MANILA, Philippines — Charo Santos is proving she can still surprise audiences, with the veteran actress and media icon racking up millions of views on social media through her “Rich Boyfriend’s Mom” microdrama series while also winning over netizens with a dance Reel set to NSYNC’s “I Want You Back.”
Several installments of “Rich Boyfriend’s Mom,” or “RBFM,” have drawn massive audiences, with one video reaching 9.5 million views, another 4.5 million, two more garnering 3.6 million each, and another pulling in 1.7 million views.
In the short-form series, Santos plays a fabulously wealthy mother determined to keep her son and his girlfriend apart, leaning into the melodrama with the commanding presence and comic timing that have made the character a hit with viewers.
Her performance has even prompted comparisons with the increasingly popular Chinese microdrama format.
“Mam Charo, puwede nang pambato sa Chinese drama!” (“Ma’am Charo could be our contender for a Chinese drama!”) one viewer commented.
But Santos’ online reinvention has not stopped with microdramas.
She recently joined the latest dance trend to NSYNC’s “I Want You Back,” earning another wave of amused and admiring reactions from followers.
“Hindi tumatanda!” (“She doesn’t age!”) one viewer wrote.
“Kaya makipagsabayan!” (“She can keep up!”) said another, while others remarked that Santos hardly looks 70.
For an entertainment figure long associated with dramatic roles and her decades as the face of “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” Santos’ recent social media appearances are showing audiences a markedly more playful side.
She has been dancing, joking around and taking on exaggerated characters, revealing a looser and more spontaneous online persona than the stately image long associated with her career.
That willingness to play along may also explain why her videos are finding audiences beyond longtime fans, with younger social media users encountering a Charo Santos quite different from the television institution they may know by reputation.
From a scheming rich mother commanding millions of views to an NSYNC dance challenge, Santos appears to have found another stage — and social media is clearly watching. TMA
