Philippine television drama, also known as teleserye, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. Teleserye is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "telebisyón" (television), and "serye" (series).
Teleseryes share characteristics with and have roots similar to soap operas and telenovelas. They have evolved into a genre with unique characteristics, however, and often reflect Filipino social reality. Teleseryes are aired in the afternoon and prime time, five days a week. Their audience crosses age and gender lines, and they have the highest advertising rates in the Philippine television industry. Series last from three months to a year or longer, depending on ratings.
Philippine TV dramas also include serials and anthologies, usually shown weekly. These dramas have a finite number of episodes and usually last one season, again depending on ratings.
History
1940s-1980s Soap operas in the Philippines began with Gulong ng Palad (Wheel of Fortune) on radio in 1949 on DZRH. When television began in the Philippines in 1953, teletheater plays were the first drama shows to be broadcast, but soon soap operas began to be broadcast on the young medium. The first true Philippine TV soap opera was Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato (Mystery at the Stone House) in 1963, produced by ABS-CBN. Larawan ng Pag-ibig (Picture of Love), Prinsipe Amante (Prince Amante), Mga Bayani sa Kalawakan (Heroes in Space) and a number of others followed, not only by ABS-CBN, but also by other channels that came after. ABS-CBN's Mallerva, debuting 1970, was among the first ever midday dramas ever to be produced and aired, and one of the first to be videotaped in color.
Gulong ng Palad, co-written by Loida Virina, was the longest-running radio serial and ran until the mid-1980s. Its TV version - produced by BBC-2, starred Marianne Dela Riva and Ronald Corveau and introduced young actors, including Romnick Sarmenta. Veteran actress Caridad Sanchez enhanced the series' popularity.
During the 1972–1986 martial-law period, the government closed several networks (including ABS-CBN), leaving, alongside BBC, RPN and GMA the Philippine's only three commercial television networks and the three that dominated local TV dramas. The lack of a diverse media base aided the emergence of nationwide satellite broadcasting, and competition between RPN and GMA, as well as the fact that the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation network had given up on TV drama production after the end of 1973-75's Dahong Ginto, its first original TV drama post-1972, spurred afternoon and prime-time sitcoms and serials. Philippine TV schedules resembled those in the U.S., with networks scheduling shows in daily time blocks instead of separate weekday and weekend programming, with US imports dominating after the evening news. But there was room for local drama to flourish.
RPN in 1978 launched María Flordeluna, starring Janice de Belén and based on a 1960 ABS-CBN Studios radio drama from Cebu City. Its cast included Dindo Fernando and actress-director Laurice Guillen. In response to its popularity, GMA in turn produced Anna Liza, starring the young movie star Julie Vega. Before the introduction of a TV ratings system in the Philippines during the 1990s, the two drama series were rivals in the primetime timeslots as lead-ins to the news. Anna Liza, cancelled in spring 1985 after Vega's death, had an unfinished storyline and a two-hour special in 1986, while the series itself was replaced in the early fall of 1985 by the short-lived Mirasol del Cielo, starting Sugar Benedicto and including veteran actress Anita Linda.
GMA by 1980, in response to the ratings hit that was Gulong ng Palad, launched its own high society drama series, Forbes, with an all-star cast headlined by Vic Silayan. Set in the residencial Forbes Park subdivision in Makati, it was a pioneer in this regard, one of the first modern TV dramas filmed in the country's financial capital.
Alongside the rise of primetime dramas, afternoon drama programming, which TAPE Productions pioneered for new audiences, soon broke out with the first modern afternoon drama in 1984, RPN's Heredero.
People's Television Network's Dulansining of 1977 marked its official debut in TV drama production, followed by 1978's Brocka Presents, directed by its namesake, film director Lino Brocka.
1990s
Until the late 1980s, Philippine television dramas were broadcast during the afternoon. In 1986, ABS-CBN resumed operations after the end of the Marcos dictatorship and regained its audience lead by the end of the decade. In the early and mid-1990s, local sitcoms dominated Philippine television with the rise of ABS-CBN's Palibhasa Lalake, Home Along Da Riles, Oki Doki Doc and the political satire Abangan Ang Susunod Na Kabanata and GMA Network's Bubble Gang. International television swept the Philippines, beginning with Mexican telenovelas.
The 1990s are considered a golden age of Philippine television drama. Most, such as Agila, Anna Luna, Valiente and Mara Clara, were aired on ABS-CBN.
The most popular was the Las Tres Marias trilogy, produced by Televisa and starring Thalía. Marimar and Maria la del Barrio were broadcast in prime time on RPN. Maria Mercedes was broadcast on ABS-CBN. Major networks began to reschedule Filipino telenovelas in prime time to attract increased advertising revenue. By the mid-1990s, teledramas surpassed sitcoms in Filipino prime-time television.
One of the country's best-known TV series was Mara Clara, which aired from 1992 to 1997. The longest-running teledrama in the post-martial-law era, it had frequent time-slot changes before settling into the standard 7-8:00 pm prime-time block by late 1995.
