Bianca & Mark in Luna Blanca's love triangle

MANILA, Philippines -  Interest in the the GMA 7 series Luna Blanca has heightened after the book three of this multi-generational fantasy-saga began airing on the Kapuso channel last Sept. 10.

One of the main reasons is the love triangle involving its main characters portrayed by two of GMA Artist Center’s top talents Mark Herras and Bianca King (along with Heart Evangelista).

Mark, Bianca and Heart form the troika breathing life to the characters of Joaquin, Luna and Blanca, respectively.

Televiewers have found the mix-up intriguing, especially with Joaquin’s liking for the fair-skinned Blanca and the twin sisters’ similarly growing feelings for Joaquin. Bianca as the dark-skinned Luna is gaining critical nod for carefully handling her role, as assessed by people watching her performance who found themselves easily going beyond the façade and diving deeper into her character.

As for Mark, he stated in a recent interview, “Dapat abangan nila si Joaquin at kung paano maibabalik ‘yung memory niya. Kasi for seven years na-comatose siya, so hindi niya namumukhaan si Blanca na ka-partner niya mula nung bata pa sila. Dapat nila abangan kung papaano niya mare-recover ‘yung memories na nawala sa kanya.”

Luna Blanca Book 3, with its adult, more fleshed-out characters, has mutated into a real-life drama that once again shows that fantasy stories are really rooted on human nature and emotions.

Directed by Dominic Zapata, the series, a sequel to the 2008 GMA 7 series Luna Mystika, has followed the lives of twin sisters Luna and Blanca, believed to be the last descendants of the distorted-faced Luna and her twin shadow Celestina.

Divided into three chapters, Luna and Blanca were played by child stars Jillian Ward and Mona Louise Rey to capture their childhood times, followed by teen stars Bea Binene and Barbie Forteza for the second stage.

Mark, known in showbiz as “Dance Floor’s Resident Bad Boy,” is best remembered for playing Patrick in last year’s serye Time of My Life where he got to showcase his dancing skills. Two years back, he hosted Danz Showdown and starred opposite Heart for Langit Sa Piling Mo. Prior to this, he acted as Prince for Hiram Na Puso.   

Bianca, on the other hand, had her break as a female lead through Sinner Or Saint last year, where she got praises for playing the role of the troubled Noemi Manansala. This year, she proved that was not a flash in the pan as she led Broken Vow to high ratings portraying the character Melissa Santiago.