Judy Ann on ‘Starla’s’ short run

Judy Ann Santos

Actress Judy Ann Santos, whose drama series “Starla” will air its final episode tonight, said the show was originally meant for just one season, regardless of whether or not it was going to do well in the ratings.

The series, about a star-in-training (Jana Agoncillo) that grants the wishes of the Dichaves family, only aired for 16 weeks. “At the time ‘Starla’ was presented to me, people were saying they were already tired of teleseryes that are long-winding. This was because networks have a habit of extending shows that do well. This happened to my programs a lot of times in the past,” Judy Ann told reporters.

“I asked if they were sure of the show’s length because I’ve noticed that once a show gets extended and the extension does not rate well, it’s not the production that gets questioned but the actors and their ability to draw viewers in,” she explained.

In jest, Judy Ann said she was pleased that when she first asked about the story, she was told that “there was no lost diary or necklace to look for,” just like in her soap series “Mara Clara,” which aired over a thousand episodes for five years in the ‘90s.

“Star lang daw, so OK na ako,” she said, laughing. “That’s the only focus of the show, although the story still has a lot of potential for expansion. The story was already complete when they presented it to me. It already has an ending.”

Judy Ann said that apart from the chance to bond with her coactors, she would miss being able to work with a competent team.

Jana Agoncillo

Enzo Pelojero

“Starla” also features Joel Torre, Joem Bascon, Meryll Soriano and child actors Enzo Pelojero and Jana Agoncillo.

“Since there was no cell phone signal in the area where we shot most of the series, we had no choice but to really talk with each other,” Joem said.

Joel, meanwhile, said he loved “Starla” because it was so well-written. “You know that each character was so well-thought of, that each one is an important part of the ensemble. We all got equal treatment—there was no superstar,” he pointed out. “Also, I noticed that since our cell phones were useless on the set, there was more interaction. People opened up to each other.”

Joel, who portrayed Judy Ann’s father in the series, also hoped that more inspirational drama stories like “Starla” would find their way to the small screen.

Jana, who played the title role, said she would miss acting out her character even though she usually just played her part at the dubbing studio. “Playing human, even for just a short while, had been exciting. I was able to learn from actors I’ve never worked with before,” she said.