Judy Ann Santos, John Arcilla join Arjo Atayde in international production ‘The Bagman’

Arjo Atayde in Bagman | Image/IMDB

After the success of the locally produced digital series “Bagman,” ABS-CBN’s Dreamscape Entertainment will launch a new spin-off, “The Bagman,” with a more powerful cast as it looks to secure worldwide pre-sales at the Asia TV Forum (ATF) in Singapore on Dec. 5–8, 2023.

Eyeing a filming window in January 2024, “The Bagman” will see Arjo Atayde reprising his role as Benjo Malaya in the original series “Bagman 1” and “Bagman 2,” which were sold to Netflix Philippines.

The upcoming eight-part action-drama spin-off will also star 78th Venice Film Festival best actor John Arcilla and 2019 Cairo International Film Festival best actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, dubbed “Queen of Philippine Teleseryes.”

Judy Ann Santos

According to Variety, Atayde is expected to attend this year’s ATF alongside Ruel S. Bayani, head of International Productions at ABS-CBN, and Los Angeles-based Gary Marenzi of Marenzi & Associates, to promote the production.

“Having initially announced The Bagman in March of this year, the timing could not be better to now be offering worldwide sales at ATF for our suspenseful, gripping and fast-moving drama series,” said Bayani.

The head of International Productions at ABS-CBN then introduced its star-dubbed cast and commented on the efforts of the local industry to intensify the representation of Filipinos in the international arena.

“As we continue to advocate for Filipino representation, we are thrilled to also be announcing the award-winning talent of Arjo, John and Judy Ann, who are now part of The Bagman. Filipino programming is continuing to grow and expand, and we are honored to be at the forefront of offering diverse new projects to meet the growing demands of the industry,” he said.

The spin-off is set to tackle the ramble of Malaya as he returns to the brutal underworld he fled and takes on a new mission as a bagman for the president of the Republic of the Philippines to avert civil war after learning the tragic news about his missing family.

New cast

John Arcilla. Image: INQUIRER.net/Dale Calanog

“The Bagman” will see the most awaited comeback of the award-winning actress, who was last seen in the ABS-CBN show “Starla” in 2019.

Meanwhile, Arcilla’s last project, Ten Little Mistresses (2023), has once again proved the actor’s versatility which is manifested in every project he takes on.