‘End it while you still can!’
This is probably the message that ABS-CBN management sent to the producers of ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’, the romantic comedy series that starred Jodi Sta. Maria, Richard Yap and Robin Padilla. After all, the network did not want a repeat of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ in which the show ran for far too long that viewers grew tired of it.
‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ was the second television project of the JoChard tandem after the aforementioned ‘Be Careful with My Heart’. In hopes of making it more interesting, the series added Robin Padilla as the third wheel while it gave Jodi a chance to play two different characters.
First premiered on January 29, ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ made an immediate impact in its first few weeks, scoring around 16-20%. The series was so popular that it led to the cancellation of ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ and forced GMA to produce its own drama shows in the late-morning slot.
Even though ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso”s ratings dipped to around the 14-17% mark by March, it still won its timeslot on a consistent basis. At this point GMA began to produce its own dramas in response, but short-lived series in ‘Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw’ and ‘My Guitar Princess’ were unable to solve JoChard and Robin.
However, by late August, ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso”s magic started to wear off. The series was no longer a top-10 show, and with paltry ratings of around 13% (even though they still won over ‘Kapag Nahati ang Puso’), ABS-CBN realized that enough was enough.
Overall, ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ will have a total of 163 episodes once they conclude Friday. But like ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, ABS-CBN made the costly mistake of keeping ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ for far too long which led to a huge dip in its ratings.
Still, ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ was considered a success by ABS-CBN’s standards. Regardless of how it turned out the series should continue the streak of good fortune for ABS-CBN in the late-morning slot, and for JoChard, it only proves that they are still a formidable love team.
On Friday, ‘Sana Dalawa ang Puso’ will bow out. One can only hope that it will be a graceful exit.
From the Tube 