'Mga Lihim ni Urduja' makes presence known in first week airing

MANILA, Philippines — When a new show premieres on either ABS-CBN or GMA-7, it is almost a given that the ratings fans will have a field day arguing over who got the upperhand between rival shows. 

Based on the first week numbers of the newly premiered action-adventure show "Mga Lihim ni Urduja," it has managed to pique the interest of viewers who have been glued to the hit historical portal fantasy show "Maria Clara at Ibarra," the show it replaced on its time slot. 

The Sanya Lopez, Gabbi Garcia and Kylie Padilla starrer premiered on February 27 right after "24 Oras." 

In a tweet by seasoned showbiz writer Nora Calderon, the show raked in 9.6% ratings based on the overnight data for February 27, 2023 from the Nielsen Audience Measurement. It is second only to newscast "24 Oras," while its rival "Batang Quiapo" registered 5.3% on both its simultaneous airing on A2Z and TV5. 

Bahagi kayo ng aming pagkapanalo. Maraming salamat sa pagtangkilik sa GMA Network shows, mga Kapuso! pic.twitter.com/8Zofx3vuUT

— noivcalderon (@noivcalderon) February 28, 2023

Its ratings on the two succeeding days, February 28 and March 1, increased at 10% and 10.1, respectively. It remained on the top 5 most watched shows according to the overnight data from the Nielsen Audience Measurement. "Batang Quiapo" is also among the top 10 most watched programs in primetime last week. 

The first week of "Mga Lihim ni Urduja" introduced the legendary Urduja (Sanya), a 14th century warrior princess famed for her battle prowess, believed to be aided by her magical jewels. 

Two unlikely allies, policewoman Gemma (Kylie) and jewelry designer Crystal (Gabbi), cross paths when they witness a group of bounty hunters unearth pieces of jewelry, including ones owned by Urduja. 

Among the bounty hunters is Onyx (Vin Abrenica) who gets curious why he was the only one to have heard the budyong, an instrument used to make a call by blowing on its horn. He is intrigued why his fellow hunters were not able not able to hear the call and were not blinded by the gleam of the jewelry, like him, Crystal and Gem were. 

"Mga Lihim ni Urduja" also stars Gina Pareno, Ricardo Cepeda, Marina Benipayo, Arra San Agustin, Vin Abrenica, Krisofer Martin, Michelle Dee, Pancho Magno and Rochelle Pangilinan. 

Check out some of the tweets: 

This is what we came for.

Mga Lihim ni Urduja keeps serving us WOMEN ???? in its Day 2. Just look at those visuals. GMA spoiling and giving the viewers what they want. ????#MgaLihimNiUrduja#UrdujaItinakda pic.twitter.com/gW0ir7Cv8N

— Drunk Chongyun (@DChongyun) February 28, 2023

This fight scene. Rochelle Pangilinan!!!

Gigil na gigil? Galing @Roc_Pangilinan#MgaLihimNiUrduja pic.twitter.com/y81QZbmqjF

— ET (@escapingthought) February 27, 2023

OMG! The scene extensions looks good so far! #MgaLihimNiUrduja pic.twitter.com/nSsXaEH21P

— Tree | (@trisyan_) February 27, 2023

RELATED: 'Mga Lihim ni Urduja' makes cameo in 'Maria Clara at Ibarra,' premieres tonight