Homegrown TV talents go regional

JERICHO Rosales and Kristine Hermosa

Most of our TV-film stars are quite happy with their local careers as popular entertainers, but some of them are now taking the extra step of making it on regional (Asian) television.

They’re doing this by topbilling shows that are viewed not just here, but in neighboring countries, as well.

If memory serves, early examples of this growing trend include some ABS-CBN teleseryes that have been screened regionally, making Filipino stars like Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa household names and faces in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In addition, some regional cooking shows have featured Filipino chefs, as well as stars like Angel Aquino, whose beauty is apparently deemed striking and exotic enough to appeal to non-Filipino viewers, too.

More: when “Asia’s Got Talent” was initially mounted and telecast, it not only had an ultimate Filipino champion in the El Gamma Penumbra shadow troupe, but was also cohosted by “our” Mark Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez.

In addition, “Curiosity Got The Chef” with Chinoy host  Sharwin Tee is now on its umpteenth season on Lifestyle. Regional viewers like watching it not just for its resident chef-host’s expertise, but also for his light, fey and puckish humor, which apparently “travels” well regionally.

Even more recently, “It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez” has been doing well on Lifestyle network, boosted by its resident Filipino family’s stellar “face value.”

Other Filipino stars have made it to regional TV screens by one-shot “celebrity specials,” paced a couple of seasons ago by Anne Curtis.

Recently, it was Piolo Pascual’s turn to get a special showcase. It turns out that Piolo’s showcase was just a precursor of more exposure for him on Asian TV screens, by way of the travel show, “The Crawl,” again on Lifestyle.

In the travel, cooking, culture and lifestyle special, Piolo and his travel buddy, Lui Villaluz, visit Osaka, Japan.

Aside from savoring that Japanese city’s wide range of delectables, Piolo visits museums, markets, temples, etc.

We hope that Piolo and his show’s production people also found time to savor Osaka’s cultural attractions, paced by its world-famous Bunraku puppet theater tradition, which has flourished for many years.

Finally, Lifestyle is also telecasting the cooking show, “A Pinch of Portia,” hosted by Portia Baluyut, who runs the fave Rustic Mornings garden-resto in Marikina.

Our hope, of course, is that regionally available TV shows featuring Filipino hosts will soon expand their scope beyond travel and cuisine, because there’s much more our talents can do and cover.

Ryan Agoncillo as driver-gamemaster on “Cash Cab” is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps “our” Miss World, Megan Young, can be tapped to host her own regional TV showcase? Our hunch is that her Eurasian beauty will similarly “travel well.”