Janine Gutierrez and Charlie Dizon explore love, family, and Philippine folklore as they team up as lovers in the upcoming mystery-thriller series Balaraw.
During the media conference held on October 13, 2026, Janine and Charlie shared details about their respective characters and what audiences can expect from the series, which will premiere worldwide on Netflix on October 29.
Charlie plays Bulak Bernabe, the girlfriend of Janine's character, Sabina.
Describing Bulak, Charlie said, “Very supportive, very stubborn din, pero iri-risk niya ang lahat para sa love niya.”
Janine, meanwhile, portrays Sabina, the daughter of Rebecca, played by Agot Isidro.
Sabina has been searching for her mother, who mysteriously disappeared four years ago.
As the people around her begin to give up hope, her search leads her, Bulak, and her godfather, played by Ronnie Lazaro, to the mysterious island of Balaraw.
“Yung mom ko kasi mysteriously nawala siya. Four years ko na siyang hinahanap. Lahat ay sumuko na sa paghahanap sa kanya,” Janine explained.
“Susukuan na rin ako ng girlfriend ko at ng ninong ko sa paghahanap sa kanya, pero our search led us to the mysterious island of Balaraw,” she added.
JANINE, CHARLIE ON WHAT MAKES BALARAW EXCITING
For Janine, accepting the project was an easy decision because it gave her the opportunity to reunite with the creative team behind Babae at Baril, the 2019 neo-noir crime drama directed by Rae Red, which she also starred in.
“Honestly, even before I read the script, super game na talaga ako and super excited because the first person who messaged me was Bianca Balbuena; she was a producer,” Janine said.
“She said that na may project with Rae Red. And I was like, 'Oh my God!'”
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Janine said working with the team behind Babae at Baril again had long been a dream of hers.
“Lahat halos ng heads namin dito is the team of Babae at Baril, which we shot back in 2019. And it's always been a dream to work with them again, because I super love the project; I super love making it,” she said.
Although she once thought another collaboration with the team might no longer happen, Janine immediately became interested when she learned that many of the people behind Balaraw had also worked on Babae at Baril.
“Nasa isip ko noon na hindi na mangyayari yon. Pero when I heard that the team of Balaraw was basically the same group of Babae at Baril, kahit ano pa yan, game na ako,” she recalled.
Her excitement only grew when she finally read the script, which she described as an engaging and epic story.
“And then when I saw the deck, when I saw the script, parang yung script, even if it was episodes of scripts, tatapusin mo siya in one reading kasi sobrang exciting, super page-turner, napaka-epic nung kwento,” Janine said.
“All of that, easy, yes,” she added.
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Meanwhile, Charlie was drawn to Balaraw because of its fresh storyline, which combines mystery, family drama, adventure, and Filipino folklore.
“Super exciting kasi bagong-bago siya for me, may kasama siyang Filipino folklore, may mystery, may family drama,” she said.
The actress also shared how the scripts kept her curious about what would happen next, with the ending leaving her particularly surprised.
“Parang first time ko na full of adventure yung mangyayari sa story na kahit kami every episode nakaka-excite kung anong mangyayari habang binabasa namin yung script,” Charlie said.
“Even yung ending, gulat na gulat din ako sa ending,” she added.
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JANINE and CHARLIE ON PHILIPPINE FOLKLORE
Philippine folklore is another element that drew the actresses to Balaraw, particularly because of its rich collection of legends, supernatural beings, and stories passed down through generations.
For Janine, her interest in folklore began during childhood, when she would buy books about Filipino legends, horror stories, aswang, and other mythical creatures.
“I used to buy those books in National Bookstore, yung maninipis. Volume one, volume two, tapos yung kuwento it's either horror stories or mga alamat or mga aswang, folklore, mythical creatures of the Philippines,” she recalled.
Now that she is older, Janine finds it exciting to revisit these stories from a more mature perspective, particularly the idea of mythical creatures living alongside humans today.
“And now, as an adult, sobrang saya na balikan yung ganung mga kuwento in more of an in-depth and mature perspective na what would happen if these creatures were with us, co-existing today?” she said.
Charlie, meanwhile, sees folklore as an important part of Filipino storytelling because these tales are often passed down by family members and people from different provinces.
"Well, these are the stories na we hear from a lot of people, like people from the provinces, pamilya natin.
"Parang ito yung stories na passed down through generations.
"So, lagi siyang interesting for me, lalo na may mga supernatural na characters, yung mga lugar dito sa Philippines na nababanggit, like yung mga Biringan, yung mga ganun."
According to Charlie, director Rae Red brings together different elements of Filipino folklore to create the world of Balaraw, rather than directly representing a single legend.
She explained: "Eto kasing Balaraw parang pinagsama-sama ni Direk. Hindi siya directly represented, pero pinagsama-sama niya ang mga tao through the island para ma-represent yung Filipino folklore.
“So very exciting at nakatulong din siya talaga sa characters namin, lalo na pag nakita niyo yung set namin. Oo, as in kailangan mo lang maging present doon."
WHAT AUDIENCES CAN EXPECT FROM BALARAW?
Aside from the suspense and adventure, Janine hopes audiences will connect with the emotional heart of Balaraw.
For her, the story begins with something deeply relatable: the bond between a mother and her daughter.
“Bukod doon, galing sa puso talaga yung kwento ng Balaraw, e. It starts really as a mother-daughter story, which is so sentimental and everybody will be able to relate,” she said.
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The actress also expressed excitement about the series' visuals, admitting that she and Charlie have yet to watch the finished project.
“I'm honestly so excited, not just for audiences but for myself and Charlie, because hindi pa din namin napapanood.
"So, as in every time may lumalabas na teaser or trailer, we're like, 'Wow.'
“Tapos mga ten times kong pinapanood kasi I think people can expect nonstop thrill and excitement, plus visuals,” she said.
Beyond entertaining viewers, Janine hopes Balaraw will also inspire pride in Filipino culture and creativity.
“Tapos it's within this grand world of Balaraw na talagang I hope everybody is proud to be Filipino when they watch this.
“And hopefully we're able to share it with other nationalities and all kinds of people all over the world so that they can see what Filipino culture and Filipino creativity is about,” she added.