How TikTalks hosts work on their dynamics in show’s Season 2

Five hosts with different views on a certain topic. That’s the concept of the soft news and lighthearted show, TikTalks on TV5, which recently entered its second season.

Veteran broadcast journalist and TV host Korina Sanchez-Roxas is joined by her four diverse co-hosts — columnist and radio-TV host Pat-P Daza, singer-comedienne Kakai Bautista, LGBTQIA+ advocate G3 San Diego and stand-up comic and comedy writer Alex Calleja — who form an ensemble that represents different perspectives and voices.

TikTalks projects a different Korina, one who is seen by viewers laughing, giggling even dancing on TV, a far cry from her stiff, stoic and serious image as newscaster that people witnessed for decades in news programs, public affairs and talk shows.

With Korina and Joji Dingcong as producers under Media Kweens, Inc., TikTalks made its pilot episode in December 2022. The hosts were all tentative on how the program would be received by viewers then. Thankfully, they successfully pulled off with the first season.

“Although we are all sexy, not in different shapes or sizes, but we differ in personalities and representations,” Korina said. “We like talking about the things we really talk about. But who talks about it, like body odor or bad breath? No one.”

“Until when do you need to support your siblings? Up to when should the child stay in the house of the parents? To work abroad or not to work abroad? Why Filipinos love to be fair? Everybody suggests. There are just so many things to talk about,” she continued.

“We all have our different opinions,” Pat-P added. “We all agree to disagree. At the end of the day, Korina sums it up.”

Kakai shared, “We all work together on the topic we discuss. More often, our opinions get edited out because we cannot control what we say or comment. As long as we can suggest and help in featuring a certain topic, we will do it.”

G3 insisted they learned about “political correctness” from Korina. “Now that we’re on Season 2, we’re more at home with each other compared to the first season. Our chemistry is more solid now. We know when to let each other speak. We know when to listen. Who can talk more about a certain topic.”

The fifth host Alex was initially a dilemma for Korina and her team. He was the last addition to the show. “Do we get a ballet dancer, a lawyer, a nun?” Korina was thinking. “I told them we should inject a male perspective, so we can get the opinion of the opposite sex. I want the humor of a real man. Alex is a stand-up comedian, director and writer. He’s a celebrity, too.”

“When we came together, we normally had our regular banter, but now, we put in a little more production. So, when Alex declares he loves his wife although they are not that close, so they don’t talk often, we understand the punchlines that he makes. People want to know what his wife really looks like, so we put in the picture,” she added.

“Pat-P said she’s allergic to not-so-good looking guys that was why she separated from her hubby, people are curious how her former husband looks like. So, we come out with the photo, with her permission,” she continued. “When we talk about who are being romantically linked with Kakai and her latest issues on Instagram, we come out with that page.”

“With G3, people are curious how she looked like when she came out of the hospital, we came out with her birth certificate and even showed her transformation then and now.”

“When we talk about my children, we show Pepe and Pilar to our viewers. We are all given equal time on the air. You cannot suppress all the hosts. They always have their share of their opinions.”

TikTalks also has celebrity man-on-the-street opinions for every topic.

“Before viewers can even think about it, we were already discussing it in front of the cameras,” Korina said. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we will discuss it. No-holds-barred.”

The difference between TikTalks Season 1 and Season 2 is the hosts initially tested what Filipinos could really do. “I believe we passed the parameters,” maintained Alex, the only thorn among the roses. “For Season 2, we became all out in the topics. We went beyond one person reporting about a certain topic. We reversed the format. For a certain topic, there are five different opinions.”

The hosts of TikTalks are scheduling to do some planning and even undergo workshop for their show.

“Imagine at our age, we still have to undergo workshop,” Korina shared. “We still have to work on the dynamics of letting each other talk in peace, so viewers will understand the message of what we’re discussing. We enjoy the discussion so much that sometimes, the viewers don’t get our point because we were always laughing. We need to emphasize more the point we’re driving at.”

TikTalks airs on TV5, One PH and Radyo 5 92.3 News FM. Last month, Korina also returned to ABS-CBN and signed a new co-production deal for her program, Rated Korina.