Studio 23 airs first Kotse-serye

MANILA, Philippines - Studio 23 is partnering with the car brand Chevrolet for what has been dubbed as kotse-serye, a roadtrip-themed TV series titled Sparkada Trip starring Kapamilya young stars Xian Lim, Ketchup Eusebio, Charee Pineda, Helga Krapf and Gee Canlas.

It has been a trend that car brands have taken the onscreen spotlight as an important component in storytelling. In Chevy’s case, the most prominent perhaps was the use of five different models of the brand in the blockbuster Hollywood trilogy Transformers.

The Chevy cars profile reached greater heights as they got cast as the heroic and lovable autobots Jolt (Chevy Volt), Sideswipe (Chevy Stingray Concept), Mudflap (Chevy Trax), Skidz (Chevy Spark) and Bumblebee (Chevy Camaro).

On Philippine TV, this kotse-serye will highlight the features of the mini-passenger, five-door car Spark. But more than just a strategy to introduce the car’s merits, it tells the story of the adventures and misadventures of a barkada hitting the road.  

In Sparkada Trip, Xian, who was last seen on ABS-CBN’s 100 Days To Heaven, plays the school jock Alex. Helga, who last appeared on a TV series via Mara Clara, plays the Fil-Am girlfriend of Alex who is named Nora. Ketchup will provide most of the laughs as the resident playboy who goes by the name of George. Gee, who is one of the hosts of Music Uplate, is the geeky and motormouth call center agent Joy. Completing the cast is Charee, who is currently starring in the ABS-CBN drama series Mula Sa Puso, as the conservative Ynah. Their roadtrip begins after Nora suddenly goes missing. Alex then calls on his barkada to help him find Nora onboard their Spark.

The show’s launch was held last Tuesday at the Chevrolet Greenhills-Edsa showroom.

According to Xian, the Sparkada Trip, which as the story goes had them driving for two days, will show “how the friendship grew in our journey as well as how it shows how we are having fun inside the car.”

Xian said that all five of them easily fit into the car, including someone as towering and long-legged as him. 

For Ketchup, it was such a relaxing and freeing experience as it didn’t feel like work at all. “Malaya ang pagkagawa namin nito. We really had great bonding doing the series, always talking about a lot of things, especially love life. We were very relaxed doing this and it shows on the series.”

Studio 23’s Vince Rodriguez and Chevrolet Philippines marketing director Lyn Buena said that this isn’t the first time that they collaborated. “But we had to come up with something different that targets young adults and we chose actors that represent the audience that we want to reach,” said Rodriguez.

Catch the Sparkada Trip premiere on Sunday at 5 p.m. after UAAP.