thrive in the high-stakes block that is primetime.

It will also be interesting to see how the viewers react to a change of formula from a light drama to a more serious one. That said, ‘The Good Son’ should be a series that may either make or break Primetime Bida’s unpredictable fifth slot.

‘The Good Son’ airs weeknights after ‘La Luna Sangre’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

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PBB: Lucky 7’s Dream Team Vie for Grand Prize

‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ comes down to 12 housemates (13 people overall).

After all the tasks and evictions that shook the Big Brother house to the core, the ongoing season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ now enters its last stage. But before all the hoopla, here is the list of housemates that did not make the cut, whether due to voluntary eviction, forced eviction, eviction by vote, or elimination through final task.

Celebrity Housemates

  • Hideo Muraoka
  • DJ Chacha
  • Yassi Pressman
  • JK Labajo

Teen Housemates

  • Vivoree Esclito
  • Fenech Veloso
  • Rita Gaviola
  • Kristine Hammond
  • Christian Morones
  • Marco Gallo
  • Aizan Perez
  • Heaven Peralejo

Adult Housemates

  • Baninay Bautista
  • Ali Forbes
  • Thuy Nguyen
  • Luis Hontiveros
  • Wil Dasovich
  • Jesi Corcuera

Which leads the show to its Dream Team of 12 housemates, which consists of:

Celebrity Housemates

  • Elisse Joson
  • Jin-ri Park
  • McCoy de Leon and Nikko Natividad (as 2-in-1 Hashtags)
  • Nonong Ballinan

Teen Housemates

  • Yong Muhajil
  • Edward Barber
  • Kisses Delavin
  • Maymay Entrata

Adult Housemates

  • Cora Waddell
  • Tanner Mata
  • Aura Azarcon
  • Jerome Alacre

The remaining 12 housemates will now pit against each other in the hope of becoming the grand winner of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’. That said, each housemate should have their hands full, as they look to survive not only the public’s confidence, but also of Big Brother himself.

This season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother is now the longest in the series’ history, with the episode count nearing 200 by next week. The surprisingly long season of the show did benefit one host though, as Toni Gonzaga returned last week after a four-month maternity leave.

With ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ about to enter its conclusion (barring any further surprises from Big Brother himself), which of these 12 housemates will stand tall after the grand finale? Find out as the season rolls on.

‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ airs weekdays after ‘The Greatest Love’, weeknights after ‘Till I Met You’, Saturday nights after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sunday nights after ‘Rated K’, on ABS-CBN.

 

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Pinoy Big Brother Needs Fill-In Hosts Amid Toni and Mariel Pregnancy Leave

Toni Gonzaga-Soriano and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are both pregnant.

Both are expected to take a maternity leave, and as a result, they have no choice but relinquish their hosting duties on ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7. That said, ABS-CBN must figure out a way to spread the hosting workload for the reality show while Toni and Mariel are tending to their soon-to-be offspring.

With the two out of the picture, only Robi Domingo and Bianca Gonzalez-Intal are left to shoulder the burden. So where will ABS-CBN go at this point?

They could consider Toni’s sister Alex Gonzaga to fill in for her. After all, she had hosting experience of her own, having hosted ‘ASAP’ on a regular basis, and more recently played the same role on season 2 of ‘The Voice Kids’.

They could also use Billy Crawford as well, whose prior hosting experience may be an asset. Or they may consider Anne Curtis, whose only hosting job at this point is on ‘It’s Showtime’.

Overall, ABS-CBN has a vast reservoir of talents who can also be capable host. But it will be up to them to decide on who will fill in for both Toni and Mariel.

Meanwhile, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7 introduced a new set of teen housemates shortly after returning to Manila earlier this week. They are:

  • Maymay Entrata
  • Rita Gabiola
  • Kisses Delavin
  • Edward Barber
  • Aizan Perez
  • Vivoree Esclito
  • Marco Gallo
  • Christian Morones
  • Fenech Velloso
  • Yong Mujahil
  • Kristine Hammond
  • Heaven Peralejo

The 12 teen housemates join the ‘Lucky 2 Stars’ Jinri Park and Hashtags McCoy de Leon and Nikko Natividad inside the refurbished Big Brother house in Quezon City. Over time, however, some of the teen housemates will either be evicted or leave for personal reasons to make way for the regular ones, which will be announced soon.

