DryedMangoez Recaps, Reviews and Commentary about Filipino television
Was it perfect? No. Was it everything I hoped it would be? Definitely not. Was it a refreshing change of pace from the typical Filipino teleserye? Absolutely. GMA Network and Regal Entertainment’s first full series collaboration Mano Po Legacy – The Family Fortune was a breath of fresh air.
October 11, 2013. (October 12, Philippine Time) I posted the appreciation article entitled “From Wowowee to Wowowillie – The End of an Era on Philippine Television… Again”. It was the day of the last airing of Wowowillie on TV5. And it appears today could be the end of another era. And potentially the beginning of a new one?
It’s been a while since I’ve regularly followed a Filipino teleserye. Biggest reason for that is we unsubscribed to GMA Pinoy TV back in the early days of COVID. $14.99 is $14.99, after all, and there wasn’t exactly new programming airing on Philippine TV at the time to warrant the extra expense. There is also an alternative to subscribing, but we weren’t about to watch low quality pirated episodes on sketchy blogs. Watching short, bitin clips on YouTube is never appealing either.
But one new Filipino series has caught my attention. And that is the GMA Network-Regal Entertainment co-production Mano Po Legacy – The Family Fortune.
When it was first announced that TV5 would be airing a Cignal/Viva Entertainment-produced Philippine adaptation of Korean drama Encounter, I was shocked and a little confused. Of all the Korean dramas they could adapt, they chose this Song Hye Kyo-Park Bo Gum romantic drama?
Asterisk Digital Entertainment’s My Extraordinary is both groundbreaking and heartbreaking, as well as maybe a missed opportunity. For being the first BL series on Philippine broadcast television, it is a big step forward for more to come in the future. As a series, it is a heartbreaking, painful, but hopeful story that can be relatable to a Filipino audience. But it also falls short in some ways.
That changed this week with the premiere of My Extraordinary on TV5. The AsterisK Digital Entertainment-produced series is the first original local BL drama to air on Philippine television. And for such a historic first, the series is so far able to rise to the occasion.
TV5 heralded its return to original local entertainment programming with the premieres of the APT Entertainment-produced game shows Fill In The Bank and Bawal Na Game Show. While neither show is going to drive a significant amount of new or returning viewers to TV5, they are both simple and accessible fresh programs during a time when such content is at a premium.
TV5 and Cignal held a virtual mediacon Thursday on the eve of the arrival of new programming amid the network’s renewed focus on entertainment.
While I am under no delusion about The Amazing Race Philippines ever being resurrected by TV5 (or am I? lol), how might a possible relaunch work?
It is a very tumultuous and uncertain time in Philippine media and entertainment these days. An absolutely unprecedented and what could be a major change in the local television and entertainment industry.
I’m referring, of course, to TV5‘s impending rebrand and relaunch to One TV.