John Lloyd Cruz is making his fans’ Christmas a merrier and laughter-filled one as he makes his big television comeback with the highly-anticipated GMA sitcom Happy ToGetHer, airing tonight, Dec. 26.
The acclaimed actor lands the lead role of Julian, a handsome mechanic and single dad who strives to give his son a better future and to even find his one true love.
As he forges through this new path in life, the 38-year-old was not afraid to admit that this new adventure challenged him, especially now that he has transferred to the Kapuso network.
“Siguro, mas malaking challenge na nasa bagong bakuran tayo. It’s challenging kasi nangangapa kaming grupo. Kaya napakaswerte namin dahil iyong assistance, pag-gabay at pagtulong ng GMA sa amin ay talagang hindi matatawaran,” he told the press during the show’s online media conference.
John Lloyd added that he is thankful to his home network for giving him and his co-stars the opportunity to work even with the ongoing pandemic.
He shared: “Yung opportunity na galing sa GMA executives, araw-araw namin ipinagpapasalamat. Sa bawat araw na nasa loob kami ng bubble, mayroon kaming opportunity na makapagtrabaho and we can all move forward from the current situation of our nation.”
Not just a lead actor on set, John Lloyd is also a co-producer and creative consultant for the comedy program. When asked what was the biggest hurdle in co-producing a sitcom, he shared it was the task to come up with something new every day for their episodes.
“Mahirap actually bumuo ng bagong kwento. I think that’s the most challenging part every episode. Siyempre kailangan binigyan mo yung audience natin, yung ating mas matalinong audience sa panahon ngayon ng angkop sa panlasa nila, yung akma dun sa tema ng mga pangyayari sa panahon ngayon,” he explained.
GMA Network first vice president for Program Management Jose Mari Abacan is more than confident the viewers will love John Lloyd’s performance in the feel-good sitcom.
“When I got the taped episodes, talagang I am very, very confident that the Kapuso viewers will actually appreciate it. Matutuwa sila doon sa mga episodes na ginawa nila John Lloyd,” he said.
Meanwhile, director Edgar “Bobot” Mortiz, who is at the helm of the show, had nothing but praises for his lead actor and even revealed that John Lloyd agreed to make this project with him to give those who were displaced in their industry a job.
Direk Bobot shared that their preparations for the show took longer than expected because they wanted to make sure the quality was top-notch.
He explained: “Tumagal ‘yung paghahanda namin dahil sa konsepto nung show. Gusto namin siyempre maiba naman ‘yung konsepto niya kaysa doon sa dating ginawa namin. Nandoon din ‘yung flavor na gusto namin, pero iba naman siya. Iba yung comedy namin. Makikita niyo na may touch ng John Lloyd.”
Aside from John Lloyd, Happy ToGetHer features a star-studded cast led by Miles Ocampo, Jayson Gainza, Ashley Rivera, Jenzel Angeles, Eric Nicolas, Janus del Prado, Kleggy Abaya, Vito Quizon, Leo Bruno, Wally Waley and Carmi Martin.
As Kapamilya in the Kapuso fold, Miles and Jayson affirmed that their Happy ToGetHer team had already felt like a family on just the second day of their lock-in taping.
“Yung samahan namin ngayon, nasa second cycle po kami ng shoot namin, parang po kaming ilang buwan na magkasama, ilang years na, kasi ganon po naging buo yung pamilya namin. Kaya sobrang swerte rin naman kasi lahat dito sa grupo namin nagtutulungan talaga at pamilya talaga ang turing namin,” Miles said.
Don’t miss out on Happy ToGetHer! The world premiere of John Lloyd’s comeback to the small screen is tonight before Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on GMA.