My Super D Premiere Leads to Late-Afternoon Shakeup

It’s going to be an afternoon of change for ABS-CBN next week.

On Monday, April 18, the superhero drama series ‘My Super D’ will officially premiere on the Primetime Bida block. That was the good news.

The bad news, there are no free slots for ‘My Super D’ on the current Primetime Bida lineup. Its intended replacement, ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’, has not announced a final episode date due to its impressively high ratings, and ABS-CBN has no intention of replacing it at this point.

So where does ‘My Super D’ end up? Luckily, ABS-CBN freed up one slot for the upcoming series when it announced that ‘Game ng Bayan’ will air its final episode tomorrow afternoon.

The sudden cancellation of ‘Game ng Bayan’ came barely a month after it premiered to replace ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. Clearly, ABS-CBN knew what was coming, as ‘Game ng Bayan’ not only struggled in the ratings, but also became a logistical nightmare for the network.

With ‘Game ng Bayan”s cancellation now official, its old timeslot will now be filled by ‘We Will Survive’, the drama series starring Melai Cantiveros and Pokwang. It will still face GMA’s ‘Wowowin’, but not all areas will receive ‘We Will Survive’, which is a problem for ABS-CBN’s Regional Network Group.

Whether or not ABS-CBN will keep ‘We Will Survive’ on the Primetime Bida slot or move it to Kapamilya Gold remains to be seen. However, they need to find a way to make the broadcasts of ‘We Will Survive’ as simultaneous as possible, so as not to sacrifice its decently good ratings.

Going back to ‘My Super D’, this superhero drama series follows the footsteps of fellow ABS-CBN original creations such as ‘Super Inggo’, ‘My Little Juan’ and ‘Juan Dela Cruz’. With each of these series becoming successful hits for the network, the pressure is now on ‘My Super D’ to deliver similar results.

In ‘My Super D’, Dominic Ochoa will play the titular superhero role as Super D. He will be supported by Marco Masa and Bianca Manalo, who will play the role of son and wife respectively.

Joining them in the series are Atoy Co, Ryan Rems, Myrtle Sarrosa, Jef Gaitan, Louie Domingo, Marina Benipayo, Bong Regala, Jason Francisco, Marvin Agustin, Noni Buencamino and Ronaldo Valdez. It will be directed by Frasco Mortiz and Lino Cayetano.

With these changes now official, the question is, can ‘My Super D’ fly higher than ‘Wowowin’? And can ‘Wowowin’ be able to stave off this new threat?

We’ll find out.

‘My Super D’ premieres this Monday, and airs weeknights before ‘TV Patrol’.

Pokwang, Melai Go Dramatic on We Will Survive

Something different will take place on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida this Monday.

After taking a more sensual approach with ‘Pasion de Amor’, the Kapamilya network decided to switch their style for the 5:45 p.m. slot. The newest drama, ‘We Will Survive’, is comparatively lighter, yet it can still deliver some tearjerking moments to viewers.

In ‘We Will Survive’, two childhood friends from Bicol grew up with different personalities, but with similar heart-breaking circumstances. Wilma (Pokwang) is a beauty salon worker with a quiet demeanor, while Maricel (Melai Cantiveros) is a hotel manager with a more upbeat presence.

Both Wilma and Maricel failed in their relationships with other men, and this common low point led to them getting supportive of each other in order to overcome these personal heartbreaks. Together, with all the challenges they face, they will learn what it takes to be survivors in life.

Joining Pokwang and Melai on ‘We Will Survive’ are Josh De Guzman, Carlo Aquino, Jeric Raval, Bea Saw, Regine Angeles, Viveika Ravanes, Bing Davao, Alcris Galura, Maris Racal, Joshua Zamora, McCoy De Leon, and Vangie Labalan. Jeffrey Jeturian will direct this heart-warming drama.

‘We Will Survive’ is one of two new dramas set to premiere this Monday. The other is ‘The Story of Us’, which will take over the timeslot of ‘On the Wings of Love’ (more on that this Monday).

Following the footsteps of the ever-successful ‘Pasion de Amor’ will not be easy for ‘We Will Survive’. With ‘Wowowin’ already threatening in the ratings, this will be a huge challenge for the series to be as successful as its predecessor.

Still, with ‘We Will Survive’ following the same vein as other light-hearted dramas such as ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ (also directed by Jeturian), anything is possible. That said, the new challenge for comediennes Pokwang and Melai should be a good one, as they will show viewers their ability to shed tears in dramas such as this.

‘We Will Survive’ premieres this Monday before ‘TV Patrol’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.