Inside Netflix Philippines' 2026 Slate, According to Its All-Star Filipino Cast
Anne Curtis, Kathryn Bernardo, Janine Gutierrez, and Dingdong Dantes take the stage at the first Next on Netflix Philippines event, previewing a star-packed 2026 slate.
Published on Feb 12, 2026
Ten years into its run in the Philippines, Netflix gathered some of the country’s biggest stars and filmmakers under one roof for its first-ever Next on Netflix Philippines showcase, a preview of what 2026 will look like on the platform.
This year’s lineup stretches from teenage romance to generational drama, from island-set horror to dystopian action. It’s an eclectic mix, but the common thread is how far each creator was willing to push their idea, which meant resurrecting early-2000s kilig, confronting family wounds head-on, and mounting a genre series with blockbuster ambition.
Netflix shared that more than 90 percent of its members in the Philippines watched local content last year, a reminder that audiences have been showing up for homegrown stories in a major way. “We are excited to continue growing alongside the industry, strengthening partnerships, and supporting more ambitious ideas from script to screen,” said Vitto Lazatin, Netflix’s Content Lead for the Philippines.
From YA romance and family dramedy to dystopian action and holiday nostalgia, here’s what’s next on Netflix Philippines in 2026.
Netflix Philippines Lineup in 2026
18th Rose
Release Date: April 9, 2026
Director: Dolly Dulu
Starring: Xyriel Manabat, Kyle Echarri
Set in early 2000s Romblon, 18th Rose follows a small-town debutante navigating ambition and first love. For writer-director Dolly Dulu, the setting comes from lived memory, as someone who grew up in the 2000s.
Placing the film before the rise of social media reshaped how the romance unfolds onscreen. “If you want to meet somebody you have to put in that effort physically to meet her or meet that person, so it was a wonderful time for romance,” Dolly said. The dynamic between Rose and Kyle Echarri’s Jordan develops through proximity and shared space, grounding the “kilig” in something tactile.
The film also marks Xyriel Manabat’s first major lead role. In approaching Rose, she focused on inhabiting the character fully. “So everything comes along naturally because I believed Rose, I trusted Rose, and I fell in love with Rose,” she said.
The Master Cutter
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Release Date: April 17, 2026
Director: Dominic Zapata
Starring: Dingdong Dantes, Sienna Stevens, Max Collins, Shuvee Etrata, Jo Berry, Charlie Fleming
In The Master Cutter, Dingdong Dantes plays Atoy, a former scout ranger who now runs a tailoring shop in Baclaran while secretly taking on bounty hunting jobs.
For Dingdong, the role’s complexity comes from its shifting identities. “Portraying the role of Atoy is very interesting for me as a performer because there is a performance within a performance,” he said, describing how Atoy adopts disguises as part of his missions.
The series will premiere on Netflix 72 hours before its free-TV debut and stream across Southeast Asia—a rollout director Dominic Zapata has long hoped for. Reflecting on regional expansion, he said he wants Filipino series to find common ground with neighboring countries: “The more I've been traveling around Southeast Asia, I felt like, oh, these are my brothers… these are my people, too.”
Dingdong echoed that ambition. “As much as we embrace and we enjoy the works of our brothers and sisters in the region, our hope and the dream is also for our work to be appreciated outside the Philippines.”
Ganito, Ganyan, Ganoon
Release Date: August 13, 2026
Director: Cholo H. Laurel
Starring: Jodi Sta Maria, Agot Isidro
In Ganito, Ganyan, Ganoon, the drama begins at home. The film centers on a TV writer who returns to her estranged mother, setting off a chain reaction of long-buried truths. Director Cholo H. Laurel described Netflix as the only platform willing to take the leap with them. “Netflix was the only one who had the courage to do it,” he said, noting the creative freedom they were given to fully realize the story.
Here, Jodi Sta. Maria’s character is accomplished and strong, but shaped by unresolved pain. “We all carry some sort of family wounds,” she said. “When I was studying her character, I was thinking it’s a given that she’s accomplished, she's intelligent, and very strong. But the question is, why? What motivated this character to be the way she is?”
Playing the complicated matriarch Paz, Agot Isidro admitted she had to find her way into the character carefully. “When I got the script, I was like, ‘How am I gonna play her?’” she shared. But what initially felt intimidating eventually became layered. “She’s not a bad character. She’s just very complicated.”
The film promises emotional confrontations, but Cholo hinted at something else beneath the tension. “If you really look closely… trauma is actually hilarious, especially family drama.”
Balaraw
Release Date: September 24, 2026
Director: Rae Red
Starring: Janine Gutierrez, Agot Isidro, Charlie Dizon, Ronnie Lazaro
Balaraw follows Janine Gutierrez’s Sabina as she travels to a remote island in search of her missing mother. The island is closed-off and governed by belief, where ritual and secrecy hold more authority.