In mid-1997, Mula sa Puso, another ABS-CBN series, saw the rise of Claudine Barretto. Barretto played the heiress Via in the two-year soap; Rico Yan and Diether Ocampo were her leading men, and Princess Punzalan played Selina, the series' most influential character. Mula Sa Puso was the Philippine's first middle-class primetime series, differing from the telenovelas with protagonists from the lower socioeconomic classes.
GMA retained and popularized its afternoon dramas, such as 1995–1997's Villa Quintana, with Donna Cruz, Keempee de Leon and Isabel Rivas. It was followed by 1997–1998's Ikaw na Sana, with Angelu de Leon and Bobby Andrews. Both were later moved to prime time.
ABC retained and popularized its afternoon drama, such as the 1999-2000 Paraiso. IBC's Ula ang Batang Gubat - the debut drama of Judy Ann Santos, was one of the network's hit primetime dramas of the early 1990s.
2000s
Philippine television dramas evolved into teleserye, a portmanteau of the Filipino words telebisyon ("television") and serye ("series"). The term originated with the ABS-CBN drama Pangako Sa 'Yo, airing from 2000 to 2002 and starring Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa, and the rivalry between actresses Eula Valdez and Jean Garcia. Pangako Sa'Yo, the Philippines' first teleserye, was considered a turning point in Philippine television because of its production and fast-paced, multiple-arc plotlines which distinguished it from telenovelas.
Broadcast in the Americas, Africa and Asia, it remains the most successful Philippine television series worldwide. At the end of its run in 2002, Pangako Sa 'Yo had the highest-rated series-finale episode of a Philippine show. Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, which ended in 2003, was the Philippines' first series as a finalist in the Best Drama Series category of the 2003 International Emmy Awards.
ABC retained and popularized its primetime drama, such as 2000–2001, Gintong Pangarap.
ABS-CBN's 2004 Marina popularized the fantasy of most Filipino teleseryes. GMA Network's political drama Kung Mawawala Ka examined corruption, starring Eddie Garcia; it ran from 2002 to 2003 and received an award from the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC).
Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas, aired between 2003 and 2004, was the world's first drama series to allow viewers to choose a story's ending by texting. A contemporary ABS-CBN teleserye, Basta't Kasama Kita, starred Judy Ann Santos and Robin Padilla; notable for its depiction of the National Bureau of Investigation, it was the first Filipino series to broadcast a live series-finale episode in 2004. In 2004, GMA Network overtook ABS-CBN in popularity when it introduced an all-fantaserye prime-time lineup featuring female-lead shows such as Encantadia and Mulawin. GMA gained a ratings foothold with Darna, starring Angel Locsin.
The Philippines emerged as one of the world's largest television-drama-producing nations in the middle of the decade. International hits included ABS-CBN's 2006 Gulong ng Palad, starring Kristine Hermosa and TJ Trinidad, which was carried on TFC. A 2007 remake of Maria Flordeluna, which aired on RPN-9 in the 1970s and 1980s, starred Eliza Pineda. The 93-episode series received the 2008 PMPC Star Award for Best Television Series.
TV adaptations of films included ABS-CBN's Panday (starring Jericho Rosales and Heart Evangelista), Mga Anghel na Walang Langit and Kampanerang Kuba, starring Anne Curtis. The "sineserye" genre was introduced with Bituing Walang Ningning, starring Sarah Geronimo and Angelika de la Cruz.
2005 marked the start of domination of religious-oriented teleseryes, and trend of airing family-oriented drama series produced by ABS-CBN's Dreamscape Entertainment with Mga Anghel na Walang Langit which greenlighted in March 2005 and aired from May 2005 to February 2006, and lasted for 210 episodes. Religious and family teleseryes continued to dominate in the following years and decades.
Late in the decade, GMA-7 and ABS-CBN became rivals. GMA aired its 2007 remake of the international telenovela MariMar. Three ABS-CBN series became popular: the remake of the 1977–1985 soap opera Gulong ng Palad, the teleserye Sa Piling Mo and the series Maging Sino Ka Man—the most popular teleserye internationally after Pangako Sa'Yo.
In 2008 and 2011, the drama anthology series Star Magic Presents and Your Song became the longest-running drama anthology on ABS-CBN with a total of 100 and 239 episodes respectively.
In 2008, ABS-CBN produced its most expensive series, Lobo. It starred Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin—the first Filipino nominated for an International Emmy for a lead role. I Love Betty La Fea, a Filipino remake of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, was broadcast in 2008. It was the most successful Philippine remake of a Latin telenovela since GMA Network's Marimar remake in 2007. TV5 series became popular: the remake of the 1995 live-action drama Batang X: The Next Generation.
2010s
ABS-CBN and GMA Network both claimed to be the Philippines' most popular network. GMA Network began appealing to viewers in Mega Manila during the mid-2000s. ABS-CBN's prime-time shows attracted viewers in other parts of the country, particularly Visayas and Mindanao. Philippine media experts attributed the trend to ABS-CBN's return to Filipino programming.