On Monday, July 26, GMA Network will premiere one of its boldest and most socially and culturally relevant television dramas yet.
The number of high-caliber talents in the cast alone should warrant getting big audiences, but there are more other reasons to keep them glued.
From the 13-minute primer alone, the series looks inviting enough to generate massive attention. We list the 10 reasons why you should not miss the blossoming of this yet another milestone from GMA Network.
GMA Network’s Head writer, Suzette Doctolero, wrote the series.
Doctolero wrote many mammoth Kapuso hits, including Encantadia (2006), Amaya (2011), and My Husband’s Lover (2013). That alone suggests that this show got consciously created to become an epic, the same way Doctolero’s brainchild shows were.
Given Doctolero’s history of treating her creations with towering ambitions, the gamut of Legal Wives’ rich plotlines being the crowning glory of this potential masterpiece should not come as a surprise.
The series showcases an extravagantly big ensemble of seasoned actors in a primetime drama.
Legal Wives gathers some of the industry’s bests, and by ‘industry best’, we mean Irma Adlawan, Cherrie Gil-level, best.
The show’s impressive roster of drama stars includes Al Tantay, Juan Rodrigo, Tommy Abuel, Mon Confiado, and Bernard Palanca.
Each of these actors keeps a stellar drama portfolio, with some of them already appeared in various multi-awarded dramas.
The choice to enlist the artistry of these great actors seems fitting, given the narrative size and artistic demands of this series.
It’s not about, let alone revolving around, mistresses.
It touches on the taboo topic of polygamy. That should convince audiences that the show won’t be revolving around mistresses. Although we don’t know, for sure, that a mistress character will show up eventually, we are somewhat confident that this won’t be about women kept in secrecy. Dennis Trillo assured Kapuso viewers that Legal Wives, won’t be what many people perceive as a typical mistress drama, adding that it would instead focus on family, is portrayed.
The show marks Dennis Trillo’s biggest drama to date.
Being dubbed as the Kapuso Drama King, Trillo bagging a challenging yet landmark dramatic role like Ishmael is not a surprise.
He has proven many times over his mettle in meeting ambitious and demanding roles–both movies and television. Acting out Ishmael should no longer be a disorienting task. But given that Ishmael is poised to become his career’s most important role yet, some new facets of his dramatic spectrum may likely be sported in this series.
Trillo has three leading ladies in the series.
As this series talks about polygamy, three of GMA Network’s finest actresses will play as Ismael’s spouses.
Young Kapuso star, Bianca Umali, plays the youngest among the three.
She portrays Farrah, whom Ishmael decides to marry out of sympathy. Andrea Torres plays the role of Dianne San Luis, a Roman Catholic, who got enthralled by Ishmael and his promises that he won’t marry anyone else. Alice Dixon is the first wife and oldest of the three, who seemed to have plans of getting back at Ishmael.
The series will touch on some relevant socio-political and cultural topics involving Muslim life.
A part of Legal Wives’ vision is to shed light upon barely-touched issues involving Muslim families and their traditions. Unfamiliar terms are set to be staples in the series’ dialogues, but viewers should not worry too much, as Doctolero has somewhat perfected the art of integrating foreign elements with her script, in a fashion that viewers would easily understand and relate with. Judging the show’s trailer and the primer, it looks like the series will tackle issues about territorial and familial conflicts, Muslim values and traditions, terrorism, and the centuries-long struggle to create a Bangsamoro homeland.
Of course, as this involves a Muslim Maranawon marrying a devout Roman Catholic woman–it’s very likely that deeper issues about the religious rivalry between the two groups will get tackled.
GMA Network has invested so much in the series’ production and costume design.
Looking at the publicity photos, the trailer, and the primer, one can’t deny how much attention is given to make the series look handsomely shot and extravagant. Production design for the series is top-notch, with shots that are sweeping, glossy, and crisp. The production tapped exquisite locations and built realistic sets to create compelling and representative settings for the story.
Costume design is also given proper attention so that the lavished and detailed extravagance of a wealthy Maranawon clan, as well as the scarcity of less-privileged Muslim families, are adequately showcased.
The show is well-researched.
The weight of the issues the show intends to dissect seems to demand a great deal of research from the writers. That should not be a problem as Doctolero, who has written screenplays for GMA Network’s historical epics, seemingly acknowledges the need for a show as big and controversial as Legal Wives, to be thoroughly studied.
LionhearTV’s editor-in-chief,. McRichard Paglicawan was among the few members of the blogosphere and the press, who were given a sneak-peak and highlights of the entire series. He shared that the show is interesting a meaty, and well-researched.
Directed by multi-awarded writer and director, Zig Dulay, Legal Wives, premieres on GMA-7’s Telebabad block, on Monday, Juky 26, right after The World Between Us.
