( / international title: ''Bitter Sweet Life'') is a 2013

Philippine television drama Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'' is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebisyón''" (television), and "''se ...

romance series broadcast by

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

. Directed by

Don Michael Perez Don Michael Perez is a Filipino television writer, film writer, television director, film and television director. He is a resident writer and director for GMA Network. His most famous works were '' Mulawin'', '' Destiny Rose'' and '' Kambal, Ka ...

, it stars

Bianca King Bianca Charlotte King-Wintle (born 18 March 1986) 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 Rafael Rosell IV (born November 10, 1982) is a Filipino actor. Early life Rafael Rosell IV was born in Stavanger, Norway on November 10, 1982, to Filipino people, Filipino parents; his father, Rafael Rosell III, is a geologist from Cebu, and hi ...

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 ...

. It premiered on June 10, 2013 on the network's Afternoon Prime line up. The series concluded on September 27, 2013 with a total of 79 episodes.

Cast and characters

;Lead cast *

as Geneva "Gen" de Villa *

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 (born January 14, 1991), better known as Diva Montelaba, is a Filipino actress. She was one of the Final Five in the fifth season of '' StarStruck'', a reality-based talent search show of GMA Network in the Philippine ...

as Milan * Lou Sison as Leni * Bryan Pagala as Francisco "Franz" de Villa Sebastian Jr. * Ynez Veneracion as Stella Ramirez *

Nathalie Hart Princess Tinkerbell Cristina Marjorie Pedere Snell (born 14 April 1992), known by her stage name Nathalie Hart, is an Australian-Filipino actress. She starred in the films '' Siphayo'' (2016), '' Sin Island'', and '' Abay Babes'' (both 2018). ...

as Yvette Chua-Villafuerte *

AJ Dee Angel James Velasquez Dee III (born July 27, 1983), professionally known as AJ Dee, is a Filipino actor, model and swimmer. He is the brother of fellow swimmer and actor Enchong Dee. Early life While in high school, Dee participated in the Phi ...

as Lance Villafuerte *

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

as Catriona "Rio" de Villa

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 ( 23 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 ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', but not a "stereotypical romance". She also added that the series is especially dedicated for the

Overseas Filipino Workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

around the world.

Casting

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

Principal photography commenced in the middle of May 2013. Most of the scenes were shot on location in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. They also filmed scenes in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Filming locations were chosen by the series' director

and by production designer Melvin Lacerna.

Ratings

According to

AGB Nielsen Philippines AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines, commonly called AGB Nielsen, or AGB Nielsen Philippines, under The Nielsen Company is a global leader in audience measurement, market research firms, and data analytics, with a focus on media in the Phi ...

' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of earned an 11.7% rating. 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 series about couples Television shows filmed in Singapore Television shows set in Quezon City