Philippine Showbiz's New Team-Ups Are Keeping Audiences Excited—Here's Why We Support Them!
They've spawned recognizable love team names, box office hits, trending hashtags, and firece fandoms with even fiercer rivalries—is there anything more influential in Philippine cinema and television than their most accomplished love teams?
In recent years, we've seen the biggest team-ups come to life including the likes of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (KathNiel), Nadine Lustre and James Reid (JaDine), Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia (JoshLia), Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber (MayWard), Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil (LizQuen), Janella Salvador and Elmo Magalona (ElNella), Carlo Aquino and Angelica Panganiban (CarGel), Maris Racal and Inigo Pascual (MarNigo), Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte (LoiNie), Elisse Joson and McCoy de Leon (McLisse), and Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards (AlDub)—all of whom dominated airtime with their reel (and for some of them, real) romances and undeniable chemistry, making them media behemoths that rake in millions of fans, endless endorsements, and unbeatable entertainment value year after year.
But to our surprise—and to the shock of existing fandoms—a new trend has emerged and is gaining traction, slowly but steadily: the unprecedented switch-up of the aforementioned couples to create fresh pairings. And it's not just the girls who are getting paired with new guys, either; James Reid and Daniel Padilla announced that they, too, were teaming up for an action-packed project for the very first time this year.
With television networks and movie production houses armed with the blueprint to catapult love teams to the highest heights imaginable, one might ask, why would anyone want to shake things up in paradise?
Though we can't answer that with certainty at this point, one thing's for sure—we're all for it!
The unexpected team-ups are definitely keeping audiences on their toes and providing new moviegoing and TV watching experiences for those who have become familiar with the love team formula.
Besides, new pairings don't equate to the abolition of beloved love teams; they'll very much still be a love team before, during, and after a film or teleserye has shown or aired. It simply means that these on- and off-screen couples are now being given more opportunities to grow as individual artists, flex their acting muscles with new co-stars and expand their horizons in the industry.
And if one were a true fan of theirs with their best interests at heart, wouldn't you want this and more for your onscreen idols?
READ: 10 Things To Love About Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber, And Their MayWard Love Team
It's a notable change in the culture of Philippine media as love teams are, as far as we know, purely a Filipino phenomenon. The permanence in which an actor and actress appearing in virtually all of their projects together is unknown in Hollywood and other media powerhouses around the world like India (or Bollywood, in particular) and Korea (where K-Dramas are a strong contender to the popularity of locally produced shows).
Love teams have constituted so much of the successes of the industry for so long that we're extremely excited for what's to come, what with the walls of love team exclusivity slowly breaking down and audiences becoming more receptive to the idea.
It certainly constitutes the next phase of Philippine entertainment, and if things go well, it might just be its most powerful yet.
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So far, those who have helped usher in this new wave of onscreen couples are these young stars:
Nadine Lustre and Carlo Aquino topbilled the romantic drama film Ulan, which was released last March.
Julia Barretto and Gerald Anderson starred alongside each other in the recent romance-drama Between Maybes.
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Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards garnered massive reactions when they announced their new film, Hello, Love, Goodbye set to be released soon. Take note that this is a groundbreaking network crossover, too!
Maine Mendoza and Carlo Aquino, who everyone knows "belonged" to classic pair-ups with Alden Richards and Angelica Panganiban, respectively, are among those who stepped out of the love team box. Their new project, titled Isa Pa With Feelings, is a much-anticipated film.
Janella Salvador and Joshua Garcia aren't pairing up for a movie, but are rather teaming up for a teleserye called The Killer Bride which also stars Geoff Eigenmann and Maja Salvador.
[photos]
Photos from @jose_liwanag @black_sheepph @aldenrichards02 @starcinema @abscbnpr @starmagicphils
What do you think of the new direction the industry is taking its love teams to? Does the prospect of a love team remix make you want to support their new projects, or are you a purist and prefer to keep love teams exclusive? Who do you want to see get paired up next?
Photos from @aldenrichards02 @juliabarretto @mainedcm
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