Bola Bola (miniseries)

Bola Bola is a Philippine teen romantic comedy television miniseries with a tagline "Cook, Feed, Love, Repeat" based on the best selling romance-novel of the same name by Anna Geronga,^[3] starring Francine Diaz, together with Akira Morishita of the Filipino boy group BGYO, KD Estrada and Ashton Salvador, directed by JP Habac, who has worked also with the romance films "I'm Drunk, I Love You", "Sakaling Maging Tayo", "Dito At Doon" and the hit BL series "Gaya sa Pelikula".^[2] The series premiered on iWantTFC on March 26, 2022.

Bola Bola
Bola Bola Official Poster
Also known as	Anne Geronga's Bola Bola: Cook, Feed, Love, Repeat
Genre	Romantic comedy Teen Drama
Based on	Bola-Bola by Anna Geronga[1]
Directed by	JP Habac[2]
Starring	Francine Diaz Akira Morishita KD Estrada Ashton Salvador
Opening theme	"Mahal Na Kita" by BGYO
Composers	Akira Morishita, Jonathan Manalo
Country of origin	Philippines
Original languages	Filipino English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Production locations	Tagaytay, Cavite
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	35–50 minutes
Production companies	Dreamscape Entertainment KreativDen Entertainment
Original release
Network	iWantTFC
Release	March 26 (2022-03-26) – April 10, 2022 (2022-04-10)

Synopsis

What happens when you fall in love with your Kuya's best friend? Thea Balderama, a 220-pound late bloomer, believes that she will never meet her mother's incredibly high standards for beauty. Worse, while Thea deals with her deep-seated insecurities about her weight, she must also study to get into her dream university while keeping up with her boy-crazy best friends. Her life becomes even more complicated when Lucas Benitez, her Kuya's best friend, (and her longtime crush!), returns from the States. As her attraction to Lucas grows, Thea cooks for him, pouring her passion into irresistible merienda, hoping to reach her crush’s heart through his stomach, in the hopes that he will think she's beautiful—fat and all. Though Thea knows nothing is a piece of cake, she has a hopeful heart, and she's hungry for love. Being with Lucas might just be worth the risk.

Cast and characters

All of the cast and characters are adapted from the trailer released by iWantTFC in YouTube, unless otherwise noted.^[4]

Main cast

• Francine Diaz as Thea Balderama
• Akira Morishita as Lucas Benitez
• KD Estrada as Julian Sarmiento
• Ashton Salvador as Josh Beltran

Supporting cast

• Arlene Muhlach as Anj Balderama
• Vance Larena as Anton Balderama
• Lito Pimentel as Ricardo Balderama
• J-Mee Katanyag as Cely
• Analain Salvador as Issa
• Danica Ontengco as Ivy

Episodes

No.	Title	Original release date
1	"Chocolates Are a Girl's Best Friend"	March 26, 2022 (2022-03-26)
A typical summer break for Thea and her friends gets interesting when her childhood crush Lucas returns home from studying abroad.
2	"Pasta Chronicles Volume 1"	March 27, 2022 (2022-03-27)
Thea pressures Julian to join Lucas' band as road manager for a chance to get closer to him. With much confidence, she asks Lucas to be her date to the summer ball.
3	"Pasta Chronicles Vol. 2"	April 2, 2022 (2022-04-02)
Thea wallows in self-pity after being rejected by Lucas, but she pulls herself together to prepare for the culinary competition that she signed up for. Issa convinces Thea to go to the ball and show their support to Julian.
4	"Don’t Panic, It’s Organic"	April 3, 2022 (2022-04-03)
Anj blames herself for Thea's insecurity. Lucas' rejection opens Thea's eyes and motivates her to lose weight. She signs up in Anton's gym but is faced with the harsh reality that losing weight does not happen overnight.
5	"Zero Calories, Zero Substance"	April 9, 2022 (2022-04-09)
With her new and leaner look, Thea becomes more confident, and this wins her new friends and gains Lucas' attention. Issa encourages Julian to stop suppressing his feelings for Thea.
6	"Love’s Like a Box of Chocolates"	April 10, 2022 (2022-04-10)
Julian opens up to Thea but is left with more questions. Thea reunites with her father, and with this comes realizations about herself, her insecurities, what makes her happy, and about true love and acceptance.

Production

Background

The project was first announced on December 10, 2021, in a livestream event called as "iWantTFC Unwrapped".^[5]

Filming

In 2022, filming began and wrapped up on the same year.

