Elmo, Janella Team Up in Born for You

The most talked-about Kapamilya series in recent memory is hitting the small screen this Monday.

Enter ‘Born for You’, the upcoming ABS-CBN teleserye that will be headlined by two of the country’s up-and-coming young stars. The series will mark the Kapamilya debut of Elmo Magalona, as well as Primetime Bida’s introduction to Janella Salvador.

Named after a hit song by David Pomeranz (his own rendition is prominently featured in this series), ‘Born for You’ is a story of two individuals who share a common bond for music. Sam (Janella) is an upcoming Filipino singer who grew up in Japan, while Kevin (Elmo) is a teen hearthrob and the son of an OPM icon.

Sam believed in a red string of fate, a concept which connects two people that are destined to meet each other wherever they are in the world. It is that string which helped link both Sam and Kevin, but their parents’ shocking musical past might also break it all up.

‘Born for You’ will also star Ariel Rivera, Vina Morales, Ayen Laurel, Bernard Palanca, Gina Pareño, Freddie Webb, Jimboy Martin, Joj Agpangan, Francis Magundayao, Smokey Manaloto, Ogie Diaz, Katya Santos, DJ Durano, Alfred Labatos, Kyline Alcantara, Paulo O’Hara, Neil Coleta, and Young JV. It will be directed by Onat Diaz and Jon Villarin.

In the weeks leading up to the premiere of ‘Born for You’, a lot is said about its promising story and the hype brought on by the fresh pairing of Elmo and Janella. That, coupled by the viewers’ overall excitement over the series, helped ‘Born for You’ become an immediate trending topic on social media.

With so much anticipation surrounding ‘Born for You’, this could spell trouble for its opponent, GMA’s ‘Juan Happy Love Story’. The comedy-drama starring Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista has not fared well from the beginning, and it could get worse against a younger love team like Elmo and Janella.

As ‘Born for You’ premieres this Monday, expect no less than a first impression. It is now up to Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador to take them to ratings heaven.

‘Born for You’ airs weeknights starting this Monday after ‘Dolce Amore’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

More Pressure for ‘Pari Koy’ With ‘Nathaniel’ Debut

So far, not so good for ‘Pari Koy’ as far as performance goes. They now await a new challenger in ‘Nathaniel’. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

The first six weeks of ‘Pari Koy’ proved to be a dud for GMA.

The Dingdong Dantes-led series seldom hit the 20% mark in the Kantar ratings, compared to the recently concluded ‘Dream Dad”s 30% or better numbers. While it did manage to break in decent numbers in AGB Nielsen, there is no denying that Zanjoe Marudo and Jana Agoncillo were a better hit with the masses than GMA’s so-called ‘Primetime King’.

And as they begin week seven of their run, an even more imposing challenge await the cast of ‘Pari Koy’.

Enter ‘Nathaniel’, the newest ABS-CBN teleserye that debuts later tonight. The series will be led by Gerald Anderson, Shaina Magdayao, and the latest Kapamilya child discovery, Marco Masa.

‘Nathaniel”s plot will feature the titular angel who was sent back to earth in order to restore man’s belief in God and remind people of the goodness that can be found in their hearts. The series is the latest in a line of divine-centric teleseryes produced by ABS-CBN and Dreamscape Entertainment, makers of classics such as ‘May Bukas Pa’, ‘100 Days to Heaven’ and ‘Honesto’.

Joining ‘Nathaniel’ in his quest for faith and devotion to mankind are Pokwang, Isabelle Daza, Benjie Paras, Jayson Gainza, Ogie Diaz, Sharlene San Pedro, Jairus Aquino, Yesha Camile, David Chua, Young JV, Fourth and Fifth Pagotan, and Coney Reyes. The series will be directed by Darnel Joy Villaflor and Francis Pasion.

Based on ABS-CBN’s track record of creating successful teleseryes with themes of inspiration and faith, it will be a very tough task for ‘Pari Koy’ to overcome ‘Nathaniel’. Not even the entry of Carla Abellana to the series as a supporting character will help matters.

If their inability to make a dent on ‘Dream Dad’ is not enough, what more if an untested child star in Marco Masa gives a veteran in Dingdong Dantes a run for his money? This is definitely one dilemma that GMA has to solve in facing ABS-CBN’s newest child star.

‘Nathaniel’ premieres later tonight after ‘TV Patrol’. As for ‘Pari Koy’, well, good luck in facing this new opponent.

Kambal Sirena, Dyesebel Won’t Begin Simultaneously

GMA’s Kambal Sirena begins its run a week ahead of ABS-CBN’s Dyesebel. (Photo courtesy of Bida Kapamilya)

The so-called ‘Sirena Wars’ on Philippine television will have to wait for another two weeks, as both GMA and ABS-CBN set their final episode dates for ‘Adarna’ and ‘Honesto’.

‘Adarna’, the fantaserye starring Kylie Padilla, airs its final episode tomorrow. Airing since November 18, 2013, ‘Adarna’ was supposed to revive GMA’s tried and tested fantaserye genre that has worked for them in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, the show failed to surpass expectations, due to the fact that a rival teleserye is superbly dominant in its timeslot.

That teleserye happened to be ‘Honesto’, which has been consistently atop the primetime ratings since its debut. Its superior ratings also translated into high trending figures in social media, with hashtags related to the show leading Twitter’s trending topics. The Raikko Mateo-starred series first aired on October 28, and will air its final episode on March 14.

The two series will be replaced by ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ respectively. The former, an original concept of the Kapuso network, will star Louise delos Reyes, while the latter, acquired by the Kapamilya network from Mars Ravelo’s estate, will star Anne Curtis.

Hype between the two series began last December, as both networks revealed the initial teasers for their respective mermaids. But while GMA began to heavily promote ‘Kambal Sirena’ during the months of January and February, ABS-CBN was slow to promote ‘Dyesebel’ as it continued to focus on its highly-rated programs ‘Honesto’ and ‘Got to Believe’. Nevertheless, viewers were salivating at the prospect of two mermaid-based series facing each other on primetime.

Both ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ will feature an equally stellar supporting cast. In ‘Kambal Sirena’, Aljur Abrenica will star as the leading man, while Wynwyn Marquez serves as the main villain. The series will also star Mickey Ferriols, Angelika dela Cruz, Gladys Reyes, Tessie Tomas, Mike Tan, Pancho Magno, Polo Ravales, Lotlot de Leon, Rich Asuncion, and Chanda Romero.

In ‘Dyesebel’, Sam Milby and Gerald Anderson will play the leading men, while Andi Eigenmann takes on a villainous role. Portraying supporting roles in the series will be Dawn Zulueta, Eula Valdes, Gabby Concepcion, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Bangs Garcia, David Chua, Ai Ai delas Alas, Neil Coleta, Young JV and Ogie Diaz.

While ‘Kambal Sirena’ and ‘Dyesebel’ won’t begin at the same time, the rivalry between the two mermaid-based series will be something to look forward to. And it should add spice to what has been an already heated rivalry between the two major networks.