A Love to Last and Meant to Be: Primetime’s Opening Salvos This 2017

Two new teleseryes get their baptism of fire in the second week of 2017.

On ABS-CBN, Bea Alonzo and Ian Veneracion star in the upcoming series ‘A Love to Last’. A family drama, ‘A Love to Last’ tells the story of Andeng (Bea) and Anton (Ian), two individuals whose fates intertwined thanks to the crumbling relationships with their significant others.

Andeng, a breadwinner and a successful events organizer, was about to get married when she caught her fiancé cheating with another woman. Anton, on the other hand, was a company president and CEO, married to Grace (Iza Calzado) and had three children, only to see her leave and file for annulment.

Both eventually found love with each other in the most unexpected of ways. However, Andeng must first deal with Anton’s marital problems in hopes of gaining his acceptance.

‘A Love to Last’ also stars Enchong Dee, Julia Barretto, Ronnie Alonte, JK Labajo and Hannah Vito. It is directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng and Richard Arellano.

Fresh from the successful-but-not-quite-impressive run of ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’, ABS-CBN is pinning its hopes on ‘A Love to Last’ to reverse a downward trend of sub-30% ratings in recent months. But as Bea and Ian were already industry veterans with nothing left to prove, it remains to be seen if viewers can still accept them as a force in primetime.

Over on GMA, a much lighter story will take place in the upcoming series ‘Meant to Be’, starring Barbie Forteza, Ken Chan, Jak Roberto, Addy Raj and Ivan Dorschner. It will be Barbie’s first primetime series since the not-so successful team-up with Andre Paras in ‘That’s My Amboy’ last year.

Joining them in this complicated love story are the ‘Triplets’ of ‘That’s Entertainment’ in Sheryl Cruz, Tina Paner and Manilyn Reynes, along with Keempee de Leon, Sef Cadayona, Mika dela Cruz, Stephanie Sol, Zymic Jaranilla and Ms. Gloria Romero. It will be directed by LA Madridejos.

In ‘Meant to Be’, Billie (Barbie) is an independent millenial whose life would soon revolve among the four men who will try to woo her heart; namely Fil-Brit Ethan (Ivan), Fil-Indian Jai (Addy), pure-blooded Filipino Macoy (Jak), and Fil-Chinese Yuan (Ken). But choosing the only guy that will fill her heart is not the only problem for Billie.

Billie will also deal with the crumbling relationship of her parents Wilton (Keempee) and Amelia (Manilyn), and the unemployment of her brother Bats (Sef). In addition, a sub-plot about Billie’s friendship with Mariko (Mika), and the once-formidable bond between Amelia, Suzy (Tina) and Beatriz (Sheryl) as a girl group will also be explored.

‘Meant to Be”s premiere will come at a not-so opportune time, as the JaDine-starred ‘Till I Met You’ reaches its final two weeks. With only a few episodes to prove themselves, it will be a huge challenge for this rom-com to make a first impression to Kapuso viewers.

Either way, both ‘A Love to Last’ and ‘Meant to Be’ are worth the wait for those who anticipate it. Good luck to both shows.

‘A Love to Last’ airs weeknights after ‘Ang Probinsyano’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida, while ‘Meant to Be’ airs weeknights after ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ on GMA Telebabad.

FTT Year 2016 in Review: The 20 Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part I)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2017, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 20 moments that define the Philippine media this year.

Here is Part I of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

The Return of Tawag ng Tanghalan

‘It’s Showtime’ was on the brink of waving the white flag when rival ‘Eat Bulaga”s Kalyeserye segment (starring AlDub) became wildly popular in the second half of 2015. So in order to get back on track, they decided to revive a singing competition that was successful in the era of black and white television.

Thus on the second day of 2016, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ was brought back as a segment of ‘It’s Showtime’. The segment would set the tone for ‘It’s Showtime”s renaissance, as it recaptured the ratings lead from ‘Eat Bulaga’ by the third week of January.

Speaking of ‘Eat Bulaga’…

Kalyeserye Concluded, Revived, Then Concluded Again

The long-running Kalyeserye segment had been on a roll since its debut on July 16, 2015. Unfortunately, the return to form of ‘It’s Showtime’, coupled by the presumed seven-month suspension of Paolo Ballesteros (a.k.a. Lola Tidora) and fans’ apparent frustration over repetitive and predictable storylines, led to a decline in popularity for the segment.

Along the way, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza took time off to record and promote the film ‘Imagine You and Me’. With the desire to push the duo to new territory, ‘Eat Bulaga’ decided to end Kalyeserye on September 3, although they revived the skit from October 15 to December 17 with a new chapter.

Both Alden and Maine are scheduled to star in the upcoming GMA teleserye ‘Destined to Be Yours’ beginning next year, putting Kalyeserye’s future in doubt.

KathNiel, LizQuen and JaDine’s Reign on Primetime Continues

ABS-CBN’s ‘Big Three’ love teams continued to roll in 2016. The year began with ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, reigning on the 8:40 timeslot, followed by its replacement ‘Dolce Amore’, starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, which debuted on February 15.

