Home Sweet Home (2013 TV series)

Home Sweet Home
Genre	Family Drama Fantasy Adventure Horror Comedy
Created by	GMA Entertainment TV Group
Developed by	RJ Nuevas
Written by	Jules Dan Katanyag Lobert Villela Ma. Cristina Velasco
Directed by	Gil Tejada, Jr.
Creative director(s)	Jun Lana
Starring	Raymart Santiago Roxanne Guinoo Jake Vargas Bea Binene Jillian Ward
Opening theme	"Home Sweet Home" sung by Jake Vargas, Bea Binene and Jillian Ward
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language(s)	Filipino, Tagalog, English
No. of episodes	64
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joy Lumboy-Pili
Location(s)	Bulacan, Philippines
Cinematography	Lito Mempin
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	30-45 minutes
Release
Original network	GMA Network
Picture format	480i NTSC
Original release	April 22 (2013-04-22) – July 19, 2013 (2013-07-19)
External links
Website

Home Sweet Home is a Filipino family drama and fantasy-adventure television series created by RJ Nuevas and produced by GMA Network. It premiered on April 22, 2013 on the network’s pre-primetime slot and on April 23, 2013 worldwide via GMA Pinoy TV. The series concluded its 13-week run on July 19, 2013 with a total of 64 episodes, and replaced by Binoy Henyo on its timeslot. The show headlines Raymart Santiago, Roxanne Guinoo, Jake Vargas, Bea Binene and Jillian Ward as the main cast. Gil Tejada, Jr. directed the show while Joy Lumboy-Pili serves as the executive producer for the entire run of the series.^[1]

The forty-five-minute scripted drama revolves around the Caharian family and their magical adventures and misadventures as they explore and unravel the mysteries behind an old and abandoned house. In the story, whoever enters the old house will be trapped inside and a fake version (a doppelganger with opposite personality of the real one) will come out.^[2]

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Reden Caharian – portrayed by Raymart Santiago.^[3]
• Dulce Caharian – portrayed by Roxanne Guinoo.^[4][5]
• Benjie Caharian – portrayed by Jake Vargas.^[6]
• Lucy Buena – portrayed by Bea Binene.^[7]
• Jessie Caharian – portrayed by Jillian Ward.^[8]
• Ivan Caharian – portrayed by Rain Quite.

Recurring characters

• Pandora – portrayed by Celia Rodriguez.
• Agoncilla Caharian – portrayed by Gladys Reyes.^[9]
• Wendy del Valle – portrayed by Rochelle Pangilinan.^[10]
• Coco Buena – portrayed by Teejay Marquez.^[11]
• Dessa Buena – portrayed by Shermaine Santiago.
• Kulas and Mikay – portrayed by Arthur Solinap^[12]
• Caloy – portrayed by Marky Lopez.
• Don Duarte Caharian – portrayed by Ernie Zarate.
• Dane – portrayed by Ken Chan.^[13]
• Django – portrayed by Buboy Villar.
• Arko Buena – portrayed by Arkin Magalona.
• Chinggay - portrayed by Elle Ramirez.

Notable characters

Home Sweet Home features a number of notable guest characters every "adventure". Below, in order of appearance, are the recurring characters who have appeared in at least five episodes.

Production and development

The series was conceptualized and developed by RJ Nuevas in early March 2013. The show's working title was "Bahay na Bato" (literally means House of Stone) before being changed to Home Sweet Home.^[15] The show's key target demographic were children (6-12 year old age) and preteens to adolescents (13-19 year old age), and aimed to entertain in a positive manner, at the same time inculcating traditional Filipino values and practices, such as importance of honesty, respect for parental authority, importance of a strong family and sportsmanship.

The series is executive produced by Joy Lumboy-Pili and directed by Gil Tejada, Jr. Although predominantly a family drama, the program does have some fantasy-adventure, comedic and thriller overtones. The story revolves mainly around the Caharian family, and their adventures and misadventures inside an old enchanted house—the most significant aspect of the series, both the main setting and the focus of the story's themes. Every door in that house leads to a new world (reminiscent of The Chronicles of Narnia). There, they will meet some lovable mythical creatures, as well as ferocious fiends, that will either help them or keep them from getting back into the real world. The show also highlights several characters [such as relatives, friends, neighbors of the core family] and their personal and background stories.^[16]

The cast came first before the concept of the show. The first actor to be cast was Raymart Santiago who played Reden Caharian.^[17] In an interview, Santiago—who has previously starred in the network's family-friendly programs Bantatay and Futbolilits—revealed that he also contributed some creative input to make series even better. He also asked his children to help him decide on the kind of role he would take in the [new] show.^[18] Roxanne Guinoo was chosen to play Dulce Caharian. She said she easily accepted the role because, first, it's a mother role and "I want to explore the idea of having grown up kids. And it's very light. My kids will also get to see the show."^[19] Jake Vargas, Bea Binene, Jillian Ward, Raine Quite and Celia Rodriguez were also part of the main cast.

The production began on April 2, 2013. Majority of the series' scenes were shot in an old house located at Bulacan. The series premiered on April 22, 2013, on GMA Network's early primetime, 5:50 p.m. slot.

Reception

The show garnered high numbers during its pilot week. According to data from ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, Home Sweet Home ruled its timeslot not only in viewer-rich Mega Manila but also in Urban Luzon.^[20] Based on household data recorded in Urban Luzon, which comprises 76.4 percent of urban TV household population in the country, from April 22 to April 26 (based on overnight readings), the series registered 32.1% household shares, versus its counterpart program Little Champ with 26.3%. The series likewise led in Mega Manila, which represents 59 percent of urban TV households in the country, after generating a 32.7% household share against 22.3% of its counterpart show from ABS-CBN.^[21]

Aside from ratings, the series, as well as its actors were praised by both critical and mainstream critics. Mario E. Bautista of Malaya praised Raymart Santiago's acting performance, stated that "Raymart has become a very good actor as shown in his dual roles in Home Sweet Home. He plays two different characters as the real Reden (imprisoned in the haunted house battling dragons) and the fake Reden (who can be mean to people around him but pretends to be harmless in front of wife Roxanne Guinoo). We think he deserves to be nominated as best actor in the coming TV awards for his performance in this show."^[22]

See also

• List of programs broadcast by GMA Network
• List of telenovelas of GMA Network
• Bantatay

External links

• GMA Network official website
• GMA Network Official Facebook Page

References