OTWOL, Pasion de Amor Enter Final Week

‘Pasion de Amor’ and ‘On the Wings of Love’ are down to their last five episodes.

The former, first premiered on June 1, 2015, was a remake of the original Colombian telenovela that once aired on ABS-CBN. While the original was a decent success, this localized version of ‘Pasion de Amor’ became an unexpected hit, and in the process blew out the competition (at least until ‘Wowowin’ entered the picture).

Throughout its run, viewers were constantly hooked to the sensually passionate, and at times unpredictable love story involving the Samonte brothers (Jake Cuenca, Ejay Falcon, Joseph Marco) and Elizondo sisters (Ellen Adarna, Coleen Garcia, Arci Muñoz). The presence of villains such as Gabriel (Wendell Ramos) and Gabriela (Teresa Loyzaga) only added fuel to the fire.

On the other hand, the latter, first premiered August 10, 2015, marked the first foray of the JaDine (James Reid, Nadine Lustre) love team into the small screen. Based on their success in films such as ‘Diary ng Panget’ and ‘My Hopeless Romantic’, a lot of expectations were raised for the duo.

These expectations were soon met and exceeded, as ‘On the Wings of Love’ became an immediate success in its timeslot. The series was not without controversy, however, as one stripping scene involving Clark (James) and Leah (Nadine) received negative remarks from the Philippine National Police.

With a final total of 194 and 145 episodes, respectively, there is no doubt that ‘Pasion de Amor’ and ‘On the Wings of Love’ have become one of ABS-CBN’s most successful teleseryes in recent years. While GMA’s own programs tried hard to keep up with the two series, the gap in the ratings proved too much to overcome.

As ‘Pasion de Amor’ and ‘On the Wings of Love’ head to their final week, what fate awaits the former’s Samonte brothers and Elizondo sisters, and the latter’s Clark and Leah? Find out this week as the two series conclude.

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A Not-So ‘InTENse’ Premiere for Beautiful Strangers, My Faithful Husband

‘InTENse’ is not the kind of word that is expected in GMA’s new-look Telebabad.

Contrary to what GMA claims in the plugs (see video above) for the upcoming series ‘Beautiful Strangers’ and ‘My Faithful Husband’, the ‘inTENse’ moniker seems to apply more towards its two rival teleseryes on ABS-CBN. ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’, for one, has been the obsession of many since episode one, and now they are joined by ‘On the Wings of Love’, another potential top-rater.

‘On the Wings of Love’ has been in every viewer’s radar since the project was announced last February, and now the can’t-miss series has been given the green light. It will be the first teleserye for the love team of James Reid and Nadine Lustre (a.k.a. JaDine), but for those familiar of their work, they should be no strangers to success.

After all, JaDine starred in the hit movies ‘Diary ng Panget’, ‘Talk Back and You’re Dead’, and more recently ‘My Hopeless Romantic’. The duo also starred in ‘Wansapanatym”s ‘My App Boyfie’, fueling their popularity even further.

But ‘On the Wings of Love’ will not be the only series that GMA needs to worry about. The ever-popular ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’ will be bolstered further with the arrival of Bea Bianca, portrayed by Sarah Carlos, whose role is to be the third wheel in the Angelo-Yna (Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo, respectively) love affair.

Both ‘Beautiful Strangers’ and ‘My Faithful Husband’ should have their hands full facing KathNiel and JaDine, respectively. While the two series will have a good amount of star power (Heart Evangelista, Lovi Poe, Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo), they are still at a disadvantage.

A one-two punch on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida awaits the two premiering series on GMA Telebabad. For a network that still lives in the past when it comes to its stars, this is a mismatch in hell.