Director and creator Rae Red developed the series from conversations about family history and the limits of what children understand about their parents’ lives before them. That idea shapes Sabina’s journey, as an attempt at getting to really know her mother through her past.
The world of the series is informed by regional folklore across the Philippines. Rae said it felt like the right moment “to showcase Filipino folklore,” drawing from the reality that each of the country’s islands carries its own versions of creatures and belief systems.
Janine plays Sabina with the story anchored in a mother-daughter relationship, even as the narrative expands into something more unsettling. Agot Isidro and Charlie Dizon round out the central trio, portraying women shaped differently by the island’s structure and drawn by psychological complexity.
With the show rolling out globally, Janine acknowledged the wider genre landscape. “Japanese horror and Korean horror are lauded, but Filipino horror is so exciting.”
Paskong Pinoy
Release Date: December 3, 2026
Director: Mark A. Reyes V
Starring: Angelu de Leon, Bobby Andrews, Rica Peralejo, Michael Flore
Netflix Philippines’ first holiday anthology, Paskong Pinoy, gathers four stories shaped by ambition, forgiveness, longing, and homecoming, all unfolding during the country’s longest season.
Director Mark A. Reyes V said the idea grew from something distinctly local, adding that the series was developed to fill a gap he felt as a viewer: “A lot of people love Christmas stories from different channels, but there's nothing that's for the Pinoy.”
The anthology format allowed him to cover different corners of Filipino life. “The stories we tell are from the working class, to old friends getting together, to people traveling somewhere and finding love during Christmas.”
For Rica Peralejo, who returns to acting after more than a decade, the project felt personal. “The very first thing that came to me after those years was actually this project.” She said yes immediately. “I will be reunited with people I’ve known for like all my life.”
Angelu de Leon spoke about how the reunion translated onscreen. “When we shot all our sequences with everyone, it was just pure magic. It was just the nostalgia of us being together again after how many years apart.”
Someone, Someday
Release: 2026
Directors: Chad Vidanes, Dolly Dulu
Starring: Kathryn Bernardo, James Reid, Maja Salvador
Directed by Chad Vidanes and Dolly Dulu, Someone, Someday follows a woman who creates a dating app meant to help women find love, even as she grapples with unresolved wounds of her own. Dolly noted that the series tackles the modern way of dating, including the discomfort some still feel about meeting someone online. “Sometimes, it's still taboo when you say that you met someone online or through the dating app,” she said.
For Kathryn Bernardo, returning to long-form television after several years, the adjustment has been gradual. “It’s taking a while to bounce back and work again,” she said. “I am just being patient with myself because I want to give myself that time… to warm up and get to know the character more.” For her, “these characters shouldn’t be perfect… we want the audience to feel the authenticity and we want them to see the flaws.”
Maja Salvador described her role as “more layered and secretive” with her own life experiences helping her “better understand her choices and motivations.”
James Reid, whose last teleserye was several years ago, acknowledged the nerves in returning. “This character for me is very different from the love stories I've played in the past,” he said. “It's very refreshing, actually.”
He also revealed that music will be part of the character’s arc. “Throughout the show I actually get to inject a lot of my own music into Someone Someday,” including writing one of the songs for the show.
BuyBust: The Undesirables
Release: 2026
Director: Erik Matti
Starring: Anne Curtis, Gerald Anderson
Erik Matti returns to the world of BuyBust, expanding the 2018 film into a series that pushes the story beyond its original one-off structure. The continuation wasn’t part of the initial plan. The director said they never thoughthe movie could be continued, but conversations about widening the universe led to a shift in direction.
The longer format allows the narrative to move beyond relentless action. With nine episodes instead, the series introduces new characters and deeper tensions, including a central relationship that complicates the line between ally and adversary.
Anne Curtis reprises her role as Nina Manigan, who enters the series carrying the same damage she left the film with. The actress described Nina as beginning just as damaged as she was in the movie, driven by what she called the “beauty of having female rage.”
“She goes through a very emotional journey here–she still fights for justice, and she's out for revenge,” Anne said. “On a personal note, emotionally, it's very draining, but even more so physically. Until this day, we're still training for fight scenes.”
The production has emphasized extensive fight training and the use of Sayoc, a Filipino martial art. Anne noted, “I feel like it’s about time we have a Filipino series that highlights Filipino martial arts.”
Gerald Anderson joins the franchise as Sig Torillo, a character shaped by a hostile environment and personal loss. He described Sig as “a very complex and very layered character,” molded by pain and suffering and willing to accept collateral damage in pursuit of his purpose.
At its core, the series circles around power, including who holds it and what it costs. Gerald noted that in this world, power “always comes with a price.”
Kat is Preview's Lifestyle Editor, explorer, and occasional rhymer. When not globe-trotting, she's over her computer, writing her next big novel.