The biggest reality game show of 2022 ‘Running Man Philippines’ has started on GMA-7.
This milestone project is the first co-production of GMA Network and SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System), one of South Korea’s largest networks.
GMA Network’s Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable recalls their ‘most pleasant experience’ with SBS, “Winelcome talaga tayong mga Pilipino sa South Korea. They were so generous na mag-share ng knowledge sa production at creative, pati na rin ng kanilang napakagandang kultura at bansa.”
Showcasing their skills and strengths in various races are the cast members led by Glaiza de Castro, Ruru Madrid, Kokoy de Santos, Lexi Gonzales, Angel Guardian, Buboy Villar and Mikael Daez.
Mikael being ‘The Captain’ of the group shares his most memorable experience from the show, “Isa sa mga tumatak talaga sa akin is nung nagta-travel kami. ‘Yung bus na ginamit ng original cast, ‘yun din ang ginamit namin at doon kami nagbo-bonding in between tapings. We hope that through the episodes every weekend, matuwa rin kayo sa naranasan namin.”
Glaiza considers this program as a dream-come-true for her and the whole team, “Parang kailan lang, hindi pa namin alam kung anong kahaharapin namin. Parati ko ring sinasabi na isa itong once-in-a-lifetime opportunity na never kong na-imagine na makakapagtrabaho ako sa Korea at makakapag-collaborate ang GMA at SBS.”
Meanwhile, Ruru treasures the lessons he learned from the Korean production team, “Bukod sa nag-enjoy kami sa challenges, marami rin kaming natutunan after na makatrabaho ang SBS. Unforgettable experience talaga ‘yung buong trip. And of course, very exciting kasi alam naming maraming fans ang Running Man dito sa Pilipinas.”
Kokoy even tags themselves as the ‘lucky seven’ for being part of this huge project, “Until now, surreal pa rin ang pakiramdam. Ang dami ko ring nakuhang lessons from my co-runners like kapag may nangyayaring hindi mo inaasahan, kailangan i-accept mo and go with the flow lang.”
Lexi guarantees that the viewers will love the camaraderie of the cast, “Nakakatuwa kasi first day pa lang ng taping, comfortable na kami agad sa isa’t isa. It wasn’t hard to work with each other, may chemistry na kami agad. It was a different and fantastic experience for all of us.”
Because of Running Man PH, Angel learns a lot of new things about herself, “Ang dami kong na-discover sa sarili ko gaya ng pagiging competitive at mas nakita ko ‘yung importance ng teamwork. Malaking karangalan talaga na mapabilang dito at dadalhin ko ang opportunity na ito habang buhay.”
Lastly, Buboy feels very grateful to GMA for choosing him to be part of this program, “Thank you sa GMA dahil pinagkatiwala sa akin ang ganito kalaking proyekto. Iba ‘yung pamilyang nabuo namin dito at ginawa namin ang best namin para mapasaya ang mga tao.”
For its pilot episode, the Running Man Philippines cast members flew to Seoul, South Korea for their first mission. As they arrived at the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, the runners needed to find characters written in the Korean alphabet hidden all around the location and spelled out their names in order to earn their name tags.
Later on at the Suwon Hwaseong National Archery Field, the runners engaged in a hilarious game of archery to find out who gets to lead the two teams that will tangle with each other in the second mission, the Catch the Tail Race!
'Running Man,' the most globally successful South Korean reality-game show, is known for its outrageous missions—a series of wacky games and exciting races held in different locations with runners competing to gain advantages in the final mission, the signature Nametag Race!
The race officially began last Sept. 3 and 4 on GMA Weekend Primetime! Catch Running Man Philippines every Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and every Sunday at 7:50 p.m. on GMA-7.