MANILA — GMA Network and ABS-CBN Corp. have sealed a new partnership for the co-production of a romantic drama series top-billed by talents of both companies.
“Unbreak My Heart,” which will be filmed in Switzerland, will air on GMA this 2023 and will be streaming in 15 territories outside of the Philippines on Viu.
Leading the cast are Jodi Sta. Maria, Joshua Garcia, Gabbi Garcia, and Richard Yap.
The series marks the first project of Sta. Maria with Joshua and Gabbi, who will also be paired for the first time. Meanwhile, she is set to be reunited with Yap, her former on-screen partner.
“This collaboration will really bring in opportunities not only to the networks, but for the people working in the network, for the people in the industry,” Sta. Maria said.
“I’m really proud, honored, and excited to be part of this show which is history in the making since this is the first time that two network giants will be working with each other. Of course I’m also excited to be working with Jodi again and all the other people in the cast,” Yap added.
Joshua and Gabbi, for their part, said they are also excited and honored to be part of the new project.
“I’m really honored talaga na makasama dito, na pinili nila ako na maging parte ng proyektong ‘to. Excited ako na gawin ‘yung character,” said Joshua.
“It’s my first time doing this kind of role. Grabe ‘yung growth and ‘yung depth ng character ko dito sa show na ‘to,” added Gabbi.
Also part of “Unbreak My Heart” are Maey Bautista, Will Ashley, Bianca de Vera, Nikki Valdez, Eula Valdes, and Laurice Guillen, with the show directed by Emmanuel Palo and Dolly Dulu.
‘FIRST FOR PH TV’
The partnership was made official during a contract signing and story conference event held at ABS-CBN, with top officials from the three companies led by GMA senior vice president for programming, talent management, worldwide, and support groups Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes; ABS-CBN COO of broadcast Cory Vidanes; and Viu Philippines deputy country manager Vinchi Sy-Quia.
GMA officials who were welcomed at the signing event were first vice president for program management department Joey Abacan and assistant vice president for Sparkle Joy Marcelo.
Representing ABS-CBN were group CFO Rick Tan, TV production and Star Magic head Lauren Dyogi, international sales and distribution head Pia Laurel, and Dreamscape Entertainment led by Deo Endrinal, creatives head Rondel Lindayag, creatives manager Joel Mercado, and business unit head Carlina Dela Merced.
The event was also graced by Viu Philippines senior project manager Mil Alcain and content partnerships head Garlic Garcia.
“It’s a first for Philippine TV and I’m sure it’s the audience that will be the winners in this collaboration. We’re very excited to be working with ABS-CBN on TV for the first time,” Gozon-Valdes said.
“This is a milestone in the industry. We’re thankful for this opportunity and we’re very happy to work with GMA to serve our audiences. We unite as one team. We never imagined that this was going to happen,” Vidanes said.
“Today, we are able to proudly showcase that on our platform with premium Filipino content not just for Filipino audiences but also for global audiences to appreciate and enjoy. This is with a vision of bringing the best of the Filipino talent on-cam and off-cam to the world,” Garlic added.
“Unbreak My Heart” follows ABS-CBN and GMA’s groundbreaking partnership last year, when the Kapuso network started to air Star Cinema films.
(News.abs-cbn.com)
CAPTION: (Left to right) Joshua Garcia, Gabbi Garcia, Jodi Sta. Maria, and Richard Yap star in “Unbreak My Heart.” Handout/ABS-CBN
2nd photo: Representatives from ABS-CBN, GMA, and Viu during the launch of the partnership. Handout/ABS-CBN