Fans were in for an unexpected surprise on Friday, August 29, 2025, when Dreamscape Entertainment announced James Reid as the male lead in Kathryn Bernardo's upcoming primetime series.
The announcement was posted across Dreamscape’s social-media channels, including a short first-look video taken from the project’s test footage.
In an exclusive interview, MJ Felipe of ABS-CBN News reported that Kathryn herself was taken aback upon learning that James would be her onscreen partner, especially since they came from different popular love teams.
Kathryn was part of KathNiel, with her ex-boyfriend Daniel Padilla as the other half.
James was part of JaDine, with his ex-girlfriend Nadine Lustre as the other half.
She said, "I did not expect it too. Baka si James din, hindi niya in-expect."
MJ remarked, “It's a crossover of all crossovers."
Kathryn responded, "I know! Nung sinabi ko din sa kanya noong nag-shoot kami for that video and our look test, parang, grabe, who would have thought, di ba?
"Na after ilang years, we're both from different love teams tapos now, comeback niya rin...
"Tapos, wala, posible na talaga ngayon. So it's just exciting and it excites us."
MJ shared that both Kathryn and James have known about their new show for some time.
When asked about her experience working with James during the look test, Kathryn confessed that she felt like it was her first day of school.
She said: "Feeling ko first day ko sa, sa class kasi iba siyang group.
"Second, kay James, first time ko siyang makausap that long and then makilala, so nagkakapaan pa kami.
"But definitely, very excited din siya and we'll start taping very, very soon, like next week."
KATHRYN BERNARDO ON NEW SERIES
Kathryn said she could feel the fans' excitement, especially since it's been a while since both she and James led a teleserye.
Kathryn's last TV series was 2 Good 2 Be True (2022) with Daniel, while James' most recent series was Until I Met You (2016) with Nadine Lustre.
"Nakakatuwa because everyone's excited. Medyo matagal na din since my last serye and also with James.
"So, very refreshing. Hopefully maganda, ang ganda, ganda ng concept na itong series na ito.
Details about the series remain under wraps, but Kathryn revealed that it will go beyond romance to explore themes of friendship, family dynamics, and women's stories.
This, she shared, was the main reason she agreed to take on the project.
She said, "Out of all the stories that they have presented, parang this one yung parang something na gusto kong gawin kasi it's not just, you know, about love story.
"It's about friendship, family, and it's about women. It's not ano naman, love team and
Meanwhile, Kathryn mentioned that there are many more announcements to look forward to, including the reveal of their co-stars in the series.
"May mga iba pang kailangan silang abangan in the coming weeks kung sino pa yung iba ang makakasama namin. So very, very exciting project."
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