New original shows starring love teams SethDrea, KoDrea, young multi-hyphenates like AC Bonifacio, Darren Espanto, and more are coming real soon to iQiyi.
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When people think of streaming services, most of the attention goes to services like Netflix and Disney+. But one streaming service that is popping up on a lot of people’s radar as of late is iQiyi. The Asian-centric streaming service has been giving some popular and talked about K-Dramas like My Roommate is a Gumiho, Jirisan, and with more to come.
But the streaming service is also pivoting towards creating original Filipino content after they signed a partnership with ABS-CBN. In fact, this will be the first time the streaming service will be creating original content from Southeast Asia. And recently, we got our first look at the new shows. Starring some of the hottest and rising stars of the new generations, these iQiyi originals look really promising. Here are the shows to watch out for.
SAYING GOODBYE
The first-ever Filipino iQiyi original is Saying Goodbye. It is a romantic teen drama-comedy starring Andrea Brillantes and Seth Fedelin, or more commonly known as SethDrea. Andrea and Seth play Elise and Ricky, respectively. In the series, we are introduced to Elise and Ricky as they cross paths at an old record store fighting over the same Yeng Constantino album. Their common love for the artist helped them form a friendship that soon turns into something more.
Things are made complicated though by the fact that Ricky has a terminal heart disease. Despite this, he decides to focus on his bucket list with the help of Elise. On the other hand, Elise, despite being conflicted with her best friend’s attitude towards life, agrees to go on an adventure with him to tick things off his list. Unlike their previous roles, this series is set to portray SethDrea in a different light. For starters, both their characters’ ages are 22 years old, so there playing older people. Saying Goodbye will also deal with the complex topic of death and how it affects people.
Joining SethDrea in the series are two upcoming actors, Andi Abaya and Kobie Brown, who play the best friends of Elise and Ricky. This will be the first time the newly formed love team, KoDrea, will be in a project together. Saying Goodbye premieres on December 4, 8 PM on iQiyi with new episodes airing every week.
HELLO, HEART
Up next is Hello, Heart, a romantic comedy series that has been described as appealing to K-drama fans with its Pinoy take on cohabitation. It stars viral singer Gigi De Lana in her first-ever lead acting role and Gerald Anderson. The show follows Heart (De Lana), a beautiful, perky, and hardworking woman trying to make it big as a businesswoman.
Things take a turn when she runs into Saul (Anderson), an emotionless, business-as-usual guy who hires her to pretend to be his wife to please his grandmother with dementia. While the two are a bit cold to each other at first, their relationship starts to melt as Saul finds check this page himself falling for Heart. The series’ official theme song, Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita, originally sung by Roselle Nava, will be covered by Gigi De Lana. This Filipino original will arrive on iQiyi on December 15 with one new episode every week.
LYRIC AND BEAT
Finally, the last show revealed for iQiyi’s initial slate of Pinoy originals was Lyric and Beat. Not much was revealed about the series, but this looks to be something new and different. Lyric and Beat is an all-Filipino teen musical drama featuring 20 years of music by Jonathan Manalo. It stars some of the biggest young stars right now. Andrea Brillantes, Seth Fedelin, Darren Espanto, and AC Bonifacio are set to headline the series with a supporting cast that includes Joanna Ampil, Sheena Belarmino, Jeremy Glinoga, and Angela Ken.
The show is set at the backdrop of the Philippine National Conservatory of Music. The talented students compete against each other on who will represent the school for the prestigious National Music Competition. Based on what we’ve seen, it’s giving us High School Musical and Victorious vibes which is not bad at all. In fact, we are excited to see how this turns out. The show is set for premiere in 2022.
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