The Philippine adaptation of the hit K-drama, It's Okay To Not Be Okay, has long been rumored.ABS-CBN proudly announced that the longstanding projects will soon materialize, with the most stellar cast they could offer.
This 2024, it's finally going to happen! Produced by Star Creatives, the Philippine remake of It's Okay To Not Be Okay, will be top-billed by Star Magic artists namely, Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino. It's also Anne's teleserye comeback. Her last teleserye was Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel, where she played the lead role in 2014.
If you're not familiar with the original series, here's a quick refresher. It's Okay To Not Be Okay originally starred South Korean actors Kim Soo Hyun (Moon Gang Tae), Seo Yeji (Ko Moon Young), and Oh Jung Se (Moon Sang Tae). The drama follows the story of how Ko Moon Young—a woman with antisocial personality disorder—achieves healing from her emotional and mental trauma, all while getting involved in the lives of her love interest, Moon Gang Tae, and his brother, Moon Sang Tae.
It has been deemed to be a challenging drama as it tackles different kinds of mental health conditions. For one, Moon Sang Tae is part of the autism spectrum disorder. Plus, Moon Gang Tae works at a psych center where some characters convey different mental health conditions and how they handle them.
Kim Soo Hyun's character will be portrayed by Joshua Garcia in the PH adaptation, while Carlo Aquino will be Oh Jung Se's role. Anne Curtis will give life to Seo Yeji's iconic role, Ko Moon Young
What the cast of the It's Okay To Not Be Okay PH remake thinks about their roles
This is the first time that Anne and Joshua will be working on a project together as romantic leads. With that, Joshua admits that he's nervous about everything that's about to unfold in their series. "I think macha-challenge ako with Anne, [‘yung titigan] pa nga lang hindi ko magawa. [Pero] feeling ko sa umpisa lang," he said.
In the series, Anne will play Mia Hernandez, and her romantic interest is Patrick "Patpat" Gonzales, Joshua's character. The original series has obvious rom-com touches, so we're looking forward to Anne and Joshua's onscreen chemistry.
As to why Anne decided to go back to filming teleseryes, she said that she wanted to be part of IONTBO. According to PEP.ph's report, she personally requested to be part of the K-drama's PH remake. Anne is a certified K-drama fan and It's Okay To Not Be Okay was one of those dramas she loved dearly. So when the opportunity came for her, she knew it was the project that would make her return to the small screen.
She mentioned, "It's definitely worth it. Alam mo 'yun, siguro hindi naman ako mag-a-accept ng isang project if I didn't feel it was worth leaving my family for a little bit to shoot."
For Carlo, he thinks he will have a challenging role since he will be portraying Matthew Gonzales, a man who is part of the autism spectrum. "I'm up for a challenge kaya hindi ko binitawan. Gusto kong masubukan. Gusto kong gawin... By next month, I believe mag-iimmersion kami, kasama ko si Direk Mae [Cruz-Alviar]" he disclosed during the show's official launch last May 17, 2024.
The remake is expected to air this year.
Netizens react to It's Okay To Not Be Okay PH remake
But while the whole cast is all so excited about it, some netizens expressed their dismay that ABS-CBN is producing another remake of a K-drama.
At the beginning of 2024, ABS-CBN also spearheaded the remake of the K-drama What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? starring Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino. Despite the adaptation's success, the viewers expect something new from the network.
Some comments noted how viewers long for original stories from Filipino creators. One netizen wrote, "Why adaptations? Can we no longer find good material for our actors? Nothing beats the original cast and origin of the series. Please give it a thought next time."
Another also said, "Namiss ko mga old classic teleserye ng ABS. The best pa rin. Ngayon, puro adaptation na."
Nonetheless, some fans are still excited about what the cast can offer to the audience. "I'm so excited for the chaotic bonding... So excited for this good casting and remake," one fan said in the comments.
"Looking forward to this. Mukhang promising. Di naman nagkakalayo sa looks 'yung age ni Anne and Joshua. I mean, looking young pa rin naman si Anne," another commented, pointing out that their 12-year age gap won't affect the quality of their acting chops in the upcoming series.
But then, there are still netizens who are not convinced enough with the remake's casting. One netizen stated that Anne is "too old" to be even paired with Joshua. The netizen did not also hold back by mentioning their doubts about Joshua "giving justice" to his role.
"I can't help but doubt kung mabibigyan ni Joshua ng justice 'yung lead role kasi sa original Korean series, the role was played by the highest paid actor of South Korea," the comment read. The actor referred to was Kim Soo Hyun.
Others were disappointed that Carlo was given a role in the remake. "No to Carlo. Sa dami ng pagpipilian, siya talaga," the netizen said.
And then there was another one who blatantly called out the Philippine entertainment industries for prioritizing adaptations instead of creating original stories. They said, "Lahat ng hit K-drama, hilig nation gayahin imbes na mag-produce ng original script."
