Ika-6 na Utos Premieres Today on GMA Afternoon Prime

Sunshine Dizon is indeed a loyal and distinguished star.

Amid a string of talents who switch back and forth between network giants ABS-CBN and GMA, there was Sunshine Dizon. It had been two decades since she rose to stardom via the original ‘Anna Karenina’, and yet despite the ascension of younger stars in recent years, Sunshine stayed loyal to GMA, willing to play a role when necessary.

After her character Adhara was killed off in the 2016 version of ‘Encantadia’, Sunshine was given a new role in the upcoming series ‘Ika-6 na Utos’. The upcoming GMA Afternoon Prime series was a perfect fit for her, considering the recent issues that followed her separation with then-husband Timothy Tan.

In ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, Sunshine plays Emma, a sweet and cheerful souvenir merchant. She was married to a refined pilot named Rome (Gabby Concecpion), but their marriage was disapproved by Rome’s mother Margarita (Carmen Soriano) due to Emma’s poor upbringing.

As a result, Rome had no choice but to fall in love with another woman, a sexy and ambitious interior designer named Georgia (Ryza Cenon). Upon learning her husband’s fate, Emma vows to fight for the right to love her husband, and force Rome to stay away from Georgia.

‘Ika-6 na Utos’ also stars Mike Tan, Rich Asuncion, Daria Ramirez, Marco Alcaraz, Mel Martinez, and Arianne Bautista. The series is directed by Laurice Guillen.

If the story of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ seems familiar, it is that the series is just another ‘kabitserye’, a subsection of the Filipino teleserye which centers on husbands or wives getting cheated by another man or woman. While most ‘kabitseryes’ air during the late evenings, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ is a unique exception, in that it airs in the early afternoon.

That said, it will be interesting to see how a ‘kabitserye’ like ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ will fare in an unfamiliar timeslot. Considering that ‘It’s Showtime”s popular ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ segment also airs during this time period, a tough challenge awaits ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, so good luck to the people behind this series.

‘Ika-6 na Utos’ airs weekdays after ‘Eat Bulaga’ on GMA Afternoon Prime.

The Half-Sisters Joins the ‘One-Year Serye’ Club

Welcome to the ‘one-year serye’ club, ‘The Half-Sisters’.

The highly popular teleserye on GMA’s Afternoon Prime block celebrated its one-year anniversary last Tuesday, June 9. As of today, June 11, ‘The Half-Sisters’ has a total of 262 episodes aired, with more to come as the series continues to progress.

With the milestone of reaching a year on the air, ‘The Half-Sisters’ joins a very exclusive club of local drama series with a run of at least a year. The most recent series to join the club was ABS-CBN’s ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, which aired for over two years.

‘The Half-Sisters’ premiered on Monday, June 9, 2014 as the lead-off program of Afternoon Prime. The series replaced the remake of ‘Villa Quintana’, which starred Janine Gutierrez and Elmo Magalona.

At the time of its premiere, ‘The Half-Sisters’ was joined by ‘Innamorata’ in the Afternoon Prime block. Since then, a total of five other teleseryes (‘Dading’, ‘Ang Lihim ni Annasandra’, ‘Yagit’, ‘Kailan Ba Tama ang Mali?’ ‘Healing Hearts’) have aired alongside ‘The Half-Sisters’, with ‘Yagit’ by far the longest-running of the five to date.

The pilot episode of ‘The Half-Sisters’ registered an 11.5% rating on AGB Nielsen, and a 7.3% on Kantar. Its opponent at the time, ‘Moon of Desire’, registered a 9.2 and 10.2%, respectively.

While ‘The Half-Sisters’ had a slow start early in its run, by the middle of the -ber months, it began a steady climb atop the afternoon ladder. The series ranked as the top-rated program in the weekday afternoons at the end of 2014.

Not even a new opponent in ‘Flordeliza’ can slow ‘The Half-Sisters’ down, even though the series’ criticism regarding its lengthy run began to grow. Today, ‘The Half-Sisters continues to rank among the top ten programs in the country in both Kantar and AGB Nielsen.

Typically the lifespan of a modern-day teleserye lasts four to eight months, depending on ratings and critical acclaim. But ‘The Half-Sisters’ are a different breed, a throwback to the teleseryes of the old days.

That said, expect more twists and turns to develop as ‘The Half-Sisters’ continues.

Starring Barbie Forteza, Thea Tolentino, Jean Garcia, Jomari Yllana, Ryan Eigenmann, Eula Valdes, Andre Paras, Mel Martinez, Vanness del Moral and Winwyn Marquez, ‘The Half-Sisters’ airs weekdays after ‘Eat Bulaga’ on GMA’s Afternoon Prime.

Notes: From the Tube will take a break tomorrow, June 12, in commemoration of Independence Day in the Philippines. Regular posts resume on Monday, June 15.