MANILA, Philippines — Primetime TV has been much colorful and trending lately with two sets of unexpected pairings making their respective shows even more fun to watch.
For anyone who has TV, streams their content, or spends time on social media, it is hard not to miss the viral clips of a rich, English-speaking Filipino-Chinese woman often trading barbs with a tisoy street-smart guy. They could argue about many things, but their most common encounter involve a funny scene involving poop.
Another team-up is another rich man-poor-girl pairing. They are high school classmates who go to an expensive school. Of course, the rich guy is an arrogant brat who, unfortunately, gets paired with the poor yet smart and sassy girl over a class project. They also belong to the predictably rich vs poor cliques, with their groups often clashing with each other. But as the rich snob and the sassy girl spend time with each other, albeit reluctantly, they get to know each other better.
It's no wonder that SnoopRene or SnoRene and ArchiexRoxy are currently popular TV pairings.
Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings play Irene Tiu and Snoop, respectively, on the show "Can't Buy Me Love."
Irene is the bratty Filipino-Chinese socialite who crosses paths with Snoop, the street-smart guy.
Xyriel Manabat and Elijah Canlas, meanwhile, play sassy girl Roxy and rich snob Archie on "Senior High."
Both pairings unexpectedly drew in viewers, even casuals, thanks to their viral clips on social media.
It's hard not to not like these pairings because of the proven popularity of their love arc tropes, but all four actors turn in convincing acting in roles that seemed tailor-made for them.
WATCH: 'SnoRene' moments on 'Can't Buy Me Love'
What's even a surprising thing about them is that their roles are not central characters to their respective shows.
"Can't Buy Me Love" is the first drama project of the popular love team of Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano after their web series "He's Into Her."
It is good to note that Donny and Belle a.k.a. DonBelle's story is equally interesting in this series as people root for Bingo (Donny), Snoop's reliable close friend, who meets and eventually falls in love with Caroline "Ling" Tiu (Belle), the half-sister of Irene. Theirs is another conflict waiting to unfold, especially with their glaring social status difference. It wouldn't be surprising if DonBelle will be a staple in ABS-CBN's primetime line-up in the years to come.
"Senior High," meanwhile, is more of an ensemble cast with Andrea Brillantes' dual role of Sky and Luna taking the central lead in a whodunit show set in high school with all these colorful individuals as suspects in the deaths of one of the twins.
It just so happens that as the story progressed, Archie and Roxy gained many fans for their undeniable chemistry.
WATCH: Archie and Roxy can't help but bicker with each other on 'Senior High'
It is also important to note that in the same show, another pairing gained a following.
Zaijian Jaranilla, like Xyriel, is a former child actor in "Senior High." He is cast as Tim, the boyfriend of Roxy who eventually finds out his sexuality as the story progresses. As he finds his identity, he develops feelings for their schoolmate Poch (Miggy Jimenez), leading him to break up with his girlfriend, Roxy.
"Senior High" will be ending soon, while "Can't Buy Me Love" still has a lot of episodes to air.
These surprising yet welcome pairings could bid well for the actors who play them.
Fans would undoubtedly love to see a separate show starring Maris and Anthony, Xyriel and Elijah and Zaijian and Miggy, provided that they are given good materials for the shows. — Videos from ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel
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