Unfortunately, although James Reid and Nadine Lustre began the year with the highly successful ‘On the Wings of Love’, they failed to keep the momentum going when ‘Till I Met You’ premiered on August 29 to a rather lukewarm reception in the ratings. As a result, on September 19, ABS-CBN moved the series’ timeslot to 9:30 p.m., which eventually paid off.

But for every successful pairing, there are some love teams that did not click at all, as seen in this next entry.

AnBie, AlNine and ElNella: The Lost Love Teams

Barbie Forteza and Andre Paras were paired in the long-running afternoon drama ‘The Half-Sisters’, which finally came to an end on January 15. Two weeks later, they received a primetime push with ‘That’s My Amboy’, but the series ended in late April with just 68 episodes and little fanfare.

Its successor, Aljur Abrenica and Janine Gutierrez’s ‘Once Again’, did not even come close, clocking at only 59 episodes from May to July. Over at ABS-CBN, Janine’s ex-boyfriend Elmo Magalona was paired with Janella Salvador in ‘Born for You’, but the series made little impact either, lasting 65 episodes from June to September.

It remains to be seen if the three love teams will have a chance to redeem themselves next year. But in the meantime, let’s move on.

Sexy Time in 2016

The trend towards sensually mature programs continued in 2016. On ABS-CBN, ‘Pasion de Amor’, ‘Tubig at Langis’ and ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ stood out, with Coleen Garcia, Ellen Adarna, Arci Muñoz, Isabelle Daza and Cristine Reyes emerging to showcase their newfound abilities in a more raunchy setting.

Over on GMA, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’, ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ and ‘Hahamakin ang Lahat’ provided a new dimension for stars Rhian Ramos, Andrea Torres and Joyce Ching to show their chops. But perhaps their greatest contributions were ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ and ‘A1 Ko Sa ‘Yo’, both of which feature a mix of comedy and sensuality.

If 2016 set the tone for more sexual themes with SPG ratings all over the place, then what else is in store come 2017? Find out soon.

In the meantime, Part II of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Farewell, Dolce Amore

ABS-CBN is calling tomorrow’s episode of ‘Dolce Amore’ ‘ The Most Beautiful Finale’.

And why not? After all, for over seven months, viewers were enthralled by the long-distance love story surrounding Tenten (Enrique Gil) and Serena (Liza Soberano). Their relationship may have some highs and lows as the story wore on, but come this Friday, all of that ‘kilig’ will finally pay off for good.

‘Dolce Amore’ first burst into the scene on February 15, replacing another hit drama in ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’. The series, which was taped in Italy early in its run, became an immediate hit, and in the process, dispelled the notion that LizQuen were a ‘one-hit wonder’ on television.

Along the way, ‘Dolce Amore’ prevailed against GMA’s own love teams in AnBie (Andre Paras and Barbie Forteza of ‘That’s My Amboy’) and AlNine (Aljur Abrenica and Janine Gutierrez of ‘Once Again’). As a result of ‘Dolce Amore”s thorough domination, GMA gave up the fight and placed the Koreanovela ‘Descendants of the Sun’ as a last resort.

Overall, ‘Dolce Amore’ lasted 137 episodes, which is ten episodes more than the combined total of rivals ‘That’s My Amboy’ (68 episodes) and ‘Once Again’ (59 episodes).  This was a testament to the success and enduring popularity of the LizQuen tandem, not to mention the storytelling magic of Cathy Garcia-Molina.

As ‘Dolce Amore’ enters its finale tomorrow night, one thing is certain. For the last time in the series, the magic of LizQuen will be on display, and viewers hope that this will be a memorable and unforgettable ending.

While tomorrow will be the end of the love story between Serena and Tenten, the story of LizQuen will go on. An upcoming film starring the love team is in the works, and is expected to be released later this year.

Coming up next on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida will be ‘Till I Met You’, starring another popular love team in JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre). More on that tomorrow.

GMA Koreanovela to Oppose Dolce Amore

The high cost of running ‘Encantadia’ is currently felt throughout GMA Telebabad.

As director Mark Reyes earlier revealed, ‘Encantadia”s production budget is ‘roughly equal to two primetime shows or three non-primetime shows‘. As a result of these huge expenses, GMA was left with no choice but to resort to two Koreanovelas as a cheap alternative on their Telebabad block over producing another local drama.

One of these Koreanovelas happen to be the next opponent of ABS-CBN’s ‘Dolce Amore’. The latter series, starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, has given GMA a lot of problems, having defeated ‘That’s My Amboy’ and the short-lived ‘Once Again’ by big margins.

It is clear to GMA that they can no longer beat the more popular tandems of ABS-CBN. With that in mind, their only course of action now is to stop chasing either LizQuen, KathNiel (Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) and JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre), and air a Koreanovela in its place, which is exactly what they’ll do tonight.

Enter ‘Descendants of the Sun’, the hit Korean drama that starred Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo. The series’ plot revolves around a love story between a doctor and a soldier stationed within Greece and the Balkans.

‘Descendants of the Sun’ ran for 16 episodes in its native Korea. In the Philippines, however, it is expected to air for roughly 20-25 episodes, which is still a typically short run for a GMA Koreanovela.

