Teleserye sparks discussions about homosexuality

MANILA, Philippines – A primetime drama tops TV ratings when it tackles a taboo topic on Philippine TV– gay relationships.

G Töngi reports.

I’m here on the set of My Husband’s Lover, a GMA teleserye that has sparked discussions of homosexuality in relationships.
The teleserye gains momentum in the ratings because of its controversial content, prompting even Catholic bishops to react. It has never been done on Philippine TV before – having a gay relationship as the main storyline.
Director Dominic Zapata says it’s challenging.

DOMINIC ZAPATA
DIRECTOR, MY HUSBAND’S LOVER
This is a new story to tell for me. It’s going to flex some new muscle on my part. Then I realized there will be limitations. Why should I focus on the limitations when this hasn’t been done on television, there’s so much more opportunities than there are limitations. So why should I focus on the limitations?

Zapata says directing it is like walking a tightrope.
He says there are no hard and fast rules when showing how two men love each other.

DOMINIC ZAPATA
DIRECTOR, MY HUSBAND’S LOVER
There was a scene na post coital conversation in bed, sabi “you can’t show them both naked.” I mean both topless in bed. A couple of days later, “Direk hindi na pala pwede we cant insinuate that they made love.” So I had to reshoot that scene. (There was a scene of a post coital conversation. They said, “you can’t show them both naked.” I mean, both topless in bed. A couple of days later, “Direk, we can’t have that scene, we can’t insinuate that they made love.” So I had to reshoot that scene.)

Newcomer Tom Rodriquez who plays Vincent the husband, says he was scared at first.
He appreciates how it departs from the hysterics of telenovelas.
P
TOM RODRIGUEZ
ACTOR
We keep it truthful, We keep it basic. We don’t try to do it over the top, like include things like kidnapping, shootings, violence and things like that. We just try to portray something that would happen in real life. I think that’s the most groundbreaking part. The heavy scenes. No one has to be hysterical or no one has to go “RAHHHH”.

Actor Dennis Trillo who plays Eric, the gay lover, says he hopes it sets a standard on local TV.

DENNIS TRILLO
ACTOR
Sana lang talaga ano..masundan pa ng maraming ano at magopen pa ng ibat ibang klaseng themes at magkaroon sila ng ibat’ ibang ideas dahil nakakasawa nang manood. Sana ito na yung ang start na magkaroon ng revolution sa TV and cinema industry. (I really hope that a lot of other different themes will follow and that there will be new ideas because it get’s boring to watch the same thing. Since I was a kid, I have watched shows that have changed very little. It’s the same old plot with maybe a slightly new treatment but it’s basically the same. I hope this will be the start of a revolution in the tv and cinema industry.)

Trillo was originally offered the role of the unfaithful spouse but wanted something different.
He considers the treatment of the love scenes key to the show’s success.

DENNIS TRILLO
ACTOR

Hindi na kailangan sobrang intimate, man to man purest form of love. Kahit hindi na magpakit ng sobrang sensual.
(The love scenes don’t have to be too intimate. The show doesn’t have to be too sensual.)

Gays on Philippine TV have always been the comic relief, the flamboyant sidekick to the straight lead character.
But this soap changes that.

My husband’s lover from GMA is definitely groundbreaking because it conditions an audience to expect more innovative television content and hopefully this will pave the way for more thought provoking material that you’ll see on television that will tackle issues of social relevance.
This is G Töngi, Rappler Manila. – Rappler.com