GMA’s Post-StarStruck Response is a Koreanovela, Plus No Miss World Telecast

A new Koreanovela will kick things off for GMA Telebabad.

Tonight will be the premiere of ‘The Producers’, a recently-aired Korean drama series starring Kim Soo-hyun, Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin and IU. The series is produced by the same group who created another hit Korean drama in ‘My Love from the Star’.

This brings the total number of current Asianovelas on GMA to three. Two of them (‘Someone Like You’, ‘Ice Adonis’) form part of the network’s Heart of Asia Mornings block.

Unfortunately for GMA, ‘The Producers’ will be up against ‘Pasion de Amor’, the ABS-CBN teleserye that continues to heat up the ratings with each intense scene. Combined with waning interest in the Koreanovela genre, and a programming mismatch ensues between the two shows.

That said, it will be a very tough challenge for GMA and ‘The Producers’ to rekindle the once-popular Koreanovela genre. Whether or not they will accomplish that remains to be seen.

‘The Producers’ airs weeknights at 5:50 p.m., before ’24 Oras’ on GMA Telebabad.

No Televised Broadcast of Miss World

The 2015 Miss World was held last Saturday, with Spain’s Mireia Lalaguna winning the crown. The Philippines’ Miss World representative, Hillarie Parungao, finished in the top ten.

Unfortunately, despite the presence of ‘MariMar’ star and 2013 winner Megan Young as one of the pageant’s hosts, this year’s Miss World was not televised at all in the Philippines. The reason: GMA’s concurrent live broadcast of ‘StarStruck: The Final Judgment’, won by Migo Adecer and Klea Pineda.

There was also no delayed broadcast of the said pageant the following day, as GMA realized it was not worth it given the country’s Miss World bet only made the top ten. News reports were also absent on GMA News programs within days of the event; the only Miss World-related report is of Parungao’s return to the country.

With GMA unable to air this year’s Miss World (even though they aired the Miss World Philippines pageant two months earlier), it may be a better idea for the organizers to find a new network for subsequent Miss World and Miss World Philippines pageants. GMA’s non-commitment to a Miss World broadcast is not a good sign for their relationship, and worse, a black eye for the embattled network.

That said, next year’s Miss World will provide a lot of questions to prospective coverors. Will there ever be another broadcast of Miss World in the Philippines? Only time will tell.

Postscript: Speaking of beauty pageants, congratulations to Pia Wurtzbach for winning the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, albeit with the help of a premature announcement of Miss Colombia’s victory by host Steve Harvey. The victory of the Philippines’ Wurtzbach should help spike the event’s ratings on ABS-CBN this week. 

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StarStruck Ends This Saturday

The Ultimate Male and Female Survivor will be crowned this Saturday, as ‘StarStruck’ presents ‘The Final Judgment’. (Photo credit: GMA Network/StarStruck Official Facebook)

The most forgettable season in ‘StarStruck’ history is finally coming to a close.

On Saturday, December 19, ‘StarStruck”s Final Four, consisting of Klea Pineda, Migo Adecer, Elyson de Dios, and Ayra Mariano, will vie for the Ultimate Male and Female Survivor crowns in front of a nationwide audience. As it has been the case in past seasons, ‘StarStruck”s season finale will be dubbed ‘The Final Judgment’.

The season finale of ‘StarStruck’ will also feature a special guest. Former ‘StarStruck’ reject-turned-rising star Alden Richards will make a special appearance on the show, joining hosts Dingdong Dantes and Megan Young alongside ‘StarStruck’ segment hosts and judges.

Saturday’s finale will mark the only time that the sixth season of ‘StarStruck’ aired an episode on a weekend. This is surprising for the reality show, considering that past seasons always featured a weekend edition (typically elimination nights that lead up to the coronation of that season’s male, female and sole survivors).

But not this year, as elimination nights took place on a Friday.

Overall, the sixth season of ‘StarStruck’ failed to recapture the aura of past seasons, thanks to a poor choice of timeslot and the lack of a weekend edition. Losing to ‘Pasion de Amor’ and avoiding ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ proved to be two sins that this season’s ‘StarStruck’ were not able to avoid.

With ‘StarStruck’ not performing up to expectations, an uncertain path awaits this season’s survivors and avengers. Staying with GMA may be a risky course for some, but moving over to ABS-CBN or other outfits may still help them enhance their skills.

It remains to be seen whether or not the ‘StarStruck’ finale will finish strong. But one thing’s for sure: it’s make or break for ‘StarStruck’ this Saturday.