The team behind The Broken Marriage Vow, the Filipino adaptation of the hit British series Dr. Foster shared on Monday, January 17, how it was easy for them to collaborate with BBC, the show’s original producers.
Writers Rondel Lindayag and Ayi Tamayo were present during the show’s virtual media conference. Directors Connie Macatuno and Andoy Ranay were present as well.
In terms of the script for the show, Lindayag shared how collaborative BBC was for the Philippines to have its version of Dr. Foster.
“Bale every script, pinapasa namin sa BBC, kay Charles, tapos nagko-comment sila. Tapos ipapadala nila sa’min yung comments nila ulit tapos ire-revise namin ganoon.
“Diniscuss namin yung characters, in-explain nila sa amin kung paano sila tumatakbo bawat isa.
“Meron silang kumbaga theme yung tingin nila sa characters. Meron talaga silang role na ginaganap. Actually marami kaming natutunan sa kanila eh. Ang sarap nilang katrabaho, ang dali nilang kausap, ang bilis nilang makita yung intentions natin bilang Pilipino.”
He also added that compared to the original version, The Broken Marriage Vow would have more episodes due to the depth of the story.
“Kasi ang daming p’wedeng i-develop, ang daming p’wede paandarin sa mga characters.”
There was also balance in the adaptation, Tamayo pointed.
“Kasama po doon sa process is pine-preserve natin yung what is original, what is kung ano yung sa BBC and at the same time, pinapasok natin yung what is Pinoy, yung values natin, yung sensibilities natin. Yung balance kasama din sa process. Yung being dramatic and painful without being melodramatic.”
Meanwhile, Direk Macatuno encouraged people to watch out for the Filipino elements present in the series.
“For me, kung bakit mo siya papanuorin, iba kasi yung soul ng serye na ito. Alam mo yung kwento ng Dr. Foster, napanuod mo siya, pero iba naman ang hatid ng mga aktors natin.
“Iba yung kaluluwa na binigay nila dun sa mga characters nila eh. Iba din yung itsura, iba rin yung location natin, iba rin yung mountain, kung paano mo tinayo yung serye. So definitely kahit alam mo na ang storyline niya, meron pa ring excitement,” she explained.
Also, Direk Andoy Ranay stressed how they had “total freedom” by BBC to create the series. He even described the creative process as “Marites” or the Filipino version of gossip mongers.
“That’s why dalawang Filipino ang direktor, yung vision ni Direk Connie for the pilot, para sa lahat, yun ang sinundan namin. Kasi iba tayo magkwentong mga Pilipino eh. K’wentong Pinoy ‘tong kinekwento natin eh.
“That’s why we adapted it sa kultura ng mga Pilipino. Hindi naman natin p’wedeng ikwento yung Dr. Foster original na parang yun din ang nangyari dito sa Pilipinas.
“Kasi magkaiba eh, magkaibang-magkaiba. Magkaiba yung kultura, magkaiba yung pakiramdam, magkaiba yung mentality ng mga characters toward certain situations.
“Also, isa sa mga paraan ng pagshu-shoot namin, the idea was para kang kapitbahay na nanunuod sa kapitbahay mo. Parang ganoon, Marites.”
The show stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Sue Ramirez, Zanjoe Marudo, and Zaijan Jaranilla. It will begin airing on the Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, Jeepney TV, A2Z Channel 11, TV5, iWantTFC, and TFC, starting January 24.
