The cast and crew of I Luv NY, GMA-7’s primetime hit which ended in September, soaked up the sights and sounds of the Big Apple for 22 days while taping scenes there last April.
Lead stars Jolina Magdangal, Jennylyn Mercado, and Mark Herras were billeted at the Eden Park Hotel in Queens, New York, along with the production staff. Marvin Agustin opted to stay in a Manhattan apartment, and requested that the budget allotted for his hotel be given to him.
Marvin, Jolina’s former Kapamilya love-team had a great time sampling different cuisines in the eclectic SoHo district in lower Manhattan.
Jolina was simply thrilled to visit places in the Big Apple that she only gets to see in the movies. In Central Park, where she was reminded of Jennifer Lopez’s Maid in Manhattan, she spotted TV actor David Schwimmer, who played Ross in Friends.
“Then, noong nagpunta kami sa Empire State Building, parang na-trauma ako kasi ang haba ng pila,” Jolens recalls. “Sa isip ko, pumila din kaya si Meg Ryan dito noong ginawa niya ’yong Sleepless in Seattle?”
Shopaholics Jennylyn and Mark spent a big part of their free time scouring the boutiques and department stores of Times Square.
I Luv NY, registered one of the most impressive ratings (37.9% on its first week of airing) in the histrory of primetime television.