THE pilot week of the new drama series Dirty Linen drew so much interest among local televiewers and many continue to be glued to their TVs to find out what this new show is all about.
Produced by Deo Endrinal’s Dreamscape Entertainment, the same team that gave Filipinos almost seven years of Ang Probinsyano, considered the longest running soap opera in recent years, Dirty Linen boasts of a stellar cast that includes highly acclaimed veteran actors, like Tessie Tomas, Angel Aquino, Joel Torre, John Arcilla, and Janice de Belen pitting talents with the the younger generation of dependable actors like Janine Gutierrez, Zanjoe Marudo, JC Santos, Christian Bables, Seth Fedelin and Francine Diaz.
The show has strong women characters and many are happy that Dreamscape went through a meticulous casting process to pick the better actors to breathe life into these characters.
Many are happy to see the iconic Tessie Tomas back on the screen doing what she does best, that of being a top-notched thespian. Tomas’s last TV series was way back in 2018, a show called The Blood Sisters which was also produced by Dreamscape. For her grand TV comeback, Tomas is more than excited to play the pivotal role of the family matriarch Doña Cielo Fiero.
“I was overjoyed when I received a phone call one morning with the offer to do Dirty Linen. I had just flown back to the Isle of Man from Manila at the time and the first thought that came to mind was how to tell my husband Roger that I would have to fly to the Philippines again to work on a new series. In my heart, I knew that all will be smooth and my dear husband will understand and allow me to work on this project. Of course he did, because he saw how excited I was,” enthused Tomas, who admitted that she missed acting so much and was quietly wishing that a good project would come along.
Tomas describes her character as tough, taunting, tenacious and threatening. “Doña Cielo has many layers, that is why it is a very good character study for an actress. She is at the core a mother, someone so strong that she is able to camouflage her true feelings. That is quite difficult and the challenge is to make my character always believable, always real.”
The central character of this revenge-drama series is played by Janine Gutierrez, a third-generation actor from some of the most illustrious showbiz families. She feels elated to have been given such daunting acting assignment but feels that she needs to play it cool and not feel that she is carrying everything on her shoulders.
“I need to just have fun and be chill and always prepared in doing my job. We are a happy set and I am just fortunate, at this stage in my career, to be working with some of the most respected actors in our industry, many of whom I hold in high esteem,” she mused.
Award-winning actors Angel Aquino and Janice de Belen are also entrusted with good roles that befit their respective talents.
Aquino plays the daughter of Tomas who seems so well put together on the outside but her core thirsts for amour, attention and appreciation. “When Deo offers you a project, that means he is giving his trust to you, and I am always grateful for every project and every role that he offers me through my manager. This story of Dirty Linen is very brave for Dreamscape to put it out there. I hope the audience will be glued to the new series and follow the characters we play, many of whom are so twisted and dysfunctional that make them so interesting.”
De Belen describes her character as very determined and dauntless. “The narrative of this series is so rich and riveting, the characters are complicated, the scenes are very intense. I am just happy to be part of Dirty Linen.” From the year 2020 alone, Dreamscape has already produced 10 new widely followed TV series, and the groundwork has also started with a new collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA, a series titled Unbreak My Heart, to be aired on GMA this year.