No Replacement for MariMar, At Least for Two Weeks

‘MariMar officially concludes tomorrow, but its replacement ‘That’s My Amboy’ will not be seen until January 25.  (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

GMA is taking a ‘less is more’ approach on Telebabad. at least for the next two weeks.

Tomorrow night marks the final episode of ‘MariMar’, the second Filipino remake of the classic Mexican telenovela. The series, starring Megan Young as the titular character, will officially end with a total of 100 episodes.

High expectations awaited this version of ‘MariMar’ when it first premiered on August 24, 2015. After all, the original starring Thalia and the first remake starring Marian Rivera were each big hits when they were aired here.

Unfortunately for GMA, the new ‘MariMar’ failed to make an impact in the ratings. The series lost regularly to both ‘Nathaniel’ and ‘Ang Probinsyano’, forcing GMA to consider moving ‘MariMar’ to a later timeslot, only to renege on that promise.

Looking back, it is clear that this ‘MariMar’ was a letdown for the Kapuso network. The series was supposed to be a hit, bar none, but with viewers already used to the story, not to mention a shorter wait between remakes and tougher competition from Primetime Bida, it lost its appeal.

In the end, it was a mistake that GMA would like to forget. For Megan Young, the comeback trail following her victory at the Miss World pageant was a rough one to begin with.

So what’s next for GMA after ‘MariMar’? GMA has already confirmed that ‘That’s My Amboy’, the follow-up project of ‘The Half-Sisters’ stars Barbie Forteza and Andre Paras, will replace ‘MariMar’, but the series will not begin until January 25.

This means that for the next two weeks, GMA Telebabad will only have five programs on the menu, with two teleseryes highlighting the lineup. The schedule is as follows:

5:45 p.m. – The Producers

6:30 p.m. – 24 Oras

7:45 p.m. – Little Nanay

8:30 p.m. – Because of You

9:15 p.m. – Kapuso Primetime Cinema

With only two local dramas starting this Monday, GMA Telebabad is at a clear disadvantage against Primetime Bida’s five teleseryes. Both ‘Little Nanay’ and ‘Because of You’ will now face ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’; an obvious mismatch ratings-wise.

That said, the next two weeks will be a difficult one for Telebabad. While waiting for ‘That’s My Amboy’ (‘The Half-Sisters’ ends January 15, hence the delayed premiere), viewers will need to endure watching only two teleseryes on GMA’s primetime lineup.

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A New Problem for MariMar as Ang Probinsyano Premieres

The new ‘MariMar’ of Megan Young and Tom Rodriguez has not been able to make an impact.

Whether it’s Kantar or AGB Nielsen’s NUTAM ratings, ‘MariMar’ proved to be no match for ‘Nathaniel’. The latter series will end later tonight, but more problems await the former.

Come this Monday, ‘MariMar”s new opponent will be the long-awaited adaptation of ‘Ang Probinsyano’. The new series is based on the classic late 90s film starring Fernando Poe, Jr., and will star Coco Martin in a dual role of estranged twin law enforcers.

In ‘Ang Probinsyano’, Coco will play the roles of twins Ador and Cardo, whose lives were separated financially. After Ador was killed, Cardo decided to cover up the incident by posing as his brother, but playing a dead brother whose lifestyle is different from his proved to be more difficult than he thought.

Joining Coco in the upcoming series will be Maja Salvador, Arjo Atayde, Albert Martinez, Agot Isidro, Bela Padilla, Joey Marquez, Jaime Fabregas, and Ms. Susan Roces. Maja will replace Angeline Quinto, who left the series due to scheduling conflicts.

Also playing key supporting roles will be Simon Pineda, Dennis Padilla, Ana Roces, Zaijian Jaranilla, Malou Crisologo, Malu De Guzman, Marvin Yap, Pepe Herrera, Lester Llansang, John Medina, Michael Jornales, Gio Alvarez and Tess Antonio. Avel Sunpongco and Malu Sevilla will direct the series.

