Studio 7 is GMA 7’s new Sunday prime-time variety show top-billed by Julie Ann San Jose, Christian Bautista, and Mark Bautista. Pegged by some as an evening alternative to noontime variety shows such as Sunday Pinasaya and ASAP, Studio 7 has huge shoes to fill.
THE GOOD
Studio 7 provides a venue for some of GMA-7's most gifted artists to perform and showcase their musical talent.
Here, Julie Anne, Christian, and Mark are able to demonstrate why they all deserve their respective monikers.
Kapamilya-turned-Kapuso star Rayver Cruz finds a new place to use his dancing shoes.
Up-and-coming talents get exposure that they need, and telenovela stars are able to explore an avenue apart from their respective shows. And speaking of new talent, the Legaspi twins—Cassy and Mavy—have officially entered our television screens through this show.
The stage is for the performers to own and the stars can shine all they want.
THE BAD
Prior to Studio 7's pilot episode, people wondered why Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez wasn't included in the show.
When news of her joining the rival network broke, and we all got the answer we were looking for.
Julie Anne, Mark and Christian Bautista, and The Clash grand finalist Garett Bolden are obviously talented and even some of the other mainstays show promise.
However, these might not sustain a variety show on Sunday primetime in the long run.
Viewers may have jumped at the opportunity of seeing their favorite stars in the pilot episode and may have felt the same enthusiasm for the second, but to sustain and increase the audience share might prove to be a challenge.
We hoped the second episode would give us something else to hold on and look forward to, but it wasn’t any different from the first.
Eventually, the show could use bigger names as guests to stir excitement; a more colorful variety of music and performers; and something spectacular to happen on stage. It needs to innovate, and elevate the production value with segments and numbers that will captivate and take the audience by surprise. Viewers will look for something different soon enough.
Including less deserving performers in the Music Tambayan portion (where aspiring singers perform) does not add real value to the show, and potentially makes it less appealing. Back-up dancers could do without tacky-looking attire.
Some of the small talk on stage is unnecessary.
Show, don't tell. No need for randomly picked hosts to gush over how the last performer impressed them. The performances should speak for themselves.
THE WORTHY
There's a lot of talent, and there's a venue to showcase it. If the production team can insert something more enticing into the following episodes, viewers might be more inclined to tune in.
What's next, Studio 7?
PEPsters, what can you say about the new variety show of the Kapuso Network?
Ed's Note: The "PEP Review" section carries the views of individual reviewers, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the PEP editorial team.