New Gen Loveteam DonBelle's first primetime series, "Can't Buy Me Love," starts on a high note as its pilot episode garnered 454,413 live concurrent views and topped the X (Formerly Twitter) trending list.
Aside from its hashtag #CBMLNiHao trending at No.1, Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano's characters, Bingo and Caroline, DonBelle on Primetime Bida, #CantBuyMeLove, #CBMLonNetflixEP4, #CBMLOnIWantTFCEP3 also claimed spots on the same social media list last Monday (Oct.16). "Can't Buy Me Love" is also currently the Top 1 most watched show on Netflix Philippines.
In the show's media conference, Donny said viewers can expect a different DonBelle on their first full-length series.
"Ang daming bago talaga. Ang question talaga kung anong similarities and there are so many new things na hindi niyo pa nakikita sa past projects," he said.
He added that "Can't Buy Me Love" is not a typical rom-com series as it touches different genres like drama and mystery.
His loveteam partner Belle, meanwhile, shared what the series wants to convey to its viewers.
"You can’t buy love. You can buy happiness, but you can’t buy everything. You can only find true happiness in yourself and the people surrounding you," she said.
In the first episode, the viewers saw the tragic past of Bingo and Caroline. Bingo's mother left him suddenly to fix her debts, while Caroline saw her mother dead after a mysterious person invaded their house and stabbed Divine (Shaina Magdayao).
Following her mother's death, Caroline stayed with her father, Wilson (Rowell Santiago), and his family. At an early age, her stepmother, Cindy (Agot Isidro), and stepsiblings, Bettina (Kaila Estrada) and Irene (Maris Racal), made her feel that she was not part of their family.
Meanwhile, Bingo was adopted by Lola Nene (Nova Villa) after he rescued her from an accident.
Their paths first crossed at the engagement party of Bettina (Kaila Estrada), wherein Caroline attended to let her family remember her mother's death by wearing black, while Bingo wanted to present his idea to Wilson.
Continue to watch the series' first pilot week on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, Jeepney TV, Cinemo, TFC IPTV, and TV5. You can also stream it in advance on Netflix and iWantTFC.