''Maghihintay Pa Rin'' (International title: ''Bitter Sweet Life'' / ) is a 2013

Philippine television drama Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'', Filipino telenovelas or P-drama, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebi ...

romance series broadcast by

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

. Directed by Don Michael Perez, it stars

Bianca King Bianca Charlotte King-Wintle (born 18 March 1985) is a German-born Filipino-Canadian former actress best known for playing the role as Noemi Manansala in the thriller drama series '' Sinner or Saint'' (2011), as Aviona in the hit ''fantaserye'' ...

, Rafael Rosell and

Dion Ignacio Dion Joseph Ignacio (born March 28, 1986) is a Filipino actor and musician. Popularly known of his role as Raul Agoncillo in the afternoon soap opera '' Saan Darating Ang Umaga'', a role originally portrayed by former 1980s teen idol Raymond L ...

. It premiered on June 10, 2013 on the network's Afternoon Prime line up replacing '' Bukod Kang Pinagpala''. The series concluded on September 27, 2013 with a total of 79 episodes. It was replaced by ''

Magkano Ba ang Pag-ibig? ''Magkano Ba ang Pag-ibig?'' (International title: ''Wealth and Passion'' / ) is a Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Maryo J. de los Reyes, it stars Heart Evangelista. It premiered on September 30, ...

'' in its timeslot.

Cast and characters

;Lead cast *

as Geneva "Gen" de Villa * Rafael Rosell as Francisco "Kiko" Sebastian *

as Orlando "Orly" Ramirez ;Supporting cast *

JC Tiuseco John Carlo Barreras Tiuseco (born April 16, 1985), professionally known as JC Tiuseco, is a Filipino actor, basketball player, TV host and model. He achieved fame after participating in and winning the first season of '' Survivor Philippines'' ...

as Ricky Alvarado * Tanya Gomez as Trinidad Sebastian * Julie Lee as Grace Lim * JM Reyes as Cholo Sebastian * Daniella Amable as Lita Sebastian * Sachi Manahan as Sebastian *

Diva Montelaba Hyacienth Diva Mantalaba, better known as Diva Montelaba (born January 14, 1991 in Cebu City, Philippines), is a Filipina actress. She was one of the Final Five in the fifth season of '' StarStruck'', a reality-based talent search show of GMA Ne ...

as Milan * Lou Sison as Leni * Bryan Pagala as Francisco "Franz" de Villa Sebastian Jr. * Ynez Veneracion as Stella Ramirez * Nathalie Hart as Yvette Chua-Villafuerte * AJ Dee as Lance Villafuerte *

Ayen Munji-Laurel Maria Yllena Munji Laurel, better known as Ayen Munji Laurel (born November 21, 1971) is a Filipina actress and singer. Part of GMA Network from 2009, she transferred to ABS-CBN in late 2015; she later returned to GMA in 2022. She is currently pa ...

as Catriona "Rio" de Villa

Production and development

Conceptualized by Richard Cruz and developed by Kit Villanueva-Langit, the project—which initially titled as ''Hindi Kita Iiwan'' was put on the fast track by the network for a second week of June 2013 premiere. On the mid-part of April 2013, a detailed breakdown of the script was released, containing information on the plot and characters which would be in the series. It also revealed the names of two of the three actors chosen for the lead roles. However, during the casting process of the show, several revisions were made. Executive producer, Darling Pulido-Torres described the show a reminiscent of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Romeo and Juliet'', but not a "stereotypical romance". She also added that the series is especially dedicated for the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) around the world.

and

were personally chosen by the network management to portray the lead characters and were the first two actors to be cast. King was signed on to play Geneva de Villa, a Richie-rich young lass "who will do everything in the name of love." King summarized her character as being intelligent, brave and compassionate – far from the usual "damsel in distress" roles she portrayed in her past projects. Production began on the mid-part of May 2013. Most of the scenes were shot on location in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

. They also filmed several scenes (good for two-week episodes) in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Filming locations were chosen by the series' director Don Michael Perez and by production designer Melvin Lacerna.

Ratings

According to

AGB Nielsen Philippines AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines, commonly called AGB Nielsen, is a market research firm in the Philippines specializing in broadcast media. AGB Nielsen conducts audience measurement of television ratings for certain areas in the Philipp ...

' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of ''Maghihintay Pa Rin'' earned an 11.7% rating. While the final episode scored a 14.4% rating.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3104704 2013 Philippine television series debuts 2013 Philippine television series endings Filipino-language television shows GMA Network drama series Philippine romance television series Television shows set in Quezon City Television shows filmed in Singapore