After a long stream of exciting teasers, the much-awaited WeTV series BetCin is finally here!
Starring Kylie Padilla and Andrea Torres, the girls' love series revolves around Beth (Kylie) and Cindy (Andrea), a social media-famous couple on the verge of a breakup. While preparing to announce their split to their followers (or UMAMI's, as they're called), they're announced as semi-finalists for a contest with a huge grand prize. Now with 10 million pesos at stake, the pair attempt to fix their relationship while being faced with the pressures of being an "ideal couple" online.
Curious if it's worth a watch? Here are eight convincing reasons, according to the lead actresses themselves!
1. It's a fresh take on a social media-themed romance series.
Being a girls' love series starring two actresses from a major network may be enough to have people tune in, but Kylie and Andrea think that BetCin has so much more to offer.
Kylie tells Preview, "'Yung maganda sa series namin hindi siya nakafocus sa pareho silang girl. Nakafocus siya sa mga real life problems na napagdaanan nila at kailangan nilang i-navigate mga sarili nila sa sitwasyon na 'yon."
"Also the fact that it [shows] a couple that goes through a breakup on social media. Alam naman nating our world revolves on social media now, and lahat talaga ng tao may cellphone so it's a nice show to [help us] reflect. Parang mapapaquestion ka sa sarili mo na nagpapakatotoo ba ko, pwede ba ko magpakatotoo or puro social media nalang iniisip ko?"
"I feel na marami siyang ioopen na discussion," Andrea says. "Hindi lang about Beth and Cindy [but the] effects ng social media."
2. Kylie and Andrea immediately agreed to play Beth and Cindy.
"Nung sinend sakin, hindi na ako nagwaste ng time. I think in 15 minutes they got a yes from me kasi sobrang ganda talaga ng story," Andrea reveals. Aside from the engaging plot. the actress says that she loves how naturally accepted and celebrated Beth and Cindy are in the story, next to being an effective rom-com on its own. "I think perfect siya ngayong pandemic na panuorin sa bahay, maaaliw sila," she adds.
In Kylie's case, Beth's character was the main thing that made her agree to the project. "I feel like noong binabasa ko siya kilala ko siya, and I really empathized with what she was going through and I wanted a chance to justiy her character," she tells us. "Aside from that, sobrang genius ng pagkakasulat. Maraming makakarelate sa story."
3. Kylie and Andrea prepared meticulously for the series.
It was no secret that Kylie and Andrea were more than excited to start filming the moment they read their scripts. But to give justice to their roles, the actresses did their homework.
According to Kylie, she talked to her friends in the lesbian community to familiarize herself with their world. "They shared things they like to do, things they're interested in...I believe as an actress it's the little things that you put together that make the character very nuanced and real," she explains.
Some of Kylie's biggest inspirations for Beth, she reveals, were Dallas from the film Below Her Mouth (played by Erika Linder) and Kristen Stewart. She watched their shows over and over, and it helped her embody her character.
Andrea did similar preparations, beginning conversations with people she trusts to create a background for Cindy and add deeper meaning to her actions. "Mas marami akong nalaman sa mga pinaglalaban nila saka 'yung mga pinagdaanan nila, so malaki yung paghanga ko. I think iba 'yun 'di ba? Bukod sa pinaglalaban 'yung relasyon nila meron din silang pinaglalaban as a couple," she shares.
She also raved about the series Feel Good, and said that watching it made her even more excited to shoot.
4. Andrea and Kylie's chemistry was so natural that they were able to make a backstory for their characters.
Apparently, the chemistry was overflowing between the two lead stars from start to finish. "Parang meant to be," comments Andrea. "Every step leading to the lock-in, parang nags-sync lang talaga lahat. When we did the scriptreading, 'di na namin tinapos kasi okay na si direk [Shugo Praico] sa nakita niyang onting eksena."
Kylie adds, "Sobrang blessed nga namin kasi our chemistry was natural. I could feel Cindy's character through Andrea and she could feel Beth through me so hindi kami nakaramdam ng ilangan. We were so excited, we really wanted to give justice to our characters."
Kylie and Andrea were indeed so ecstatic that during one of their workshops, they were able to improvise a backstory for Beth and Cindy. In that world, the girls met through a dating app, and Beth "stalked" Cindy online and their story progressed from there. They agreed that Beth was Cindy's first girlfriend, too!
5. Kylie immediately agreed to cut her hair to be Beth.
A few months ago, Kylie surprised her fans with her new short haircut. Everyone had theories on why she made such a dramatic chop, but in truth, it was for her to play Beth.
In fact, when the production team asked the actress if she was willing to cut her hair, she didn't hesitate. Kylie shares, "I was like yeah, how short are we going to go?" And sure enough, that haircut became a turning point for her: "Naramdaman ko na talaga kung sino si Beth."
6. Andrea loves her character Cindy's unapologetic approach to fashion.
"The outfits helped a lot kasi sobrang outrageous ng mga suot niya," Andrea tells us. She recalls scenes where Cindy would wear the loudest outfits for the most serious situations and even do outfit changes in between. "Umiyak ka na't lahat nageffort pa rin siya. May scene na maglalayas siya pero kailangan magchange outfit siya bago siya maglayas," she shares with a laugh.
7. They bought some of the clothes their characters wore.
Kylie couldn't help herself from taking home a piece from Beth's wardrobe. She bought the black jacket with shoulder cutout from her stylist, saying, "Feeling ko talaga kailangan ko siya iuwi para forever ko nang maaalala si Beth, kasi naattach ako noong sinuot ko yung outfit na 'yun."
Meanwhile, Cindy almost convinced Andrea to get pink highlights herself. "Kung wala lang akong gagawin na next nagpalagay na ko ng highlights. Gustong-gusto ko siya sobra," the actress quipped. She was also drawn to the loose-fitting "boy shorts" Cindy always wore, admitting that she really found a way to buy them herself online.
8. The actors consider BetCin one of their favorite projects so far.
Filming may have been over for a while, but Andrea and Kylie confess that they're still attached to their roles in the series.
"Kineep ko 'yung mga scripts ko. Di ko siya kayang itapon. Di ko siya kayang gawing scratch paper. Para akong may shrine ng BetCin [at home]," says Andrea. The actress adds that even if she and Kylie have done many teleseryes before, the show has a special place in her heart. She explains, "Reading the script, napakaunpredictable, napakafun, ibang take on a series. We're very proud of it. We can't wait for them to watch it."
Kylie admits that she kept her scripts, too, and that she still feels like Beth in some way. "Minsan dala-dala ko pa rin siya [Beth]. Di nga ako makatanggap ng ibang project eh, gusto ko munang ilabas 'to tapos saka magmmove-on talaga from this," she admits.
"Sobrang saya ko kasi mahal ko 'yung project na 'to and for my fans and supporters to love it just as much as I do, sobrang thankful na 'ko doon. It's nice to give a platform to this kind of love stories na inclusive and with people like us it's nice to give them a place where they can feel safe, where they can watch this and be like 'wow this is our story.' I'm so happy na ginawa 'to."
You can stream episodes of BetCin on WeTV Philippines. New episodes premiere every Friday at 8 p.m.
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