At last, a primetime soap

If JoshLia is a proven tandem on the big screen, then appearing on the boob tube should be a breeze

It made netizens wonder: how come these two have not been given a primetime show just like their contemporaries on ABS-CBN

Showbiz actors have always been asked the “Are you pressured?” question every time they face the media when promoting their latest TV show or movie. It has become such a generic question that sometimes, it elicits contempt. Naturally, there is “pressure” for them to equal or top their previous show, thus the no-brainer answer.

The box-office love team of Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia or JoshLia, however, faces this legitimate question for once. The tandem has proven its box-office mettle with crowd-drawing movies, the sleeper hit Vince, Kath & James (VKJ) and the tearjerker family drama Love You to the Stars and Back.

Star Cinema released a report on 3 January 2017 that said that their 2016 entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival, VKJ has grossed P105 million. Succeeding reports pegged the movie grossing P123 million on 24 January 2017 as it premiered in cinemas abroad. Their second movie lead also hit the P100-million mark with Love You grossing P102 million as of 16 September 2017. Last November, they co-starred with the returning movie tandem of another box-office couple, Robin Padilla and Sharon Cuneta, in Unexpectedly Yours. The movie surpassed the P100-million mark, with one report saying it grossed P300 million worldwide. Their latest movie, I Love You Hater, with Kris Aquino sharing the marquee bill, has yet to reveal its total gross take.

It made netizens wonder: how come these two have not been given a primetime show just like their contemporaries on ABS-CBN? Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (KathNiel) lead the pack of the young love teams with a string of hit TV shows. James Reid and Nadine Lustre (JaDine) are not left behind either, while Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil (LizQuen) just wrapped up with the series Bagani. These three pairings have starred in more than two TV primetime shows.

If JoshLia is a proven tandem on the big screen, then appearing on the boob tube should be a breeze. After all, unlike TV, people pay just to be able to watch a movie.

“Of course, pressure comes with it,” began Julia. It will take a few seconds before she continues her train of thought, seemingly phrasing the next words that she would utter.

“But, right now, I would just like to see this as my biggest motivator. I hope to do good and that I will not disappoint the network. I think, more than anything, I’m just so, so grateful because I’ve been waiting for so long for this time. I waited for a long time for this role. I just want to focus and do my job well so that I will not waste the trust that was given to me by the creative team and the network,” related the young actress.

When she entered the showbiz scene a few years ago, people thought she would have it easy as she hails from the Barretto clan, one of local showbiz’s many famous acting families.

The fact that she bears a famous last name did not escape people’s notice. It is both a boon and a bane to bear a famous last name because expectations are always notched higher. Will she be an exceptional one just like her acclaimed aunt, Claudine? Or will she be among the growing list of “hangers-on,” whose only consolation is her famous last name but has no business in acting?

Julia debuted as one of the supporting cast members in several shows starring then networks’ prized talents such as Kristine Hermosa, and even portrayed the younger version of Claudine’s character in Walang Kapalit.

In 2014, she bagged the titular role of Mirabella, a primetime offering, where she was even paired with Enrique Gil. But even this pairing got a lukewarm reception as it did not generate a fandom as huge and active as the network could bank on. Thereafter, she went on to star as support in other shows.

JULIA Barretto and Joshua Garcia finally headline a primetime TV show playing star-crossed lovers, Eva and Inno, in Ngayon at Kailanman. Joshua’s rise

At around the same year that Julia starred as Mirabella, Joshua was thrown into the spotlight as one of the trending and controversial batch of teens in the nth edition of Pinoy Big Brother. The teens featured in this edition were much maligned, being called out for their excessive display of affection.

At the center of this attention was Joshua and fellow housemate Loisa Andalio. After that season ended with Brazilian model-actor Daniel Matsunaga as winner, Joshua went on to bag acting stints with Loisa as his love team partner in Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita.

Their pairing was short-lived as both went their separate ways. Joshua’s biggest break, and arguably the work that made people consider him as the next John Lloyd Cruz, was The Greatest Love.

The 2016 ensemble afternoon drama had people seeing Joshua in a new light; a rare occurrence for most young actors his age who are boxed as part of a love team. The tag as one of the promising serious actors was further fanned when Joshua again was cast in another ensemble drama, this time a primetime soap that had people praising its merits.

He stood his ground against seasoned and known drama actors Eula Valdes and Mylene Dizon in last year’s The Good Son.

This year, everything seems to have come full circle for the TV careers of JoshLia.

After trying out different pairings in the past years amid their successes on the silver screen, JoshLia finally lands their first major TV show as a love team. They both started out in the small screen as bit players, but are now leading a cast of seasoned drama actors in a show that is pegged to be a soap operatic “classic great love story of star-crossed lovers.”

Show creator and Star Creatives’ Henry King Quitain reveals that fate and destiny play a huge part in Ngayon At Kailanman. It had previously been titled as Nostalgia, but they have found the Basil Valdez signature song an apt title.

It stars Joshua as Inno, heir to the powerful Cortes clan, and Julia as Eva, a streetwise girl who grew up in a financially challenged family. Inno and Eva will meet in the afterlife after their respective near-death experiences. Once revived, they will meet again as young adults and eventually fall in love. Conflict ensues as both will find out that their love story will be hindered by Eva’s mysterious birth circumstance, in addition to the scheming and rivalry within the Cortes’ growing jewelry empire.

“It was intentional to present this show as a classic great love story. Aside from wanting to create something familiar and classic, we wanted it also to appeal to the new generation.

The characters here are very now. We are going to tackle how the kids today are facing the challenges of today, how they pursue their dreams for today. That’s why the title is also fitting because it is enduring. It goes beyond time and generations,” said show creators.

The series also stars respected actors and actresses, Rio Locsin, Iza Calzado, Christian Vasquez, Alice Dixson, Ina Raymundo, Dominic Ochoa and TJ Trinidad. Also in the cast are Jameson Blake as Oliver, Inno’s older brother and rival to Eva’s heart, and Joao Constancia as Dom, Eva’s childhood friend. Ngayon at Kailanman also marks the return to television of legendary actress Rosemarie Gil, who will play the matriarch of the Cortes clan.

Fate and destiny play a huge part in Ngayon At Kailanman. Inno and Eva will meet in the afterlife after their respective near-death experiences.

“I was destined to meet the negatives in life. It wasn’t an easy path for me. It was destiny for me to experience hardships and pain because it made me the person that I am today. I believe I gained so much knowledge from it. My views and thinking on pain, life and love broadened. I feel like those are the negatives that I was destined to experience. This is the positive. So it does really gets worse before it gets better. It leads somewhere good,” reflected Julia.

She continued, also referring to Joshua: “We both gained and lost so much so now we both work so hard. We humble ourselves because we know anytime, the good things that we have can also be taken away.”

Speaking with much wisdom, and even adding up a challenge for herself, Julia revealed that she wouldn’t mind doing intimate scenes with Joshua.

“I’m very open,” revealed the young actress, to the delight and squeals of the audience. She then laughed and continued.

“No, because I feel we’re above 20. We’re 21 and turning 22. I think it’s healthy to be able to explore and take risks,” Julia ends.

The TV-drawing mettle of JoshLia begins tonight as Ngayon At Kailanman premieres right after FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN.