Wildflower (TV series)

Wildflower
Title card
Genre	Political drama Romance Action Revenge Suspense Feminism Political thriller
Created by	Willy Laconia Carmela L. Abaygar
Developed by	ABS-CBN Studios
Directed by	Onat A. Diaz Raymund B. Ocampo Cathy O. Camarillo Digo Ricio Jerome C. Pobocan Roderick P. Lindayag
Creative director	Willy Laconsay
Starring	Maja Salvador
Music by	Carmina Cuya
Opening theme	"Wildflower" by Arnel Pineda
Composers	Doug Edwards Dave Richardson
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language	Tagalog
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	257 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Carlo Katigbak Cory Vidanes Laurenti Dyogi Ruel Bayani
Producers	Jason Aracap Tabigue Edgar Joseph Mallari Louver Asuncion-Galaritta Maru R. Benitez Rizza Gonzales-Ebriega
Production locations	Tanay, Rizal, Philippines Manila, Philippines Magdalena, Laguna, Philippines
Editors	Alexces Megan Abarquez Jake Maderazo Shyra Joaquin Ronald Aguila Christian Domingo Kristine Hortaleza
Running time	25–35 minutes
Production company	RGE Drama Unit
Original release
Network	ABS-CBN
Release	February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13) – February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)

Wildflower is a Philippine television drama revenge series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Onat A. Diaz, Raymund B. Ocampo, Cathy O. Camarillo, Digo Ricio, Jerome C. Pobocan and Roderick P. Lindayag, it stars Maja Salvador. ^[1] It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up and worldwide of TFC from February 13, 2017 to February 9, 2018, replacing Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky Season 7: Mga Kwento ng Dream Team ni Kuya and was replaced by The Blood Sisters .

Series overview

Main article: List of Wildflower episodes

The story revolves around Lily Cruz who (along with her family) falls victim to the ruthless Ardiente family. Emilia Torillo, the matriarch of the Ardiente family, orders an assassin on Lily's parents. Unbeknownst to Emilia, Lily survives the massacre and is adopted by Prianka Aguas, a billionaire businesswoman. Lily changes her identity to become Ivy Aguas, a strong-willed woman. She returns to Poblacion Ardiente as Ivy to avenge her parents and everyone else who were victimized by the evil Ardiente family.

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	73		February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13)	May 26, 2017 (2017-05-26)
2	54		May 29, 2017 (2017-05-29)	August 11, 2017 (2017-08-11)
3	80		August 14, 2017 (2017-08-14)	December 1, 2017 (2017-12-01)
4	50		December 4, 2017 (2017-12-04)	February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)

Season 1 (2017)

Main article: Wildflower (season 1)

The story follows Lily Cruz, a beautiful heiress who wants justice for her father Dante's death and her mother Camia's assault and resulting insanity, by seeking revenge against the evil Ardiente family, a powerful political dynasty in the fictional province that bears their name. The Ardiente family is the most powerful political force in the province under the jurisdiction of the governor, Julio Ardiente, and his daughter, Emilia, the mayor of the municipality (Poblacion Ardiente). Emilia's philandering husband Raul assaults Camia prompting Dante to file rape charges against him. Lily's world crumbles when Dante suspiciously dies from a heart attack and she witnesses her mother's rape. Though she was targeted to be killed herself, the assassins feel pity for the 9-year old and frees her instead.

Prianka Aguas legally adopts Lily and raises her to become tough, providing her with the resources to seek justice for her parents. With a billion dollar conglomerate behind her, Ivy is a magnet for the Ardientes who are preparing their campaign for the gubernatorial and congressional elections.

Season 2 (2017)

Main article: Wildflower (season 2)

Ivy seduces the Ardientes' weakest link, Arnaldo. He becomes obsessed with her and drives him near crazy. After several retaliatory attempts by Emilia against Ivy fails, Emilia is committed to a psychiatric facility. Ivy then instigates the removal of Julio Ardiente from office, weakens his hold on the province and then robs him of the only person he loves, his grandson, Arnaldo. However, throughout the sequence of events, the Ardientes have determined that Ivy is an adversary. Thus, they have her disposed of, by being buried alive in a wooden-coffin. She miraculously escapes death and returns with a vengeance.

Season 3 (2017)

Main article: Wildflower (season 3)

In a carefully orchestrated hijacking, Ivy gatecrashes a celebration being held by the Ardientes and reveals her real identity as Lily Cruz, to the shock of the Ardientes who supervised her "burial" in the cemetery. Through a series of activities, she cripples Ardientes' powerful influence but a new hidden enemy suddenly surfaces. It is later on revealed that this is Helena Montoya, the real mother of Emilia Ardiente. Also, known in the criminal world as "Red Dragon", she controls the country's largest crime syndicate. Notwithstanding the sinister résumé, Helena is no match to Lily's superior skills, and after several conflicts, Lily brings Red Dragon's operations to a halt.

Season 4 (2017–18)

Main article: Wildflower (season 4)

Diego and Lily get married and go off on their honeymoon. Arnaldo interrupts their celebration and commits suicide in front of them after being angrily rejected by Lily. In the mental asylum, Emilia is haunted by the evil ghosts of Helena and Arnaldo who exhort her to kill Diego and Lily to avenge their deaths. She unexpectedly regains her sanity, is released and obtains the support of the Asian syndicate using the password her mother gives her before she dies. Lily undermines Emilia's ascent into power when she notifies the syndicate leader that Julio Ardiente had ordered the "Red Dragon"'s murder. Meanwhile, Lily discovers valuable information about a mass grave the Ardientes begin to use in the mid-50s when the family first seized power. Lily orchestrates a leak, instructing Jepoy and Ana to contact local media about the mass grave and stir up the citizens of Poblacion Ardiente to do the same. The media frenzy covering the atrocities committed by the Ardientes embolden whistleblowers and other victims to speak up, including former accomplices and political supporters like Natalie, ex-bodyguards, former assassins, and Judge Lustre.

A popular uprising topples the Ardiente family. With solid evidence and witnesses no longer afraid to speak out, the people of Ardiente file cases of multiple murders, frustrated homicides, Estafa, plunder charges that would send them to prison for a long time, but Julio and Emilia escape capture. Their joy does not last long when Julio assassinates Diego with a sniper rifle, escaping once again to a Triad safe house.

Emilia realizes her father's direct hand in the murders of her Aunt Claire and mother Helena; and that he never respected her as an equal. As Lily tries to stop Julio from escaping, Emilia comes face-to-face with her father, who shoots him several times and in turn, shoots Emilia in the spine. Later, Emilia, now a paraplegic is serving her time in prison. Lily visits extending an Olive branch and forgives her. The story ends with an epilogue showing Venus (Helena Montoya's adopted daughter) torturing Julio to death with a blowtorch and subjecting him to human experimentation and Lily's successful senatorial and presidential ambition, commemorating the struggles she faced that makes her stronger through the years.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Wildflower characters

NOTES:

• "Replacement character" Marked with(‡)
• "The character already passed away" Marked with (†)

Cast

Maja Salvador

Tirso Cruz III

Joseph Marco

Wendell Ramos

Christian Vasquez

Zsa Zsa Padilla

Maika Rivera

Karylle

• Maja Salvador as Ivy Aguas/ Lily D. Cruz
• Aiko Melendez as Emilia Ardiente-Torillo
• Tirso Cruz III as Julio Ardiente
• Joseph Marco as Diego Torillo†
• RK Bagatsing as Arnaldo A. Torillo†
• Vin Abrenica as Jepoy Madrigal
• Wendell Ramos as Raul Torillo†
• Sunshine Cruz as Camia Delos Santos-Cruz / Jasmine
• Roxanne Barcelo as Natalie Alcantara
• Yen Santos as Rosana "Ana" Navarro
• Christian Vasquez as Atty. Dante Cruz† / Damian "Jaguar" Cruz
• Miko Raval as Marlon Cabrera
• Zsa Zsa Padilla as Helena Montoya / Red Dragon†
• Malou de Guzman as Lorena "Loring" Cervantes †
• Bodjie Pascua as Leopardo "Pandoy" Cervantes †
• Isay Alvarez-Seña as Clarita "Claire" De Guzman†
• Ana Abad Santos as Carlotta Navarro†
• Chinggoy Alonzo† as Sen. Pablo Alcantara
• Jett Pangan as Gov. William Alvarez
• Arnold Reyes as Arthur Vergara
• Shiela Valderrama as Atty. Georgina Fisher
• Richard Quan as Col. Jose Sanggano†
• Bobby Andrews as Mateo Ruiz
• Alma Concepcion as Divine Oytengco
• Maika Rivera as Stefanie Oytengco
• Mark Rafael Bringas as John Gonzalez
• Biboy Ramirez as Jude Asuncion
• Nina Ricci Alagao as Mercedes Palacio†
• Jun Urbano as Ramon Lim (North)
• Bernard Laxa as Silverio Victoria (East)
• Bong Regala as Carlos Isidro (West)
• Matthew Mendoza as Oscar Evangelista (South)
• Dawn Chang as Maila Lomeda / Ms. Moran
• Jeffrey Santos as Col. Magbanua
• Jong Cuenco as Judge Manuel Lustre
• Michael Flores as Agent Noel Salonga
• Raul Montessa as Fernan Naig
• Vivo Ouano as Raul's ally
• June Macasaet as Raul's ally
• Prince De Guzman as Raul's ally
• Angelo Ilagan as Raul's ally
• Menggie Cobarrubias† as Atty. Sebastian
• Justin Cuyugan as Mr. Paterno
• Alex Castro as Rufo
• Carlos Morales as Romulo
• Zeus Collins as Damian's ally
• Luis Hontiveros as Damian's ally
• Lito Pimentel as Cong. Ruel Cansiao
• Richard Lopez
• Alvin Nakassi
• Vanessa Wright
• Kris Janson
• Epy Quizon as Stefano
• Jojo Riguerra
• Johnny Revilla
• Precious Lara Quigaman as Rosario†
• Carla Martinez as Hon. Alice Rivera
• Uncredited as Maria
• Rodolfo Madrigal Jr. as Portunato "Pot" David
• Anthony Taberna as himself
• Dolores Bunoan as Belen
• Rolly Innocencio as Witness
• Juan Rodrigo as Ramon Montoya
• Victor Silayan as Enrique
• Christopher Roxas as Apollo
• Matrica Mae Centino as Montona
• Allan Paule as Ben
• Gio Alvarez as Ronald
• Tess Antonio as Edna
• Gerald Pizarrras as Efren
• Priscilla Meirelles as Prianka Aguas†
• Pinky Amador as Esmeralda De Guzman-Ardiente†
• Xyriel Manabat as young Lily/Ivy
• Ejay Falcon as teen Julio
• Patrick Garcia as young adult Julio
• Jesse James Ongteco as young Diego
• Izzy Canillo as young Arnaldo
• Azi Villanueva as young Jepoy
• Kyline Alcantara as teen Emilia
• Jennica Garcia as young adult Emilia
• Joseph Andre Garcia as young Raul
• Mutya Orquia as young Ana
• Ellen Adarna as young Esmeralda
• Emmanuelle Vera as young Helena
• Karylle as Venus

Production

Filming

Filming for Wildflower began on December 5, 2016. ^[2]

Casting

Danita Paner was the first choice to play the role of Natalie. However, she refused because the role would require cutting her hair short. The role eventually went to Roxanne Barcelo. ^[3]

Broadcast

Wildflower aired on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block at 5:45 PM PST, before TV Patrol and worldwide via TFC.

Timeslot

Wildflower was originally planned to replace the long running drama Doble Kara as part of Kapamilya Gold afternoon block. However, due to the longing request of the fans, the management eventually decided to air the series in the evening block. Two days before the premiere, the timeslot was announced on February 10, 2017.

Reruns

The first 30 episodes of Wildflower were once made available to watch on YouTube, ^[4] however at an unknown date, presumably within 2021, they have been made private along with the show's highlights.

Reruns of the show's episodes airs on Jeepney TV. ^[5]

On March 18, 2020, ABS-CBN announced that Wildflower will also rerun its episodes beginning March 23, 2020, via the network's Primetime Bida evening block, temporarily taking over A Soldier's Heart's timeslot, as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes due to the suspension of tapings in compliance with the community quarantine guidelines done to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. ^[6]

This rerun was abruptly cut due to ABS-CBN being forced to shut down its free-to-air stations following the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on account of its franchise expiration. ^[7]

The show became available on Netflix on September 9, 2022, in a condensed format consisting of 2 seasons and 133 episodes.

Extension

ABS-CBN has announced that Wildflower will be extended until February 9, 2018. ^[8] The series was said to be extended until March 2018 for Book 4 as announced by Vice Ganda in her late night show Gandang Gabi Vice , but it was pulled out to give way for The Blood Sisters .

Promotion

This series has been developed by Pasion de Amor , and Doble Kara due it's genre of family, multiple romance, and criminal drama lineup that produced by Dreamscape Entertainment and RSB Drama Unit. In 2018, it was co-existed by Asintado and it was succeeded by The Blood Sisters .

