The Legal Wife
The Legal Wife is a 2014 Philippine drama television series directed by Rory B. Quintos and Dado C. Lumibao,[2] starring Angel Locsin, Jericho Rosales, Maja Salvador and JC de Vera.[2] The series aired on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide on The Filipino Channel from January 27, 2014 to June 13, 2014, replacing Maria Mercedes.[3][4]
The Legal Wife | |
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Title card | |
Genre | |
Created by |
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Written by |
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Directed by |
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Creative director(s) | Johnny delos Santos |
Starring |
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Opening theme | "Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin" by Angeline Quinto[1] |
Composer(s) | Willy Cruz |
Country of origin | Philippines |
Original language(s) | Filipino |
No. of episodes | 98 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Sackey Prince-Pendatun |
Editor(s) |
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Running time | 30–45 minutes Monday - Friday at 21:15 (PST) |
Production company(s) | Star Creatives |
Release | |
Original network | ABS-CBN |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Original release | January 27 – June 13, 2014 |
External links | |
Website |
Plot
The story revolves around Monica Santiago (Angel Locsin). Due to the past she encountered with her mother Eloisa (Rio Locsin), her life is put through the test in a whole new environment with her father Javier (Christopher de Leon), and her two brothers Javi (Joem Bascon) and Jasper (Ahron Villena). Through a set of circumstances, she will meet and fall in love with Adrian (Jericho Rosales), the man who will teach her how to love again, and the man who will also break her heart.
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Angel Locsin as Monica "Ikay" Santiago-de Villa
- Jericho Rosales as Adrian de Villa
- Maja Salvador as Nicole Esquivel
- JC de Vera as Max Gonzales
Supporting cast
- Christopher de Leon as Javier Santiago, Sr.
- Rio Locsin as Eloisa Santiago
- Mark Gil as Dante Ramos
- Maria Isabel Lopez as Sandra de Villa
- Joem Bascon as Javier "Javi" Santiago. Jr.
- Ahron Villena as Jasper Santiago
- Janus del Prado as Bradley
- Matet de Leon as Rowena
Extended cast
- Bernard Palanca as Miguel Zapanta
- Joe Vargas as Andrew de Villa
- Pamu Pamorada as Trish de Villa
- Leo Rialp as Eduardo "Gramps" Esquivel
- Pinky Marquez as Emma Alvaro
- Michael Flores as Bob Rivera
- Thou Reyes as Jon
- Dionne Monsanto as Rhea
- Zeppi Borromeo as Anton
- Carla Humphries as Audrey
- Frenchie Dy as Kelly
- Sonjia Calit as Gwen
Guest cast
- Bugoy Cariño as young Jasper
- Casey De Silvia as young Nicole
- Xyriel Manabat as young Monica
- Aaron Junatas as young Javi
- James Blanco as young Javier
- Neri Naig as young Eloisa
- Matt Evans as young Dante
- Dang Cruz as young Yaya Krising
- Junjun Nayra as Atty. Hector Vargas
- Ricardo Cepeda as Manuel Gonzales
- Carlos Morales as Javier De Villa
Production
Prior to the official airing of the show, its working titles were originally known as Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin,[5] and as Langis at Tubig.[6] Jake Cuenca and Andi Eigenmann was originally part of the main cast,[7] but was replaced by JC de Vera and Maja Salvador. Paulo Avelino was also reported to be part of the series but later backed out due to personal reasons.[8] Avelino was later replaced by Jericho Rosales.[9]
Filming of the series began in October 2013.[10]
Scheduling
The Legal Wife was originally planned to air on October 28, 2013.[11] It was later pushed back to November 2013 and was set to replace Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin. But due to the request of Koreanovela fans and taping conflicts because of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the airing was postponed because of Korean drama When a Man Falls in Love.[2][12] Eventually, the series had its pilot episode broadcast last January 27, 2014 as part of ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida block. Initially, the series was supposed to replace When a Man Falls in Love, but later ends up taking over the timeslot vacated by Maria Mercedes due to the demanding request of Koreanovela fans.[13][14]
Reception
Critical reception
Prior to the official airing of the television series, ABS-CBN launched several teasers of the show. One was the slapping scene between Angel Locsin and Maja Salvador's characters aired on January 1, 2014. The trailer was well received and went even viral all over the web, creating parodies and memes.[15]
Since the first episode, the show became a hot topic online and even trended on Twitter worldwide.[16]
Television ratings
Basing on the data gathered by Kantar Media, the pilot episode earned 21.1% of national viewership, making it the 5th most watched primetime program. It is the first drama on Philippine television to win in its late primetime slot in the ratings in all of its episodes.[17] The finale of The Legal Wife scored its biggest nationwide rating of 36.2%. This currently stands as the country's highest rating by any TV show on late primetime since the Philippines switched to nationwide TV ratings system in 2009.
