Video-on-demand services and independent studios have slowly been stealing content away from big-name productions. This decade’s most amazing shows, such as House of Cards, Sense8, Orange is the New Black, and Jessica Jones, are all affiliated exclusively with Netflix. With iflix, HOOQ, blink, and now Netflix in the country, the question of original Filipino content from these services have been nagging our minds.
As of yesterday, we now have a winner in the content arms race. In partnership with mobile telecom player Globe and independent studio Reality Entertainment, HOOQ is set to produce an original miniseries based on the multi-award winning movie On the Job, otherwise known as OTJ. The six-episode miniseries will see returning director Erik Matti take on Philippine society once again.
Dondon Monteverde, who is an executive producer with Reality Entertainment, explains that HOOQ is the perfect platform “where [they] can showcase Filipino talent.” The partnership will enable them “to be diverse, to be different, and to produce shows that cross over,” he adds.
Matti praises the medium by saying that the miniseries format will allow more than what the two-hour limitations of the movie format can afford. Hence, there will be more stories that will be explored throughout the six episodes. Further, he affirms that the OTJ series will explore what the movie left behind. “The series will still involve the cop angle and the prisoner-turned-assassin angle. Also,” he adds, “we have introduced the angle of the media.”
The partnership will leave all of the creative control with Matti and Reality Entertainment. He and Michiko Yamamoto are both returning to direct and write the new miniseries. Production kicks off later this month.
The series may also see the return of reprising actors. Matti refuses to comment on which actors may be making an appearance, telling the media to wait for the show’s official press conference. However, he does assure us that Francis Coronel Jr., played by Piolo Pascual, will not be coming back from the dead. Also, the series’ main character will play a role that will dwell on the ambiguous side of the morality spectrum.
According to HOOQ, the OTJ series is the first step in the long journey. They will be augmenting the effort on content with more stories in the months and years to come. The video-on-demand service still remains to be the largest in terms of Filipino content, striking deals with ABS-CBN, GMA, and Viva Entertainment. The OTJ series will be its first original Filipino content, which will also broadcast in other Southeast Asian countries. In the future, HOOQ will also be bringing original content from other countries to the Philippines.
The OTJ miniseries’ first season will premier within this year’s fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the original On the Job movie is now available for streaming on HOOQ.