‘Ang Probinsyano’ will be the second FPJ adaptation to air on ABS-CBN, following ‘Ang Panday’ which was broadcast ten years earlier. All rights to the films of Fernando Poe, Jr. have been with ABS-CBN since 2007, and are currently seen in select ABS-CBN free TV and cable networks.

Now that ‘Ang Probinsyano’ will make its long-awaited premiere, how much more will ‘MariMar’ have to endure? The series has so far not been able to live up to the standards of the original Thalia classic and the DongYan-starred first adaptation, and the entry of ‘Ang Probinsyano’ only makes things worse.

That said, ‘MariMar’ will have its hands full against its new adversary. It’s a big challenge for the embattled series, so let’s see how it pans out.

‘Ang Probinsyano’ airs weeknights starting September 28 after ‘TV Patrol’ on Primetime Bida.

Thoughts on Drama Remakes Airing on Different Stations

‘Baker King’ premieres on TV5 this Monday. The said series is a rare example of a remake that aired on a different station from the original. (Photo credit: PEP.ph)

Not all remakes of drama series ended up airing on the same station as the original.

Such was the case for three telenovelas starring Thalia: ‘MariMar’, ‘Maria la del Barrio’ and ‘Rosalinda’. The first two originally aired on RPN-9 in the mid-90s, briefly giving the struggling station a ratings boost.

GMA then re-aired ‘MariMar’ in the late 2000s, while creating two local remakes of it: one starring Marian Rivera in 2007, and another still under pre-production this year. ABS-CBN never re-aired the original ‘Maria la del Barrio’, but was able to produce a remake in 2011 starring Erich Gonzales.

The Kapamilya network also aired ‘Maria Mercedes’ and ‘Rosalinda’ later in the 90s. But while they managed to create a local version of the former with Jessy Mendiola two years ago, the latter wound up in the hands of the Kapuso network, not only re-airing the original, but also producing a remake starring Carla Abellana in 2009.

This phenomenon is not restricted to telenovelas alone. It also happens to local dramas as well.

For instance, GMA aired the original ‘Anna Liza’ starring Julie Vega in the early 80s. Then over two decades later, ABS-CBN remade the series (retitled ‘Annaliza’) with Andrea Brillantes, running for nearly a year.

Another example was ‘Dyesebel’, which was remade into a GMA teleserye in 2009, only to be rehashed again by ABS-CBN last year. The former starred Marian Rivera while the latter starred Anne Curtis.

Now TV5 is doing something unprecedented, as a remake of the popular GMA Koreanovela ‘The Baker King’ is expected to premiere on the network starting this Monday. That said, even Asianovelas are not safe in the said phenomenon.

The original version of ‘The Baker King’ aired on the Kapuso network in 2011, and starred Yoon Shi-yoon, Eugene and Joo Won. The series earned decently good ratings for GMA that year.

Despite the success, GMA chose not to hold on to ‘The Baker King’, let alone create a local version of it. Instead, TV5 acquired the rights for the possible remake last year.

The remake of ‘The Baker King’ will star Mark Neumann, Shaira Mae and Akihiro Blanco, and will air on weeknights starting May 18 after the ‘Wattpad Presents’ series.

It is rare for a drama series to have a remake air on a different station. Whether it is due to lack of revenue, loss of desire or motivation, or declining ratings, keeping the rights to a particular drama is a something TV stations cannot avoid at times.

That said, it is one station’s loss and another’s gain when these things fall into place. Regardless of the result, these stations should be proud to have tried their hand at remaking these classics.

After all, Philippine television is always a cautionary tale for a station’s decisions.

In 100 Words: A Second MariMar Remake on GMA

Another local adaptation of ‘MariMar’ is now in the works.

GMA recently released a few teasers that hint towards a new version of the Thalia-starred telenovela. The original ‘MariMar’ became a surprise hit in the mid-90s on RPN, and was later remade by the Kapuso network in 2007 with Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes.

The two short teasers below were released within days of each other.

It is presumed that GMA decided to make a second adaptation of ‘MariMar’ in response to ABS-CBN’s upcoming remake of ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. Both series are expected to premiere in either the third or fourth quarter of this year, depending on the flow of the production.

More information on the ‘MariMar’ remake will come in the next few months, so stay tuned.