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.

End of the Line for The Millionaire’s Wife

‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ is down to its final two episodes.

Led by Andrea Torres in what GMA calls her most mature series yet, ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ will officially conclude its 67-episode run tomorrow afternoon. All series long, viewers were able to witness the life of single mother-turned-rich wife Luisa (Andrea), and her struggles to deal with two things: money, and love and compassion for others.

‘The Millionaire’s Wife’, which also starred Robert Arevalo, Mike Tan, Jaclyn Jose, Sid Lucero, Ina Raymundo and Rich Asuncion, first premiered on March 14 as a replacement to ‘Destiny Rose’. Initially, the series started strong, registering a 12.5% national rating; in contrast, rival ABS-CBN Koreanovela ‘My Love Donna’ only earned a 9.1% mark on its own premiere day.

The dominance of ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ soon led to the cancellation of the poorly-performing ‘My Love Donna’. Then on April 11, the Kapamilya network placed ‘Tubig at Langis’ opposite ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’, and from that point on, the momentum turned in the former’s favor.

While ‘Tubig at Langis’ carried its average ratings of 15% or better to its new timeslot, ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ continued to score 12% with each passing episode; only this time, they were on the losing end. The former’s confrontational scenes involving Irene (Cristine Reyes) and Clara (Isabelle Daza) proved to be a hit, and it doomed the latter.

Notwithstanding its impressive start early in its run, it was clear that ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ finally met its match in ‘Tubig at Langis’. While Andrea Torres was able to make the most of her evolving artistic repertoire, ABS-CBN still had the edge in terms of storytelling, and this gave ‘Tubig at Langis’ the advantage.

Now that ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ will come to an end, let’s just hope that the final episodes of this series will bring a lasting impression to its viewers. Otherwise, it may end up as the latest in a string of GMA teleserye letdowns.

Kambal Sirena, Dyesebel Won’t Begin Simultaneously

GMA’s Kambal Sirena begins its run a week ahead of ABS-CBN’s Dyesebel. (Photo courtesy of Bida Kapamilya)

The so-called ‘Sirena Wars’ on Philippine television will have to wait for another two weeks, as both GMA and ABS-CBN set their final episode dates for ‘Adarna’ and ‘Honesto’.

‘Adarna’, the fantaserye starring Kylie Padilla, airs its final episode tomorrow. Airing since November 18, 2013, ‘Adarna’ was supposed to revive GMA’s tried and tested fantaserye genre that has worked for them in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, the show failed to surpass expectations, due to the fact that a rival teleserye is superbly dominant in its timeslot.

That teleserye happened to be ‘Honesto’, which has been consistently atop the primetime ratings since its debut. Its superior ratings also translated into high trending figures in social media, with hashtags related to the show leading Twitter’s trending topics. The Raikko Mateo-starred series first aired on October 28, and will air its final episode on March 14.

The two series will be replaced by ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ respectively. The former, an original concept of the Kapuso network, will star Louise delos Reyes, while the latter, acquired by the Kapamilya network from Mars Ravelo’s estate, will star Anne Curtis.

Hype between the two series began last December, as both networks revealed the initial teasers for their respective mermaids. But while GMA began to heavily promote ‘Kambal Sirena’ during the months of January and February, ABS-CBN was slow to promote ‘Dyesebel’ as it continued to focus on its highly-rated programs ‘Honesto’ and ‘Got to Believe’. Nevertheless, viewers were salivating at the prospect of two mermaid-based series facing each other on primetime.

Both ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ will feature an equally stellar supporting cast. In ‘Kambal Sirena’, Aljur Abrenica will star as the leading man, while Wynwyn Marquez serves as the main villain. The series will also star Mickey Ferriols, Angelika dela Cruz, Gladys Reyes, Tessie Tomas, Mike Tan, Pancho Magno, Polo Ravales, Lotlot de Leon, Rich Asuncion, and Chanda Romero.

In ‘Dyesebel’, Sam Milby and Gerald Anderson will play the leading men, while Andi Eigenmann takes on a villainous role. Portraying supporting roles in the series will be Dawn Zulueta, Eula Valdes, Gabby Concepcion, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Bangs Garcia, David Chua, Ai Ai delas Alas, Neil Coleta, Young JV and Ogie Diaz.

While ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ won’t begin at the same time, the rivalry between the two mermaid-based series will be something to look forward to. And it should add spice to what has been an already heated rivalry between the two major networks.