Till I Met You Underachieves As It Enters Finale

The tumultuous run of ‘Till I Met You’ is about to end.

The second teleserye to star James Reid (as Basti) and Nadine Lustre (as Iris), ‘Till I Met You’ marked a change of direction for the love team. While their previous series ‘On the Wings of Love’ was presented as more of a light-hearted drama, ‘Till I Met You’ incorporated more serious themes such as LGBT relationships, as evidenced by the addition of JC Santos (as Ali).

‘Till I Met You’ first premiered on August 29, 2016. At first, it was placed in the second slot of Primetime Bida, as ABS-CBN hoped that the series can maintain the standard of excellence that KathNiel (‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’) and LizQuen (‘Dolce Amore’) instilled earlier that year.

Unfortunately for JaDine, it was not to be. ‘Till I Met You’ only mustered around 26% average ratings in its first two weeks (in contrast, ‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’ and ‘Dolce Amore’ scored around 30% or more in each episode), forcing ABS-CBN to demote the drama to the third slot in favor of ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’.

Despite JaDine’s familiarity with the third slot, ‘Till I Met You’ found it hard to win back viewers, at least locally. Unlike ‘On the Wings of Love’ which scored better than 25% during its run, ‘Till I Met You’ only managed 13% on average.

To make matters worse, ‘Till I Met You’ failed to dominate its timeslot, and even lost in the ratings battle at times to rival GMA series ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘Meant to Be’. The series’ seemingly familiar plot (remember ‘My Husband’s Lover’?) may have turned off some more knowledgeable viewers.

Overall, even with the total count of 105 episodes by Friday’s finale, ‘Till I Met You’ is considered a ‘bust’ by JaDine’s standards. There may have been some moments worth talking about (e.g. Basti and Iris’ car scene), but other than that, ‘Till I Met You’ essentially underachieved under the bright lights of primetime.

Whether or not JaDine can bounce back with their next TV project remains to be seen. But for the viewers who have enjoyed watching ‘Till I Met You’ despite its underachieving status, the last week of the series should be worth the price of admission.

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Final Week for Magpahanggang Wakas, Someone to Watch Over Me

2017 gets underway with two teleseryes concluding their respective runs this Friday.

On one end, there is the ABS-CBN primetime series ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’. The latest in a series of ‘kabitseryes’, ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ starred Jericho Rosales, Arci Muñoz and John Estrada in a story that involves a romantic love triangle and a man wrongly accused of murder and was thought to have been killed.

On the other end is the GMA primetime series ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, starring Tom Rodriguez, Lovi Poe and Max Collins. Like ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’, this series featured a love triangle, this time with a plot centering on a man who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ premiered on September 5, and was initially pitted against the short-lived series ‘Born for You’. But after the latter’s conclusion, many expected to see ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ go up against the former.

Unfortunately, ABS-CBN had other ideas. On September 19, the network demoted ‘Till I Met You’ to the third slot of Primetime Bida, and ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ was placed in the second slot, opposite another debuting series in ‘Alyas Robin Hood’.

But while ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ regularly got the better of ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ in the Kantar national ratings, it averaged only 26%, a far cry from the 30% or better numbers of ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’ and ‘Dolce Amore’ earlier in 2016. Much has been said about its plot line, which may have turned viewers off due to its obvious familiarity.

As for ‘Someone to Watch over Me’, it only scored an average of 12% during its run. But unlike previous GMA dramas that aired in this timeslot, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ actually fought well, pushing the JaDine-starred ‘Till I Met You’ to the limit in more recent episodes.

Overall, ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ will have aired for 80 episodes, while ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will have a total of 90 episodes. Not bad, but not good for either network’s standards.

In the end, it is clear that the success of the so-called ‘kabitserye’ is wearing thin. It was a tried and tested formula, but for those who have seen this plot before, it is no longer a healthy obsession.

This Friday, both ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ and ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will have one last chance to impress themselves. One can only hope that the two series will end on a high note, after all these difficult times.

Born for You to End in Two Weeks

There is not enough time for GMA’s ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ to warm up.

That is because its opponent, ABS-CBN’s ‘Born for You’, will end in two weeks’ time. The Kapamilya series starring Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador will air its final episode on September 16.

‘Born for You’ had been on the air since June 20, when it replaced the Kim Chiu and Xian Lim-starrer ‘The Story of Us’. The series marked the first time that Elmo (a former GMA star and current off-screen boyfriend of Janine Gutierrez) and Janella were paired on television.

Though ‘Born for You’ consistently won over ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ in the ratings game, it seems like ABS-CBN is not happy with its performance. The show started strong on its very first week, getting an average of 18%, but after that, ratings hovered between 16-17% during July and early August.

Then in the past two weeks, ‘Born for You”s ratings fell to around the 14% mark. This gave ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ a fighting chance, and though they still fell short, on some nights, they managed to narrow the gap to 1% or less.

Overall, ‘Born for You’ will become a rarity among ABS-CBN dramas. With only 65 episodes, it is one of the shortest-lived dramas ABS-CBN has ever produced, and considering that it aired on the top-rating Primetime Bida block, it is even rarer for a series to air that short on primetime.

