ABS-CBN;’s TV adaptation of the Mars Ravelo-created superheroine is reportedly succeeding the six-year-old primetime drama in its post-TV Patrol time slot.
ABS-CBN’s Darna may be poised to be the network’s biggest production this year, but that does not guarantee it will be a success, especially since rumor has it that it will succeed FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’s post-TV Patrol time slot. Whether or not that’s the case, however, pressure remains on an ultra-high level for the series, JRB Creative Production, and its lead actress, Jane de Leon.
It is worth noting that the TV series has been in the works for years, and was stalled several times, before its nearing debut next month. Once it premieres, the series will be dealing with expectations both from fans and from the management. Will it be able to deliver? And more importantly, will it be able to replicate FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’s record-breaking spree online? That seems to be the more interesting question, isn’t it, given the Coco Martin-starrer’s seemingly unending streak of new concurrent viewership records. Last night, June 16, the ‘Habulan’ episode saw the series breaching 321,000 concurrent viewers on Kapamilya Online Live. The feat came just a day after a previous record was set.
Despite A2Z and TV5’s limited free TV reach, the pressure of pulling off similar, if not better, milestones in the digital realm, ABS-CBN’s Darna will likely attract observers. They may be wondering if the show will be able to achieve FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’s high TV ratings.
There have been reports about ABS-CBN and TV5 expanding their free TV partnership, which may allow the latter to rent and use the former’s idle transmitters and achieve ABS-CBN’s post-shutdown nationwide coverage. That possibility, of course, will enable Kapamilya programs to achieve higher viewership and TV ratings.
ABS-CBN’s Darna is only the third TV adaptation of the Mars Ravelo classic. GMA Network produced two TV series: one in 2005, which starred Angel Locsin, and another in 2009, which starred Marian Rivera.
That brings us to the question: ‘will this new ‘Darna’ TV series make De Leon a superstar, the same way the two previous TV incarnations made both Locsin and Rivera, their home network’s biggest female stars? We will find out when the series comes out in July.