Reception

Kantar Media National TV Ratings
(5:45PM PST)

Pilot Episode	Finale Episode	Peak	Average
20.1% February 13, 2017 [9]	24.3% February 9, 2018 [10]	35.2% October 10, 2017 [11]	23.8%

Wildflower became a very controversial series during its run, with its unconventional depiction of Philippine politics, political dynasties, nepotism, political violence, organized crime, schizophrenia and human rights violations, as well as its allusion of events in modern Philippine history on primetime programming, and it even trended on social media. Its pilot episode in 2017 got 20.1%, 5.7% higher than rival show Wowowin . The show peaked in its October 10, 2017, episode with a 35.2% nationwide rating, placing it only behind ABS-CBN's TV Patrol and FPJ's Ang Probinsyano that same night as the country's most watched TV broadcast. The same figure also ranked Wildflower as the country's highest-rated TV show on the pre-primetime slot since the Philippines switched to nationwide TV ratings system in 2009. ^[12]

The show ended in 2018 notching a final nationwide rating of 24.3% in its finale.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Outcome	Ref.
2017	7th EdukCircle Awards	Best Actress – TV Series	Maja Salvador	Nominated
	31st PMPC Star Awards for Television
		Best Drama Actress		Nominated	[13] [14]
		Best Drama Supporting Actress	Aiko Melendez	Won
		Best Primetime Drama Series	Wildflower	Nominated
	RAWR Awards 2017	Actress of the Year	Maja Salvador	Won	[15]
		Ultimate Bida		Won
		Ultimate Kontrabida	Aiko Melendez	Won
		Teleserye of the Year	Wildflower	Won
	8th TV Series Craze Awards 2017	Best Primetime TV Series		Won	[16]
		Lead Actress of the Year	Maja Salvador	Won
		Kontrabida of the Year	Aiko Melendez	Won
		Most Promising Actor(s)	RK Bagatsing	Won
	3rd (Global Innovative College) Illumine Innovation Awards for Television	Most Innovative TV Actress	Maja Salvador	Won	[17]
	22nd Asian Television Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Tirso Cruz III	Nominated	[18]
2018	2nd Guild of Educators, Mentors, and Students (GEMS) 2017	Best Actress in a TV Series	Maja Salvador	Won	[19]
		Best Actor in a TV Series	RK Bagatsing	Won
	Bulacan State University Batarisan Awards 2018	Best Female TV Personality	Maja Salvador	Won	[20]
	Platinum Stallion Media Awards 2018	Best Primetime TV Series	Wildflower	Won	[21]
		Best TV Actress	Maja Salvador	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Aiko Melendez	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	RK Bagatsing	Won
		Trinitian Media Practitioner for Television	Tirso Cruz III	Won
		Trinitian Media Personality	Joseph Marco	Won
	Gawad Tanglaw Awards for TV	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Maja Salvador	Won	[22]
			Aiko Melendez	Won
		Best Actor in a Drama Series	Tirso Cruz III	Won
			RK Bagatsing	Won
	LPU Manila UmalohokJuan Media Awards 2018	TV Drama of the Year	Wildflower	Won	[23]
		TV Actress of the Year	Maja Salvador	Won
	49th GMMSF Box Office Entertainment Award	Most Popular TV Program Daytime	Wildflower	Won	[24]
		TV Actress of the Year	Maja Salvador	Won
	TV Supporting Actor of the Year	Tirso Cruz III	Won
	Golden Laurel LPU Batangas Media Awards 2018	Best Primetime Series	Wildflower	Nominated	[25]
		Best TV Actress	Maja Salvador	Won
	17th Kabantugan Awards (Mindanao State University)			Won	[26]
	4th Alta Media Icon Awards (University of Perpetual Help System- Dalta)	Best Actress for TV		Won	[27]
	Asian Academy Creative Awards 2018	Best Actress in a Leading Role (National)		Won	[28]
		Best Actress in a Leading Role (Asia)		Nominated	[29]
23rd Asian Television Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated		[30]
2019	Push Awards 2018	Push Female TV Performance of the Year		Won	[31]
	1st Asia Contents Awards	Best Actress		Won	[32]
		Best Asian Drama	Wildflower	Nominated	[33]

See also

• The Killer Bride (another series starring Maja Salvador)
• List of programs broadcast by ABS-CBN
• List of ABS-CBN Studios original drama series
• List of programs broadcast by Jeepney TV

