Wednesday, July 8, 2020

GMA7 Brings Back “WISH KO LANG!” for Special COVID-Related SEASON



Close to two decades ago in 2002, GMA7 premiered a weekly public service program that came in the format of granting the wishes of viewers who would write about their lives and troubles to the network. From that simple yet emotional powerful premise, “Wish Ko Lang!” became a pillar of public service for the Kapuso Network in the 21st Century, first with Bernadette Sembrano and then Vicky Morales as host. The show actually came to an end in February of this year, before the explosion of the COVID-19 infection. But now it seems the pandemic has become fertile ground for “Wish Ko Lang!” to return.

According to GMA News, the long-runner wish-fulfilling public service program “Wish Ko Lang!” will resume its weekend feel-good activities this coming weekend. The Kapuso Network has announced that the show will be airing a special season that will premiere on Saturday, July 11, again with Vicky Morales, who took over from Bernadette Sembrano since 2004, as host. As stated beforehand, the special season of “Wish Ko Lang!” will be tailored towards fulfilling wishes that have something to do with the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, as well as life in the Philippines during the various community quarantine levels enacted in response.

This can be seen perhaps in the Facebook Watch trailer for the special season, which sees Morales walking the streets of Metro Manila while scenes of Manileños wearing facemasks go about their work and front-liners in PPEs patrol the area. Word about the first two episodes is that they will focus on young family breadwinner Manny, and Joan, a mother who works as a construction worker. Both these episodes will be directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, who was behind recent movies “Kita Kita” and “Untrue.”

Vicky Morales has expressed her happiness at getting to play the wish-granting media fairy gomother once more after only a roughly five-month retirement, even if the season is just a one-off. She looks forward to being able to help more Kapusos in the trying times of COVID-19. “Nothing’s impossible even in times of pandemic, as long as we never lose hope,” she says. The stories of “Wish Ko Lang!” also get topical as they touch on the lives of Filipinos living and working under the various restrictions of the “New Normal,” as well as the plights of the disenfranchised such as locally stranded individuals (LSIs).

“Wish Ko Lang!” returns to its original timeslot on 4PM every Saturday, only at GMA7.

Image courtesy of GMA Network

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