Marian Rivera. Image: Instagram/@marianrivera
More than five years since her last series, Marian Rivera is set to make a comeback in a new primetime TV teleserye on GMA, “My Guardian Alien,” one that she is proud to show to her children, Zia and Sixto.
The Zig Dulay-helmed series tells the story of an alien called 11-1-20-8-5-22-9-12-5 who crashes into Earth. It then assumes the form of the now-deceased Katherine Villegas-Soriano (Rivera), wife of Carlos, to be played by Gabby Concepcion, and mother of Doy (Raphael Landicho).
“Noong na-present siya sa’kin ng GMA, ito talaga ang napusuan ko kasi bago sa akin at sure na mapapanood ng mga anak ko. Gusto kong gumawa ng serye na kayang panoorin ng mga anak ko at maging proud din ako,” said Rivera during a press conference for the series.
(I loved the project immediately when it was presented to me by GMA. It’s something new and I’m sure my children can watch it. I want to create a teleserye that I would be proud to show to my children.)
Rivera shared that being a mother had shifted her perspective whenever she took on projects. And while she had been gone from the teleserye scene for five years, she felt this series was “worth the wait” for her.
“Ito na ang time sa buhay ko sa tuwing may gagawin akong [project], gusto kong maging proud din ang mga anak ko sa’kin,” she said. “Ito ‘yung mas nilo-look forward ko — ang makagawa ng magandang proyekto na mapapanood ng mga anak ko at maging proud sila at proud akong sabihin na [nagkaroon] ulit ako ng pamilya dahil sa proyektong ‘to.”
(This is a time in my life when I want to take on a project where my children will be proud of me. This is what I look forward to — creating a project that is appropriate for my kids which would make them proud of me. I’m also proud to say I have a new family because of this project.)
Rivera admitted that she underwent certain challenges in her small-screen comeback. There were moments when she couldn’t figure out her lighting and other elements, but being surrounded by supportive castmates and crew helped her get through filming.
“Noong unang sabak ko, nahirapan talaga ako. Kasi five years nagbabalik ako’ng soap, hindi ko na alam ang anggulo ko at lighting. Nangapa talaga ako,” she said. “Even the lines, nahirapan ako i-memorize pero dahil sa tulong ng mga tao sa paligid ko, naging madali para sa’kin ang trabaho ko.”
(When I returned to filming for the first time, I had a hard time. It’s been five years so I had a hard time figuring out my angles and lighting. I was really fumbling. I even had a hard time memorizing my lines. But because of the people around me, my job became easy.)
When asked if she believes that aliens do exist, the actress pointed out that it’s hard to “believe in things you can’t see” but working on the series made her shift her thoughts about its existence.
“Mahirap paniwalaan ang mga bagay na hindi mo nakikita… Ang pinagbabasehan mo kasi is kapag nakita [ko na], maniniwala ako kasi ang ganda ng kwento. Kung may ganitong klaseng alien [tulad ng karakter ko] sa buhay, parang ang sarap niyang maging kaibigan,” she said.
(It’s hard to believe in things you can’t see. I guess this would depend if I would ever encounter an alien myself. But the story is nice. If such alien just like my character exists in real life, it’s nice to be friends with them.)
The teleserye comes months on the heels of the commercial success of Rivera’s comeback movie, “Rewind,” which she starred in with her husband Dingdong Dantes, during the staging of the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival. The family drama is currently the highest-grossing Philippine film.
Aside from Concepcion and Landicho, “My Guardian Alien” also stars Max Collins, Gabby Eigenmann, Kiray Celis, Marissa Delgado, Arnold Reyes, and Tanya Gomez.