Thou shalt not kill

MONTHS AFTER the conclusion of GMA’s drama revenge series Ika-6 Utos, which ended its run after one and a half years and 383 episodes in the network’s afternoon prime-time slot, GMA returns with another tale interpreting one of the Ten Commandments: this time, the fifth—Thou shalt not kill.
Ika-5 Utos, which airs beginning September 10, may be helmed by the same people as those who made Ika-6 Utos but its director, Laurice Guillen, told reporters on the sidelines of the launch on September 3 at the network’s offices that unlike Ika-6 Utos, which revolved around three people—the legal wife (played by Sunshine Dizon), the husband (Gabby Concepcion) and the mistress (Ryza Cenon)—the cast of the new series features three families entangled together because of death.
The bigger cast, Ms. Guillen said, will allow the series to “continue for longer [than Ika-6 Utos] because there are more possible conflicts.”
The new show, unlike its predecessor which focused on adultery, will have “heavier themes” such as death and violence.
“When we ended [Ika-6 na Utos], I think it was the request to have it continue but at that point the creative team already said they’ve done everything already, the story’s finished because it revolved around three people… the story was exhausted,” Ms. Guillen explained. “This time around, we have three families and [these] three families have their own stories but their lives are all intertwined.”
Ika-5 Utos delves into a harrowing hazing incident that results in the death of a son and reopening an old wound shared among three mothers and their respective families. The series is written by RJ Nuevas, Christine Novicio, and Emerson Jake Somera.
“Its story is one of deep passion, lust and heartbreak,” said the network’s press release.
The cast includes Jean Garcia, Valerie Concepcion, Gelli de Belen, Tonton Gutierrez, Neil Ryan Sese, Jeric Gonzales, Jake Vargas, and Inah de Belen (Gelli’s niece), among others.
According to Ms. Guillen, a month’s worth of material has been shot and while the bigger cast made it easier for production to shoot multiple scenes involving different actors in different locations in a day, she observed that it took longer for the cast to “gel together” because she was working with two generations of actors.
“It’s my first time to see [the series’ promotional videos] and I was so excited to see all the scenes put together,” said Ms. Guillen during her closing remarks.
“Every time we do a show, we can never predict how long it will last, how successful it’s going to be. After having done the scripts in production, I think we have a good show,” she added.
With two series created inspired by the Decalogue, Lilybeth G. Rasonable, GMA’s senior vice-president for the entertainment group, noted in the vernacular that it was possible the network would continue along this vein: because “We have built an equity [using the Ten Commandments as the shows’ inspiration] so it’s a waste not to continue,” she said, adding that “the Bible has a wealth of stories we can be inspired by.”
Ms. Guillen said on the sidelines of the launch that, if given a chance, she would love to do a series tackling the First Commandment (which forbids the worship of false gods) or the Seventh (which forbids stealing). — Zsarlene B. Chua
Ika-5 Utos airs starting Sept. 10, Monday to Friday after Eat Bulaga on GMA Afternoon Prime.