I Do Has a Winner, Plus Season 2 Confirmed

‘I Do’ finally has a winning couple.

The first season of ABS-CBN’s so-called ‘realiserye’ recently concluded with the crowning of its ‘Grand Couple’ last Saturday. Blogger and businesswoman Kring Elenzano, and her Korean boyfriend Yong Jin Kim a.k.a. Jimmy, won the P1 million prize, along with a dream wedding of their choice, a honeymoon package, a house and lot, home appliances and a P1.5 million business package.

Finishing as the runner-up were couples Chad Fontanilla and Sheela Beterbo. Both received a cash prize of P500,000.

Jimmy and Kring’s grand wedding will take place on November 12. The entirety of the marriage will serve as the season finale for ‘I Do’, and will be shown on November 15.

‘I Do”s first season began on August 30 with nine couples. Originally aired on weekends, the reality show later ceased to air on Sundays, not only because the field was reduced to just four couples, but also in order to accommodate the second season of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’.

The quick pace of ‘I Do’, not to mention the apparent apathy of the viewers, proved to be its undoing in the ratings. In contrast to more recent ABS-CBN reality shows, ratings for the primetime-based ‘I Do’ only managed to hover around the 10% and above barrier, uncharacteristic for a show that is expected to continue the momentum of its predecessors.

On the other hand, GMA’s ‘Celebrity Bluff’ and ‘Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho’ fared even better against its ABS-CBN counterpart.

What kept ‘I Do’ relevant, however, was the use of social media. Notwithstanding its poor ratings on terrestrial TV, netizens still managed to lift ‘I Do’ from the doldrums thanks to its frequent mentions and trends on the social media website Twitter.

Still, despite these lackadaisical numbers, ABS-CBN remained confident enough to give ‘I Do’ a second season. As confirmed by host Judy Ann Santos, the next season of ‘I Do’ should be in the works in two years’ time.

Regardless of how it turned out the first time, there is always hope that ‘I Do’ will come back stronger than ever. And it starts with tweaking its format.

For now, though, ‘I Do’ will be on the shelf after this Saturday. As for Jimmy and Kring, life as a newlywed will await them.

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I Do and Other Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Following the conclusion of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’, a few changes were made on ABS-CBN’s programming.

The most significant of these changes will come this weekend, as ‘I Do’, dubbed the first ‘realiserye’ on the Kapamilya network, premieres this Saturday. Hosted by Judy Ann Santos, the upcoming reality program will feature nine couples with an existing relationship, all of which will vie for a P1 million cash prize, a house and lot, and a grand wedding.

Joining Juday in the upcoming series will be co-host Jason Gainza, along with life coach Pia Acevedo and marriage counselor Dr. Julian Montano.

The nine couples will reside in the ‘I Do’ village in Cavite, where they will undergo a series of challenges that will test their ability to forge a strong relationship. The council, led by Acevedo and Dr. Montano, will evaluate and decide the fate of each couple at the end of each challenge, while fan votes will determine the winner of the aforementioned prizes at the end of the series.

‘I Do’ will air every Saturday after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and every Sunday after ‘Rated K’.

Weekday Programming Changes on ABS-CBN

Both ‘Kapamilya Gold’ and ‘Primetime Bida’ entered Monday with a different look after PBB ended.

On ‘Kapamilya Gold’, the lineup was reduced to only three programs, and as a result, the telenovela ‘Ana Manuela’ extended its running time to compensate for the departure of ‘PBB Uber’.

‘Ana Manuela’ will now air two episodes per day, and will be seen after ‘It’s Showtime’ and before the News and Current Affairs block.

Over at ‘Primetime Bida’, the Koreanovela ‘Miss Ripley’ took over the slot vacated by ‘PBB Primetime’. The entry of ‘Miss Ripley’ marked the return of the Koreanovela to ABS-CBN’s primetime lineup after over seven months of airing reality programs.

Starring Lee Da Hae (of ‘My Girl’ fame) as the seductive yet manipulative Emily, and Park Yoo Chun (of ‘Rooftop Prince’ fame) as the handsome and rich hotelier Marco, ‘Miss Ripley’ airs after ‘Aquino and Abunda Tonight’.

Speaking of Koreanovelas, the re-run of ‘Lovers in Paris’ is now on its final week. The second of a series of classic ABS-CBN Asianovelas to re-air on the network will end its run Friday morning.

Also concluding on Friday morning is the latest season of ‘The Singing Bee’. The highly-rated game show, hosted by Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez, will take a bow after a successful ten-month run.

Both programs’ timeslots will be taken over by the delayed telecast of the FIBA World Cup starting next week.