Of comebacks and beginnings
‘Love You, Two’ marks Jennylyn Mercado’s return to rom-com paired for the first time with Gabby Concepcion
‘Love You, Two’ marks Jennylyn Mercado’s return to rom-com paired for the first time with Gabby Concepcion
By REGINA MAE PARUNGAO
For a time, Jennylyn Mercado was dubbed “Rom-com Queen,” on strength mainly of the box-office success of her movies “English Only, Please” and “Walang Forever.”
But then the actress opted to show her versatility too by doing other genres from time to time. On her most recent series, for one, she portrayed what fans called the Pinay version of “Tomb Raider’s” Lara Croft as she showed off her Amazonian physique and athletic skills.
Well, eight months since that series ended, Jennylyn is back to her “comfort zone.” She is cast on the heart-warming romantic comedy, “Love You, Two,” alongside leading man Gabby Concepcion.
At a recent press conference, the 31-year-old actress expressed gratefulness for returning on primetime TV.
“I’m excited to do this genre that people love about me,” she said. “But at the same time, I’m nervous since this is my first time to be paired with Gabby.”
Speaking of the actor, Jennylyn finds him to be “gentleman” and “caring.”
On “Love You, Two, ” the actress is Raffy with thriving career and happily in a relationship. Gabby plays Jake, the charming businessman and Kalayaan Hotel owner who remains to be a dashing debonair even in his ’40s.
“Love You, Two” is shot in movie-type production.
Relate much?
Joining Jennylyn and Gabby on the series are: Solenn Heussaff as Lianne, Jake’s free-spirited ex-fiancée who remained friends with him even after their breakup; Shaira Diaz as Sam, Raffy’s spunky and pretty younger sister and a true-blue millennial who wants to experience everything at once; Sheena Halili as Nina, Jake’s caring executive assistant who’s always on top of things; Jerald Napoles as Harrison, Raffy and Sam’s amusing and protective older brother; Kiray Celis as Darling, Raffy and Sam’s childhood friend who is secretly in love with Harrison; Nar Cabico as Migs, resident manager of Kalayaan Hotel who becomes Raffy’s confidante; Yasser Marta as Edison, Jake’s nephew who also works at the Sales and Marketing Team of Kalayaan Hotel; Michelle Dee as Mochi, Sam’s close friend since their college days.
Introducing on “Love You, Two” is newest Kapuso, Clint Bondad as Theo. He is Raffy’s ex-boyfriend who will seize a career opportunity abroad and leave her behind.
The ex-boyfriend of Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray thanked Jennylyn as she became instrumental for him to join GMA’s roster of talents.
The cast revealed how viewers could relate to their respective characters, and on the series in general.
Michelle: “This is all about love and friendship. Finding connections, because if you’re in love, you need to find a close friend to share your joy with. ”
Yasser: “Through the series, we will witness how the new generation falls in love.”
Kiray: “My character doesn’t have a family so it teaches us that we can’t have everything.”
Jerald: “We will see a modern perspective of Filipinos and families. Here, the women are the ones who work while the men take care of the babies. So it’s sort of untraditional but we tackle that here.”
Nar: “My role is a gay resident hotel manager. We all know that a lot of gay men are doing better now in society than before. I’m glad to represent them in this series.”
Kuya Gabby
In a sit down interview with Jerald, he admitted he got really starstruck the first time he worked with Gabby on the set. “Para akong nananalamin eh,” he quipped.
His mother is an avid fan of the veteran actor.
But what Jerald likes the most about Gabby is that the latter is downto-earth and “very bagets.” “Actually, he’s the one asking: ‘Pare, kelan tayo lalabas?’ He’s very
energetic and very kuya-like to us,” he said.
Directed by Irene Villamor, “Love You, Two” airs today after “Sahaya” on GMA Telebabad.
It pours for Nar
Meanwhile, Nar is still on cloud nine over his recent Best Actor win at the 5th Sinag Maynila Film Festival for his role in “Akin Ang Korona.”
According to the talented artist, being nominated is already an achievement.
“It’s really overwhelming, especially that I went up against Joem Bascon who has been known for these kinds of film,” he shared. “I’m glad that he congratulated me and asked when we’re going to celebrate.”
Holding his first-ever acting trophy has Nar more inspired to work.
Nar will have a concert and an album launch by September.
“I’m forever thankful for all the opportunities,” the “Tales Of The Manuvu” cast said. “This means more work, more food on our table.”