Marketing

The official teaser was released on February 25, 2022^[6] and the full trailer of the series was released on March 17, 2022, via iWantTFC's social media accounts.^[7] The main casts of the series graced Magandang Buhay on March 14, 2022^[8] and the ASAP Natin 'To stage on March 20, 2022, as part of "Bola Bola" promotion.^[9]

Reception

Rafael Bautista of Nylon Manila shared in an article saying, "Bola Bola is opening up discussions of how body, weight loss, and what makes you happy isn't a one-dimensional discussion". He also praised the actors behind the series saying, "the show wouldn't impress if it weren't for the good acting from the cast, most especially Francine Diaz".^[10]

Soundtrack

Bola Bola (Original Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by BGYO, KD Estrada, Akira Morishita
Released	March 25, 2022 (2022-03-25)
Recorded	2022
Studio	EP
Genre	OPM, Soundtrack
Length	11:45
Language	Filipino
Label	Star Music
Producer	Jonathan Manalo

On March 21, 2022 Star Music has revealed the official soundtrack of the series,^[11] and was released on March 25 of the same year.^[12]

Bola Bola (Original Soundtrack)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Mahal Na Kita"	Akira Morishita Jonathan Manalo	BGYO	3:26
2.	"Mahal Ba Kita?"	KD Estrada	KD Estrada	4:35
3.	"Mahal Na Kita"	Akira Morishita Jonathan Manalo	Akira Morishita	3:26
Total length:				11:45

Release

Broadcast

The series premiered on March 26, 2022, via iWantTFC.^[13]

The series had its Philippine TV Premiere beginning August 21 to September 4, 2022, airing on Sunday primetime on Kapamilya Channel and A2Z replacing the second season of He's Into Her and was replaced by Run to Me. It will also airing on ABS-CBN web channel Kapamilya Online Live and international via TFC (The Filipino Channel).^[14]

See also

• List of programs broadcast by ABS-CBN
• List of programs distributed by ABS-CBN Entertainment
• List of Kapamilya Channel original programming
• List of A2Z (TV channel) original programming
• List of iWantTFC original programming
• List of ABS-CBN original drama series

References

1. Geronga, Anna (May 10, 2020). Bola-Bola. Anvil Publishing, Incorporated. ISBN 9789712736056. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
2. Dumaual, Miguel (December 9, 2021). "Francine Diaz to topbill new series "Bola Bola" with director JP Habac". news.abs-cbn.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
3. "A different Francine Diaz stars in the adaptation of best-selling romance novel 'Bola Bola'". hypemaniaph.com. March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
4. For the citations of the "Bola Bola" casts and characters.

   • Leika Golez (March 16, 2022). "6 Fast Facts You Need to Know About BGYO's Akira Morishita". candymag.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
   • Jeraiza Molina (March 18, 2022). "NEW SERIES ALERT: "Bola Bola" of director JP Habac featuring Francine Diaz". whatalife.ph. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • Alex Brosas (March 20, 2022). "Francine Diaz takes on her first rom-com project "Bola-Bola"". lifestyle.inquirer.net. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • Kay Cabral (March 20, 2022). "Francine Diaz, Akira Morishita, the new tandem to watch out!". lionheartv.net. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • "Francine feeds the hearts of KD, Akira, and Ashton in 'Bola Bola'". mb.com.ph. March 17, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • Heidi Hsia (March 22, 2022). "KD Estrada confident with relationship with Alexa Ilacad". sg.style.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
   • Rhea Manila Santos (March 22, 2022). "KD Estrada says Alexa Ilacad is 'super proud' of his new series "Bola Bola"". push.abs-cbn.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
5. For the citations of the "iWantTFC Unwrapped" including "Bola Bola" announcement.

   • "In Photos: iWantTFC's "Unwrapped" Blue Carpet Event". metro.style. December 11, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
   • "ENTERTAINMENTiWantTFC unwraps first batch of star-studded originals for 2022, more in development". canadianinquirer.net. December 11, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • ""He's Into Her", "Goodbye Girl" banner iWantTFC shows in 2022". filipino.news. December 10, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
   • "Here are the shows to watch out for on iWantTFC in 2022". headtopics.com. December 10, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
6. "WATCH: Dreamscape drops teaser for Francine Diaz's 'Bola Bola'". news.abs-cbn.com. February 25, 2022. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
7. For the citations of the "Bola Bola" official trailer.

   • Danielle Domingo (March 17, 2022). "Watch Francine Diaz Shine in the Trailer for iWant TFC Original, "Bola Bola"". myx.global. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
   • "WATCH: BGYO's Akira, Francine Diaz, KD Estrada, and more in 'Bola Bola' full trailer". ppopwave.com. March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
8. "BGYO tastes Francine's fried rice". ent.abs-cbn.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
9. "Regine Velasquez, Zsazsa Padilla, and Piolo Pascual join together on the "ASAP Natin 'To" stage this Sunday". lionheartv.net. March 19, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
10. Rafael Baustista (March 29, 2022). "HERE'S HOW FRANCINE DIAZ TRANSFORMS INTO THEA IN BOLA BOLA". nylonmanila.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
11. "BGYO, Akira Morishita, and KD Estrada to sing for 'Bola Bola' OST". ppopwave.com. March 21, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
12. "Star Music releases 'Bola Bola' OST featuring BGYO, KD Estrada, and Akira Morishita". ppopwave.com. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
13. Andrea Averion (March 21, 2022). "Francine Diaz stars in iWantTFC's new series 'Bola Bola'". villagepipol.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
14. ABS CBN News (August 18, 2022). "'Bola Bola,' 'Run To Me' to air on A2Z, Kapamilya Channel". Newsen – via ABS CBN News.

External links

• Bola Bola at IMDb
• Bola Bola on iWantTFC