APT Entertainment to do more shows for TV5

MANILA, Philippines — A new sitcom produced by APT Entertainment, Inc. is set to premiere on TV5 on May 14. Titled Jack and Jill sa Diamond Hills, the comedy show is about two undercover agents (Jake Cuenca and Sue Ramirez) who are forced to pretend as a married couple to hunt down a criminal mastermind.

Directed by John “Sweet” Lapus, this will be the first “straight-out” sitcom by the content production company APT for the Kapatid network, according to Mike Tuviera, the CEO and president of APT Entertainment.

“We’ve done somewhat hybrid na shows… but this is the first for TV5 primetime na straight-out sitcom talaga kaya talagang sineryoso namin ang paghanap sa cast. Because in our experience, it’s all in the cast. If you’re with the right people, that’s the formula basically,” direk Mike told The Philippine STAR during last Tuesday’s presscon for the upcoming series.

“As long as you have a good concept, talaga ang nagdadala ay ang cast. So we’re very proud that we were able to get a dream cast,” he added.

The ensemble cast of Jack and Jill sa Diamond Hills also includes Gardo Versoza, Ara Mina, DJ Onse, Nana Silayro, Nico Antonio, DJ Jhai Ho, Willie Miller and Hershey Neri.

Direk Mike further confirmed that they have more projects with TV5 in the pipeline.

“Yes ang daming parating actually. We have a game show we’re launching. We have a dance competition show that’s going to come out in two months. Marami po. May mga narratives rin. We’re cooking up other projects also for movies, theaters, marami pa po.”

On their relationship with TV5, he described it as “a really good partnership because they really respect what we do and yung process namin, which is medyo (different).”

“I’ve worked in all the networks, I’ve worked here in TV5 kaya maganda na po relationship namin with the executives. Napaka-symbiotic ang relationship namin. Kaya OK naman. Nakikita naman sa products namin, I think. Maganda talaga.”

Meanwhile, Sweet Lapus shared his experience of directing the show. “The beauty of APT, from the scripting alone, the director is already included,” he said, adding that this practice allows him to know where the show’s story is heading to, from the onset.

Since he started directing in 2018, he has experienced producers who would just hand him a ready script. “Thanks to APT, they consult the director, they ask the director, as compared to other producers, wala na yung nagagawa ang director, ‘pag andyan na yung cast, ah, OK.”

APT Entertainment, a veteran content provider for TV and a production company for movies and events, was founded in 1994 by Antonio P. Tuviera (APT), best-known as the man behind the GMA 7 noontime show Eat Bulaga.

Owing to his background as a writer and director first before becoming a producer, direk Mike said the signature APT process of making shows is “very creative-oriented.”

“Maybe because I started out as a director. I’m a writer, that’s how I started with Bossing. I started writing with Vic Sotto, and I was a director. Yun lang po talaga ang alam kong paraan, eh. Kaya yung sinasabi ni direk (Sweet) na kasama kaagad yung director simula sa umpisa, that’s what really all I know. From the concept, to the casting, to the scripting, all the way to the post (production), it’s a very creative environment.”