TV5 hints relaunch of hit shows ‘Wow Mali,’ ‘Iskul Bukol’
Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon (TVJ). Image: Facebook/TVJ
The return of now-defunct comedy shows “Wow Mali” and “Iskul Bukol” to TV5 network were apparently among the plans of Mediaquest Holdings Inc., as Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (TVJ) formally signed their contracts with the media conglomerate.
Using the concept of candid humor, “Wow Mali” is a comedy gag show that aired on TV5 from 1996 to 2008, and from 2009 to 2015, with De Leon serving as its main host. In this new iteration, former “Eat Bulaga” mainstays Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola would take over some episodes.
Meanwhile, “Iskul Bukol” follows a situational comedy format that tells the story of the Escalera brothers Tito (Tito Sotto) and Joey (Joey de Leon), and Vic Ungasis (Vic Sotto), which aired from 1978 to 1988. Spinoff films featuring the lead characters subsequently followed, and a remake was broadcast in 2011.
Speaking to entertainment reporters during TVJ’s media launch, Mediaquest president and CEO Jane Basas said “Wow Mali” will be relaunched “very soon,” while hinting that they’re currently in talks with the executives of the Kapatid network.
“We’re actually re-launching ‘Wow Mali’ very soon,” she said. “Nilalambing namin sila for ‘Iskul Bukol’, so meron pong pag-uusap na ganoon. But in the context of the shared agreement today, ang pinaka-importanteng araw po was actually May 31, and this is when we received a formal letter kung open kami for discussion. And the rest is history.”
(“We’re actually re-launching “Wow Mali” very soon. We’re also courting them for “Iskul Bukol,” so there are talks about it. But in the context of the shared agreement today, the most important day was actually May 31, and this is when we received a formal letter if we’re open for discussion. And the rest is history.)
“Kami sa TV5, we’ve actually been forging a lot of strategic relationships with other content companies. One of them actually is APT Entertainment Inc. ni Direk Mike Tuviera. We didn’t have any direct relationship with TVJ [before], pero marami po kaming mga shows before, shows ngayon, shows na pinaplano that actually somehow involve them,” she continued.
(In TV5, we’ve actually been forging a lot of strategic relationships with other content companies. One of them is actually APT Entertainment Inc. which is owned by director Mike Tuviera. We didn’t have any direct relationship with TVJ before, but we had a lot of shows that actually somehow involve them.)
TVJ will launch their noontime show beginning July 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which is set to face off against the new “Eat Bulaga” (EB) on GMA and ABS-CBN’s “It’s Showtime” on GMA’s GTV. Apart from TVJ’s new show, Basas revealed that there are a lot of shows in the works, saying that she had “informal discussions” with Tito.
“Marami,” she said, without disclosing any details about their upcoming shows with TVJ Productions Inc. “There have been a lot of, I guess, informal discussions with [Tito Sotto]. Kasi ang daming pwedeng gawin. Ang gusto lang namin mag focus doon sa show na ila-launch very soon, but let’s look forward to more in the next coming months.”
(A lot. There have been a lot of, I guess, informal discussions with Tito Sotto. Because a lot of things can be done. What we want is to focus on the show that will be launched very soon, but let’s look forward to more in the next coming months.)
Meanwhile, Tito hinted that their new noontime show will feature an “enhancement” of previous segments that were a “favorite” of viewers, while seemingly referring to EB.
“A few days ago, pinag-uusapan namin nina Jenny [Basas] ‘yung enhancement ng mga portions na paborito nila. Ie-enhance pa, we will not rely on what we had before, and then there will be new portions,” he said.
(A few days ago, Jenny and I were talking about the enhancement of the portions that are a favorite of theirs. We’ll enhance them more. We will not rely on what we had before, and then there will be new portions.)
TVJ’s upcoming show is shaping up to be an updated EB, although they stressed that they want to keep its name as a secret until before its premiere. However, Vic revealed that if the choice was entirely up to him, he would choose “Eat Bulaga” as the brand belonged to the three of them.
“Basta ako, ‘Eat Bulaga’ pa rin kami kahit anong mangyari,” he began. “Imagine, after 44 years, minahal mo ang ‘Eat Bulaga?’ More than half of my life ay nasa ‘Eat Bulaga’ ako. Kapag absent ako sa ‘Eat Bulaga,’ parang may kulang sa buhay ko. Tapos kukunin lang siya ng kung sino-sino? Aba, hindi pwede!”
(For me, I want our show to be known as “Eat Bulaga” no matter what happens. Imagine, for 44 years, I have loved “Eat Bulaga.” More than half of my life was spent at “Eat Bulaga.” Every time I’m absent from “Eat Bulaga,” something feels missing in my life. And then, some people would take it away from us? Of course, I’m not going to let that happen.) EDV
