The Dingdong Dantes-topbilled new drama-thriller series Royal Blood must be GMA 7’s match-up with ABS-CBN’s long-airing Dirty Linen, bannered by Janine Gutierrez and the network’s seasoned stars John Arcilla, Janice de Belen, Joel Torre, Zanjoe Marudo, Tessie Tomas and Angel Aquino.
Just like Dirty Linen, Royal Blood is about a wealthy and largely contemptuous but glamorous family — except for Napoy (Dantes), a widower and illegitimate son of the Royales family patriarch, Gustavo (Tirso Cruz III) who insists on having Napoy and his very young daughter Lizzie (child actress Sienna Stevens, a Filipina-New Zealander) stay with the family and live with his siblings who are all younger than he is.
Napoy has to learn to relate to the peculiarities of his half-siblings, headed by the competitive (or insecure) Kristoff (Mikael Daez), the witty and materialistic Beatrice (sultry Lianne Valentin), the conservative and mysterious Margaret (Rhian Ramos) and their respective spouses and children.
(Sidebar: Ramos is the flatmate for a year now of new Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee, who has announced that she is bisexual.)
Kristoff’s wife is Diana (Megan Young, Mikael’s real-life wife), who was once Napoy’s girlfriend-great love. They have a son, Archie (Aidan Veneracion), who constantly seeks his father’s approval.
Andrew (Dion Ignacio) is the ambitious and business-savvy husband of Margaret. Andrew has a rebellious son, Louie (James Graham) with his first wife.
Royal Blood premieres on 19 June as a replacement for the romance series Hearts on Ice, topbilled by Xian Lim and Ashley Ortega.
Royal Blood is helmed by Dominic Zapata, who also directed Hearts on Ice. The new series airs weeknights at 8:50 p.m. on GMA 7 and at 11:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and at 11 p.m. every Friday on GTV.
Global Pinoys can also catch the program via GMA Pinoy TV.
‘Dirty Linen’ fancon in US
And what is Dirty Linen up to these days?
It’s prepping for a fan convention (fancon) in Sacramento, California on 24 June. The venue is the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The first-ever Kapamilya convention will feature performances by Dirty Linen cast members Zanjoe Marudo, Francine Diaz, Seth Fedelin, Janine Gutierrez and John Arcilla.
Dirty Linen has consistently been in the top 10 shows in cable and satellite, and on iWantTFC in the US since its launch on January 23, 2023, according to content maker ABS-CBN.
The fancon will feature a variety of games and activities for guests to participate in immersive exhibits where guests can experience the world of Dirty Linen, an exclusive sneak peek of new episodes and so much more.
Tickets are available at Ticketmaster, or fans may call the box office at 916-808-5181
Mondays–Wednesdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m.
The event is presented by World Remit and MX3.
‘Love at First read’
Now also airing on GMA 7 is the network’s second collaboration project with Wattpad Webtoon: LUV IS: Love at First Read.
The series is bannered by one of the most sought-after Sparkle loveteams today, Mavy Legaspi and Kyline Alcantara, who play the lead roles of Kudos and Angelica/Abby.
Love at First Read is based on the hit Wattpad webnovel with the same title, which has amassed 23.3 million reads. Written by “Chixnita” (a pseudonym), it follows the story of Kudos, a secret romantic searching for the perfect girl. He finds a diary and believes that its owner, Abby, is the one for him.
However, he also meets Angelica, a jaded girl who distrusts men and has no interest in love. They clash at first but as they get to know one another, their feelings begin to grow.
Kudos is soon torn between Angelica and Abby — not knowing that they are actually one and the same person.
Completing the cast of the adaptation are Josh Ford as Train; Pam Prinster as Hazel; Bruce Roeland as Risk; Larkin Castor as Shield; Therese Malvar as Abigail; Mariel Pamintuan as Sandy; and Gabby and Kiel Gueco as the mysterious Psalm and Philemon, who are Kudos’ cousins.
Also starring are engaging thespians Maricar de Mesa as Yumi, Abby’s mom; Jestoni Alarcon as Hector, Kudos’ dad; and Jackie Lou Blanco as Truly, Kudos’ mom.
LUV IS: Love at First Read is directed by Mark Sicat dela Cruz with Carlo Cannu as associate director. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 5:40 p.m. on GMA-7.
With Maria Regina M. Amigo as head writer, the writing pool is composed of Liberty L. Trinidad, Benjamin Benson A. Logronio and Loi Argel R. Nova.
Happily, there is no mayhem or murder in Love at First Read.