Media | Pilot | Finale | Rating | Rank | Source | |
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Timeslot | Primetime | |||||
Kantar Media | January 27, 2014 | June 13, 2014 | 21.0%/36.2% | #1/#1 | #5/#1 | [18] |
AGB Nielsen | 23.9%/32% | #1/#1 | #4/#1 | [19] |
Theme song
The theme song Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin? was originally performed by Sharon Cuneta and served as the theme song for the 1996 film Madrasta, which also starred Cuneta alongside Zsa Zsa Padilla and Christopher de Leon. The film was produced by Star Cinema. It was covered by Angeline Quinto and it was used as the theme song for the TV series.
International broadcast
Country | Network | Title | Date |
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TodayTV VTC7 | Trò chơi tình ái | October 23, 2015 | |
KTN | |||
MyTV Africa | |||
Star TV | |||
RTV | Air Mata Istri | ||
Bright TV | รักกระชากใจ เดอะซีรีส์ ชุด เมียหมายเลขหนึ่ง | ||
Reruns
Reruns of the show's episodes airs on Jeepney TV.[20]
On March 18, 2020, ABS-CBN announced that the show would be rerun beginning March 23, 2020 via the network's Kapamilya Gold afternoon block, taking over the timeslot of Love Thy Woman as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[21] This rerun was abruptly cut due to the temporary closure of ABS-CBN following the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on account of its franchise expiration.[22]
See also
References
- "Angeline Quinto wows with 'Legal Wife' theme song". ABS-CBN News. January 15, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- Kristhoff Cagape (October 25, 2013). "'The Legal Wife 'is ABS-CBN's newest primetime offering". Push. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- "The Legal Wife casts". abs-cbn.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- "Truth calms intense filled Maria Mercedes finale". ABS-CBN News. January 25, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- "Maja Salvador says her new soap with Angel Locsin and Jericho Rosales is a big step in her career". Push. June 13, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- "After 'Imortal,' Angel excited about new soap". ABS-CBN News. October 13, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Miguel Dumaual (July 11, 2013). "'Mira Bella' and 6 upcoming Kapamilya soaps". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- "Why did Paulo Avelino back out of series with Angel?". ABS-CBN News. September 19, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Christine Denny (October 3, 2013). "Jericho Rosales wins acting award in Guam; he will have Angel Locsin, Maja Salvador as co-stars in next project". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- "Jericho to begin taping for new soap next week". ABS-CBN News. October 9, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- "Is it over for Angel, Phil Younghusband?". ABS-CBN News. October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Vinia Vivar (October 29, 2013). "Maja pinairal ang propesyonalismo kaya tinanggap ang kabit na role". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Chuck Smith (January 21, 2014). "Marian: No rivalry with Angel over competing shows". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Nestor U. Torre (January 31, 2014). "It's a date". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- Miguel Dumaual (January 8, 2014). "Angel-Maja slapping scene generates meme". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- "'The Legal Wife' pilot creates Twitter buzz". ABS-CBN News. January 28, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- http://www.starmometer/2014/06/16/the-legal-wife-ends-at-no-1-nationwide/%5B%5D
- Mark Angelo Ching (February 14, 2014). "Kantar Media-TNS Total Philippines Household Ratings (January 25-31, 2014): Buzz ng Bayan triumphs on Sunday daytime block". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Mark Angelo Ching (February 12, 2014). "AGB Nielsen Mega Manila Household Ratings (January 24-31, 2014): The Legal Wife pilot lands on 4th place while Carmela lands on 7th place". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Schedule". Cable Channels.ABS-CBN. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- "'The Legal Wife' at 'Got To Believe', muling magbabalik". ABS-CBN News. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- Rivas, Ralf (May 5, 2020). "ABS-CBN goes off-air after NTC order". Rappler. Retrieved June 29, 2020.