After winning viewers over in “Seducing Drake Palma,” Rabin Angeles and Angela Muji are back together for “Dating Alys Perez,” the highly anticipated continuation of the popular Wattpad-based franchise.
Premiering June 12 on Viva One, the series follows Alys as she faces the return of Drake Palma years after moving on with a new love.
Based on the story by Ariesa Domingo, better known to readers as Beeyotch, “Dating Alys Perez” picks up four years after Alys graduates from Brenford. Having healed from the heartbreak caused by Drake, Alys finds happiness with her boyfriend, Tripp Palma. But Drake's sudden return threatens to unravel the life she has built and reignite feelings she believed were long buried.
Joining Angeles and Muji in the new series is Zeke Polina, who takes over the role of Tripp Palma and becomes Drake's newest rival for Alys' heart. The role was previously portrayed by Dylan Menor.
Looking back on one of her most popular works, Domingo said the experience was filled with nostalgia as she reflected on the journey the story has taken since it was first published.
"I wrote this when I was in college, or maybe even as a teenager. I was very young then. I just wanted to put everything into the story and I didn't really rationalize things. When the adaptation was being developed, I told Direk that we needed to make sense of everything. I'm very thankful to him and the entire production team because we worked hand in hand to make sure everything felt grounded and meaningful," Domingo said during a media conference.
Domingo said revisiting the story years later gave her a different perspective on the work she created as a young writer.
"Sometimes, while reading it again for the adaptation, I found myself wondering, 'What was I going through when I wrote this?' because I really just wanted the characters to suffer," she joked.
"I hope people view the adaptation as a separate body of work. Although it's based on the book, it's also Direk's interpretation, and I truly love and respect his vision for the story,” she added.
Director Crisanto Aquino said working on “Dating Alys Perez” required little adjustment because much of the cast, crew and locations from Seducing Drake Palma remained the same.
"On our first day shooting Dating Alys Perez, I told Rabin that this must be what it feels like to film a second book. It felt like just another shooting day for Seducing Drake Palma. We had the same staff, the same actors and many of the same locations, so I never felt like I had to make a huge adjustment," Aquino said.
"I wasn't struggling to find my footing because we were returning to familiar places, like Drake's house and Alys' house. It felt like stepping back in to shoot another scene from the first series,” he added.
Aquino also credited the chemistry between Angeles and Muji for helping make the franchise resonate with audiences.
"When it comes to creating romantic moments, these two make it effortless. From Seducing Drake Palma to our other projects and now Dating Alys Perez, we've become very familiar with each other's dynamics. Sometimes all it takes is one look and they already know whether a take was good or bad. Making people feel the romance isn't difficult because they genuinely have chemistry together," he said.
The sequel also marks a more mature chapter for its lead characters. According to Muji, viewers can expect deeper emotional conflicts than those seen in the original series.
"As we take on more projects, the work naturally becomes more challenging. The same goes for Alys and Drake. This time, they're no longer dealing with simple problems. They're facing real-life challenges that people wouldn't expect. Even if we haven't personally experienced those situations, we have to immerse ourselves in them and make them feel real," Muji said.
Angeles said years of working together have strengthened his partnership with Muji both professionally and personally.
"For Dating Alys Perez, Angela and I understand each other much better now. We've practically memorized each other's habits. When we're doing scenes, we understand how to work together in a way we didn't during the first season," he said.
The pair laughed when asked whether there is still anything new for them to discover about each other after several projects together.
"I feel like we already know everything about each other. One thing we always remind each other is to stay grounded and never change, no matter what happens. We've always tried to keep each other grounded throughout this journey," Muji said.
Angeles agreed, saying their friendship has reached a point where little needs to be said.
"We understand each other completely. Sometimes all it takes is one look from her and I already know I've done something wrong. And when I look at her, she immediately understands what I'm thinking. We've reached that level of understanding," he said.
The actor also hinted at the close bond he and Muji share off-screen. When asked whether he had ever defended her in real life, Angeles laughed and said, "Maybe I have. But that's something just between us."
“Dating Alys Perez” premieres June 12 on Viva One, with new episodes streaming every Friday.