The other Koreanovela in question is ‘The Healer’, which unlike ‘Descendants of the Sun’, will only air three times a week. The series will star Ji Chang-wook, Park Min-young and Yoo Ji-tae.

In its native Korea, ‘The Healer’ ran for 20 episodes. This equates to roughly 30 episodes once it airs in the Philippines.

As two Koreanovelas permeate the Telebabad lineup, GMA is now feeling the sting of frustration. After the rough start that the new ‘Encantadia’ endured, it won’t be long before GMA admits its mistake of investing heavily on the fantaserye over more important projects (e.g. digital and high-definition broadcasts).

That said, two Koreanovelas on Telebabad could only be a short-term solution to compensate for the heavy expenditures of ‘Encantadia’. But as far as GMA is concerned, these two may not be enough to solve its ratings and broadcast issues.

‘Descendants of the Sun’ airs after ‘Encantadia’, while ‘The Healer’ airs after ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ on GMA Telebabad.

Juan Happy Love Story Debuts Tonight, To Face The Story of Us

GMA continues to have fun with romantic comedies.

Their latest, ‘Juan Happy Love Story’, takes it even further with the addition of a more daring and naughty approach. Premiering tonight on GMA Telebabad, the series stars Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista as two lovers with differing views in both romance and life.

In ‘Juan Happy Love Story’, Juan (Dennis), a responsible businessman and a ‘chick boy’, and Happy (Heart), a feisty family-oriented woman who relied on signs to find her true love, were two individuals with contrasting perspectives. Still, they fell in love and tied the knot, but unfortunately, they cannot bear a child of their own.

Instead, they found a bubbly six-year-old orphan named Katkat (Leanne Bautista), but marital problems intervened and they separated. Nevertheless, Happy allowed Juan to live with her in hopes of legally adopting Katkat, however, their relationship was put to the test with the entry of Bob (Joross Gamboa) and Agatha (Kim Domingo).

Bob, a childhood friend of Happy, and Agatha, a business partner of Juan, attempted to court the two individually. With their relationship in doubt, it is up to Juan and Happy to put their differences aside and reconcile anew, hoping to finally live a normal life with their adopted daughter.

Joining the extended cast of ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ are Gloria Romero, Nick Lizaso, Gardo Versoza, Lotlot de Leon, Erika Padilla, Dominic Roco, Vincent Magbanua, Rob Moya, Arianne Bautista, Koreen Medina, and Vince Gamad. The series is directed by Lord Alvin Madridejos.

‘Juan Happy Love Story’ should have an uphill battle to begin with. Its opponent, ABS-CBN’s ‘The Story of Us’, has been on a roll, and with the love team of Kim Chiu and Xian Lim already well-established to the viewing public, it’s going to be a daunting task for both Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista to find a niche early on.

This is a light-hearted romantic series that GMA cannot afford to lose. After failing to hit paydirt with ‘Because of You’ and ‘That’s My Amboy’, their last ray of hope now rests on ‘Juan Happy Love Story’, whose success will depend on how viewers will welcome this new mix of comedy and raunchiness.

‘Juan Happy Love Story’ airs weeknights at 9:15 p.m. after ‘Once Again’ on GMA Telebabad.

So Long, Because of You

‘Because of You’ is calling it a series.

Tonight is the final episode for the mostly feel-good GMA drama series. First aired November 30, 2015, ‘Because of You’ ran for a total of 117 episodes, and became one of GMA’s longer-running teleseryes in recent memory.

Despite its uncharacteristically long run, ‘Because of You’ did not exactly enjoy tremendous success in the ratings. From day one, the series was matched up against ABS-CBN’s ‘On the Wings of Love’, and as it turned out, the ever-popular JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre) was too much for both Carla Abellana and Gabby Concepcion to handle.

The low point came February 26 when ‘Because of You’ earned a paltry 13.2%, while ‘On the Wings of Love” got an impressive 27.8% rating on its final night. The losses continued from there.

Even when JaDine gave way to KimXi (Kim Chiu and Xian Lim) and ‘The Story of Us’, the script stayed the same. Although ‘The Story of Us’ was not much of a hit as its predecessor, they still outperformed ‘Because of You’, but only by a few points.

As its ratings became too hard to bear, GMA decided that enough is enough. Like ‘That’s My Amboy’, GMA quietly distanced themselves from promoting ‘Because of You’ at the beginning of April, and in its place came ten-second advisories which proved to be the last straw for the series.

Overall, ‘Because of You’ was a good series that suffered from better competition and, in its final weeks, lack of promotion. It’s a shame that a series as promising as ‘Because of You’ would go down meekly, and GMA’s decision to not actively promote the teleserye became all the more poetic as its struggles escalate.

Now that ‘Because of You’ is about to air its finale, the priority at this point is to finish strong. GMA may have limited its promotion towards the end, but for the cast, producers and fans, it’s all about concluding the series on a positive note, and even in defeat, they should be proud.

‘Because of You’ will be replaced by ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ on GMA Telebabad. Stay tuned to From the Tube for more information.