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ season 7 currently airs weeknights after ‘Born for You’, Saturdays after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN. An afternoon edition also airs weekdays after ‘Tubig at Langis’, except for select regional areas.

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PBB Goes Vietnam

Season 7 of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will be a little different this time.

For the first time ever, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will not be held in the Philippines. Instead, the seventh season (dubbed as ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’) will take place in Vietnam, at least for the first few weeks (unless plans change later on).

While the season premiere will take place this Monday, preparations for PBB: Lucky 7 were already in full swing in the week leading up to it. In fact, nine celebrity housemates were revealed during this stretch, which are the following:

  • Nikko Natividad, Hashtag Boy Sipag ng Bulacan (revealed on ‘It’s Showtime’ July 2)
  • McCoy de Leon, Hashtag Boy Tatag ng Tondo (revealed on ‘It’s Showtime’ July 2)
  • JK Labajo, Ang Cute-Kiti ng Cebu (revealed on ‘ASAP’ July 3)
  • Yassi Pressman, Ang Dance Floor Dream Girl ng Antipolo (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 4)
  • Jinri Park, Ang K-Hot Cover Girl ng South Korea (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 4)
  • Hideo Muraoka, Ang Hunky Daddy ng Taguig (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • Nonong Ballinan, Ang Kanto Komikero ng Quezon City (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • Elisse Joson, Ang Hugot Babe ng Mandaluyong (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • DJ Chacha, Ang Bibig ng Pag-ibig ng Tondo (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)

All nine housemates were flown to Vietnam (though three of them were initially denied passage by the Bureau of Immigration) where they will live inside the house that was used on ‘Big Brother Vietnam’ (‘Người giấu mặt’). To abide with the show’s ‘house rules’, they were covered with black bonnets so that they will not be recognized by the public, and to not learn of their destination.

Upon entering the Big Brother house in Vietnam, housemates were given various tasks by Big Brother himself. In the meantime, their progress was followed on PBB’s social media pages, leading up to the season premiere this Monday night.

‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo, Toni Gonzaga-Soriano, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla. Both Toni and Mariel are pregnant during the season, and are expected to take a maternity leave as the season continues.

The first few weeks of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ will have celebrities as the main attraction. But as the season continues, expect more housemates, this time of the teen and regular variety, to be revealed soon.

The seventh season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ airs weeknights after ‘Born for You’, Saturdays after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN.

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Pokwang, Melai Go Dramatic on We Will Survive

Something different will take place on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida this Monday.

After taking a more sensual approach with ‘Pasion de Amor’, the Kapamilya network decided to switch their style for the 5:45 p.m. slot. The newest drama, ‘We Will Survive’, is comparatively lighter, yet it can still deliver some tearjerking moments to viewers.

In ‘We Will Survive’, two childhood friends from Bicol grew up with different personalities, but with similar heart-breaking circumstances. Wilma (Pokwang) is a beauty salon worker with a quiet demeanor, while Maricel (Melai Cantiveros) is a hotel manager with a more upbeat presence.

Both Wilma and Maricel failed in their relationships with other men, and this common low point led to them getting supportive of each other in order to overcome these personal heartbreaks. Together, with all the challenges they face, they will learn what it takes to be survivors in life.

Joining Pokwang and Melai on ‘We Will Survive’ are Josh De Guzman, Carlo Aquino, Jeric Raval, Bea Saw, Regine Angeles, Viveika Ravanes, Bing Davao, Alcris Galura, Maris Racal, Joshua Zamora, McCoy De Leon, and Vangie Labalan. Jeffrey Jeturian will direct this heart-warming drama.

‘We Will Survive’ is one of two new dramas set to premiere this Monday. The other is ‘The Story of Us’, which will take over the timeslot of ‘On the Wings of Love’ (more on that this Monday).

Following the footsteps of the ever-successful ‘Pasion de Amor’ will not be easy for ‘We Will Survive’. With ‘Wowowin’ already threatening in the ratings, this will be a huge challenge for the series to be as successful as its predecessor.

Still, with ‘We Will Survive’ following the same vein as other light-hearted dramas such as ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ (also directed by Jeturian), anything is possible. That said, the new challenge for comediennes Pokwang and Melai should be a good one, as they will show viewers their ability to shed tears in dramas such as this.

‘We Will Survive’ premieres this Monday before ‘TV Patrol’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

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