Conan Out, Usapang Real Love In

From cross-dressing beauticians to real love issues.

Last Sunday, the 13-episode run of ‘Conan My Beautician’ came to an end. The GMA Public Affairs-produced sitcom premiered on June 26 as a replacement to ‘Alamat’, but the show never caught fire, losing to ABS-CBN’s ‘Family Feud’ on a consistent basis.

Although Mark Herras made a good account of himself by portraying a cross-dressing hairstylist, ‘Conan My Beautician’ still fell short by GMA Public Affairs’ standards. Their continued involvement in entertainment shows is becoming a brain drain to the entertainment department, and it could pose an even bigger risk in future shows.

Moving on, a new GMA show will take the place of ‘Conan My Beautician’ this coming Sunday. Billed as the first-ever interactive rom-com series, ‘Usapang Real Love’ will feature four weekly episodes starring GMA’s love teams, along with a selected video entry that will be submitted by netizens on social media.

The show’s first story, titled ‘Dream Date’, will star Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix. The supporting cast for the said story will consist of Jak Roberto, Yayo Aguila, Lloyd Samartino, Jade Lopez, Ces Quesada and Gene Padilla.

The second story, titled ‘Perfect Fit’, will be led by Andre Paras and Mikee Quintos. The supporting cast will have William Lorenzo, Mickey Feriols, Arra San Agustin, Jay Arcilla, Vince Gamad and Bern Josep ‘Bekimon’ Persia.

As innovative as ‘Usapang Real Love’ is, they still have a huge hurdle to overcome. As mentioned earlier, ‘Family Feud’ proved to be a thorn on ‘Conan My Beautician”s side, and this puts even greater pressure on ‘Usapang Real Love’ to succeed.

Considering that the show will be a mere short-term filler, GMA can only hope for the best. The four episodes of ‘Usapang Real Love’ should be a gauge to see if their love teams will return to form, and if so, GMA will be poised to give them better projects.

‘Usapang Real Love’ airs every Sunday at 4:45 p.m. on GMA.

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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.