References

1. Wildflower Trade Trailer: Coming in 2017 on ABS-CBN!. YouTube . ABS-CBN Entertainment. November 23, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
2. The Hive Asia (December 15, 2016). "Vin Abrenica to play one of the leads in "Wildflower"". Yahoo News . Retrieved March 31, 2020.
3. Bukas, Leo (October 26, 2017). "Danita Paner, may regrets na hindi tinanggap ang isang mahalagang role sa 'Wildflower'". Push . Retrieved March 31, 2020.
4. Wildflower Full Episodes. YouTube . ABS-CBN Entertainment . Retrieved July 5, 2018.
5. ""The Good Son," Wildflower" heat up Jeepney TV this February". ABS-CBN Corporation. February 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
6. Anarcon, James Patrick (March 23, 2020). "ABS-CBN's Wildflower goes head-to-head with GMA-7's My Husband's Lover in new primetime line-up". PEP. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
7. Rivas, Ralf (May 5, 2020). "ABS-CBN goes off-air after NTC order". Rappler . Retrieved June 26, 2020.
8. "Maja Salvador's Wildflower might just be extended until 2018". LionhearTV. August 5, 2017.
9. "WILDFLOWER TV RATINGS (February 13, 2017)". instagram.com/wildflowerabscbn. February 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
10. "NATIONAL TV RATINGS (FEBRUARY 9-11, 2018)". ABS-CBN PR. February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
11. "NATIONAL TV RATINGS (October 9, 2017 – MONDAY)". ABS-CBN PR. October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
12. "KANTAR MEDIA: NATIONWIDE TV RATINGS – OCTOBER 10, 2017". LionhearTV. October 11, 2017. “WILDFLOWER” RECORDS NEW ALL-TIME HIGH NATIONAL TV RATING OF 35.2%, ABS-CBN RULES PRIMETIME. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
13. Anarcon, James Patrick (October 30, 2017). "31st Star Awards for TV nominees revealed; JoshLia, JakBie to receive special awards". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
14. "Nominees for 2017 Star Awards for TV revealed". ABS-CBN News . Retrieved October 31, 2017.
15. "ABS-CBN wins big at 3rd LionhearTV RAWR Awards". ABS-CBN News . November 19, 2017.
16. "The 8TH TV Series Craze Awards 2017 – The Full List of Winners!". TV Series Craze.
17. "ABS-CBN shows at personalities, pinarangalan sa 3rd Illumine Innovation Awards for TV". The ABS-CBN Knights. January 8, 2018.
18. "22nd Asian Television Awards 2017 Nominations Announcement". Markets Insider. November 8, 2017.
19. "2nd GEMS Awards 2017 Official List of Winners". Roam Manila. January 9, 2018.
20. "Batarisan Awards". Facebook .
21. "Trinity University of Asia to Stage The 2018 Platinum Stallion Media Awards". Tua.edu.ph. April 7, 2018.
22. "ABS-CBN dominates 16th Gawad Tanglaw Awards for TV". ABS-CBN News . May 6, 2018.
23. "LPU Manila UmalohokJuan Media Awards 2018". facebook.com/rsbdramaunit. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
24. "Guillermo Foundation Reveals List Of Winners For 49th Box-Office Entertainment Awards". PhilNews.ph. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
25. "Golden Laurel LPU Batangas Media Awards 2018". instagram.com/rsbdramaunit. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
26. "ABS-CBN wins big in Mindanao State University's Kabantugan and the 20th Pasado Awards". LionhearTV. June 26, 2018.
27. "Thank You po sa lahat ng bumubuo ng Alta Media Icon Awards. Thank You @rsbdramaunit @rekdibayani @wildflowerabscbn family dahil po sa inyong lahat maraming nag mahal sa show po natin at sa character kong si Lily & Ivy Aguas para sa atin to lahat Cheers. Thank You po Lord sa lahat lahat". Instagram.com/iammajasalvador. October 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
28. Anarcon, James Patrick (October 17, 2018). "Maja Salvador, Kyline Alcantara win acting awards at Asian Academy Creative Awards". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
29. "Asian Academy Creative Awards | FINAL WINNERS! ASIAN ACADEMY CREATIVE AWARDS WINNer's HONOUR ROLL 2018". Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
30. "2018 Nominees - Asian Television Awards". Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
31. "Push Awards Year 5". Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
32. "Maja Salvador named best actress at Asian TV awards for 'Wildflower'". News.abs-cbn.com. October 6, 2019.
33. "ABS-CBN's 'Wildflower' bags nomination in first Asia Contents Awards". News.abs-cbn.com. September 20, 2019.

External links

• Wildflower at IMDb
• Wildflower on Netflix