The underwhelming performance of ‘Born for You’ could force ABS-CBN to consider breaking up the on-screen love team of Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador. Given the inexperience of the duo together, and the fact that Elmo is still linked to Janine Gutierrez in real life, ABS-CBN may need to find another role for both he and Janella, but not as a love team.

Still, the Kapamilya network may give them another chance together. But that will only depend on both proper timing and a right story that will help them grow and mature as actors.

Only two weeks remain in the run of ‘Born for You’. They need to prove that they can still win big, or else, it will be the trio of Lovi Poe, Tom Rodriguez and Max Collins in ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ who will be the ones smiling.

New Teleserye Alert: The Greatest Love and Someone to Watch Over Me

Two new teleseryes premiere today on ABS-CBN and GMA respectively.

On the former’s Kapamilya Gold, ‘The Greatest Love’ will finally make its long-awaited debut. The series will star veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez in what is perhaps her most definitive starring role yet.

In ‘The Greatest Love’, Sylvia will play the role of Gloria, a mother of four who is determined to have a happy and lovely family. But a terrible secret soon broke the bond between Gloria and her children, and what remained of her are memories of her problematic past.

As the story goes on, Gloria begins to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a crippling disorder that could erase her memories. As a result, she must find a way to reunite with her children before her condition proves too much to overcome.

Gloria’s children will be portrayed by Dimples Romana (as Amanda), Matt Evans (as Andrei), Arron Villaflor (as Paeng), and Andi Eigenmann (as Lizelle). The supporting cast of ‘The Greatest Love’ will consist of Joshua Garcia, Nonie Buencamino, Rommel Padilla, Tonton Gutierrez, Ejay Falcon, Ellen Adarna, Junjun Quintana, Aleck Bovick, Luis Alandy, Bobby Andrews, Alex Medina, Mercedes Cabral, and Guji Lorenzana.

It will be interesting to see how ‘The Greatest Love’ fares on its first week. But as far as ABS-CBN is concerned, the recent streak of good fortune on Kapamilya Gold should be more than enough to ease the pressure on the newcomer.

Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, Mervyn Brondial, and Dado Lomibao, ‘The Greatest Love’ airs weekdays after ‘Doble Kara’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

Over on GMA’s Telebabad block, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will mark the full return of more serious dramas on primetime. The series will be headlined by Lovi Poe, Tom Rodriguez and Max Collins.

Like ‘The Greatest Love’, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will explore the harsh effects of Alzheimer’s disease. In the upcoming series, TJ (Tom) is an office worker who is married to his wife Joanna (Lovi), but after TJ begins to suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, Joanna decides to take care of her ailing husband.

Soon after, Irene (Max), TJ’s ex-girlfriend, is allowed by Joanna to enter their home. After that, things begin to change as TJ loses memory of Joanna and instead recognizes Irene as his true love.

‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ will also include Edu Manzano, Jackie Lou Blanco, Isay Alvarez, Ronnie Lazaro, Boy 2 Quizon, Ralph Noriega, and Frances Makil. The series will be directed by Maryo J. delos Reyes.

It will be interesting to see how this upcoming GMA drama will fare against ‘Born for You’. With the latter series on a roll, and with GMA’s talent problems already well-documented, this is going to be a difficult journey for Lovi, Tom, Max and company.

‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ airs weeknights after ‘Descendants of the Sun’.

 

A Not-so Happy Ending for Juan Happy Love Story

Tomorrow night will be the end of a tale for ‘Juan Happy Love Story’.

The GMA Telebabad series, starring Heart Evangelista, Dennis Trillo and Kim Domingo, will air its finale September 2. It will mark the last of the comedy-infused teleseryes that GMA produced in the last several months, as it will revert back to a more serious tone on ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’.

‘Juan Happy Love Story’ first premiered on May 16, replacing another comedy-infused drama in ‘Because of You’. The series failed to captivate viewers from the start, as it lost to the Kim Chiu and Xian Lim-starred ‘The Story of Us’ on a consistent basis.

Things did not improve for ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ once ‘Born for You’ entered the picture. The latter series, which starred former Kapuso star Elmo Magalona and rising ABS-CBN talent Janella Salvador, scored victory after victory over their more veteran counterparts in the national ratings.

Overall, ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ will have aired for 80 episodes, a norm for GMA dramas these days. Still, despite the decent amount of episodes produced, it was clear that GMA failed to win back their viewers by using a more comedic approach to their teleseryes.

It also did not help that GMA cast a pair of veterans in Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista to star in ‘Juan Happy Love Story’. And to make matters worse, GMA did not actively promote the series (via upcoming episode trailers) after the second week, as was the norm in more recent teleseryes.

That said, the flaws in GMA’s talent development, storytelling and programming promotion are once again on display. The Kapuso network’s lack of improvement in these aspects have been a constant issue for Lilybeth Rasonable, and it continued with this series.

Come this Friday, a ‘happy ending’ may be in store for ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ story-wise, but not in terms of performance. Nothing will be expected here, just relief that this comedy-styled approach will mercifully end tomorrow night.