What we see in ‘The Legal Wife’
What else can strike fear amongst spouses than the idea that your partner is having an affair?
This feeling of uncertainty, rage, or paranoia, while unfortunate to those multitudes stricken, has been interestingly stuff of very profitable cinema— as the box-office winner No Other Woman and the more recent blockbuster The Mistress have proven. The topic never runs out of steam in casual conversations, and even heated formal debates—encroaching into the realm of social media wherein “Teams” are formed to side with whom.
Uncomfortable topic
As such, what other theme can TV producers come up with in creating a primetime drama? Though the topic might be uncomfortable or risqué for some, it never runs out of willing audiences to plunge into the maelstrom. People really take their mistress dramas seriously.
GMA-7 rode this bandwagon in a different but by no means in a less phenomenal way. Striking a chord with moralists and even risking being cut off by the Board of Censors, it produced My Husband’s Lover, which at first glance may reveal your ordinary mistress story, but with a never-before-been-used twist even by Western TV standards—a gay paramour. The story became so compelling, it not only drew viewers to jack up the TV ratings, it also got rave reviews from critics. It was, indeed, an overwhelming success for the network.
Only a few months after the show ended its run, rival ABS-CBN got the cue and started its own plans for a similar drama. The network, better known for soaps that feature oppressed heroines overcoming all the odds to achieve the impossible, and larger-than-life kids who stand by ideals amid gargantuan adversities, veered away from its tried-and-tested TV programming formula and banked on this dodgy topic for its precious primetime block.
ABS-CBN was right
Since its premiere on January 2014, The Legal Wife proved that the network was right. It has consistently placed on top of the primetime TV ratings.
Everyone is stuck. Blame that on the vicious development its writers cooked up to lead to each jaw-dropping episode people can’t stop talking about. Of course, the story strikes home, eerily close to stories we hear from a relative, a neighbor, a friend, or worse the viewer tearfully identifying herself with Angel Locsin’s Monica. You can just imagine how the show reverberates in the living room.
In social media, the hashtags created by the network’s digital team for each episode turns up as either the top trending topic in the Philippines or worldwide.
Masterful storytelling
Indeed, the masterful storytelling has done its job, realistically depicting situations people dread in such circumstances. Portrayals are effective and fluid, as well, with Angel Locsin (as Monica), Jericho Rosales (Adrian) and Maja Salvador (Nicole) giving their love triangle the viral effect it currently enjoys.
With a hurting Monica cutting ties with a remorseful Adrian, who had indicated he wanted to rebuild their marriage but faced with a troublesome prospect of dealing with a pregnant Nicole, people’s eyes remain glued.
You really can’t imagine what will happen next. Till the next #TLWTheRoyalRumble maybe.
