Fans of Judy Ann Santos who miss seeing her on television can now watch her shows online.
The actress has a huge library of TV programs that aired on ABS-CBN, including 10 teleseryes, a youth-oriented series, and her own drama anthology show.
And some of these hits are now available on YouTube, much to the delight of fans who need a dose of nostalgia.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) presents eight of Judy Ann’s TV shows that her fans can watch anytime!
ESPERANZA
The prime-time series Esperanza aired from 1997 to 1999, and features Judy Ann in the title role.
It tells the story of Esperanza, a young woman who discovers that she is adopted and decides to search for her real family. She locates her siblings, Danilo (Marvin Agustin) and Cecille (Angelika dela Cruz), who both decide to join Esperanza and leave their adoptive families. Together, they are able to find their real father, Juan Salgado (Dante Rivero).
But their search is not without its challenges. First, Cecille is being hunted by her adoptive father, Joaquin Montejo (Lito Legaspi) to come back to him for his political ambitions. Second, Juan is already married to his ex-fiance, Sandra (Elizabeth Oropesa), who is out to stop Juan’s children from being reunited with him.
Matters also become complicated when the villains in Esperanza's life interfere in her romance with high-school sweetheart Anton (Wowie de Guzman).
On April 16, 2021, Jeepney TV started streaming Esperanza on its YouTube channel, releasing two episodes per day. At present, 525 out of the show's 634 episodes are available on the platform.
However, Jeepney TV has yet to upload the remaining episodes. This has prompted netizens, specifically the Esperanza fans, to comment on Jeepney TV’s other videos, urging the channel to continue uploading the series until its last episode.
GIMIK
Gimik is ABS-CBN’s youth-oriented show that ran from 1996 to 1999.
When the show was launched on June 15, 1996, it was headlined by the network's hottest teen stars: Judy Ann, G Toengi, Mylene Dizon, Patrick Garcia, Diether Ocampo, Marvin Agustin, and the late Rico Yan.
Jolina Magdangal and Bojo Molina were later added to the cast.
On July 28, 2021, online reruns of the show premiered on Jeepney TV’s YouTube channel, and fans of Judy Ann's love team with Rico Yan rekindled their kilig.
Unfortunately, the love story of their characters came to an end when Judy Ann had to leave the show in 1997, after she was assigned to headline Esperanza.
Judy Ann’s last appearance as a regular cast member of Gimik was in episode 42. She would appear again as a guest star in Gimik’s episode 70.
Currently, Jeepney TV has uploaded 87 episodes of Gimik.
JUDY ANN DRAMA SPECIAL
After the success of Esperanza, Judy Ann took a break from doing teleseryes. She was given her own drama anthology special titled Judy Ann Drama Special.
The anthology allowed the Kapamilya actress to explore different roles in drama, comedy, horror, and other genres. She was also paired with different leading men and worked with veteran actors and actresses.
Some of the leading men that Judy Ann worked with in the show were Ian Veneracion, Vhong Navarro, Keempee de Leon, Leandro Munoz, Joko Diaz, and, of course, her two perennial leading men: Wowie de Guzman and Piolo Pascual.
Jeepney TV’s YouTube channel has just started uploading episodes of Judy Ann Drama Special in March 2022. So far, only eight episodes have been uploaded online.
Judy Ann Drama Special ran from September 1999 to May 2001, with at least 86 original episodes.
KRYSTALA
Krystala is Judy Ann’s superhero series that aired from October 11, 2004 to April 22, 2005.
Judy Ann plays Tala, a mortal who unearths a crystal that turns her into a superhero named Krystala, whose mission is to save the world from evil forces.
In a 2019 interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), Judy Ann recalled how surprised she was to receive the offer to play a superhero that was poised to go against GMA-7’s Darna.
She said, "Naalala ko with Krystala, when it was offered to me, ang una kong tanong, 'At 26, magta-tights pa ba talaga ako? Parang huli akong nag-tights, That’s Entertainment pa, at saka sa bahay!' 'Hindi! Kaya mo iyan!'
"Parang yun ang itatapat sa Darna. E, at that time, Darna is Darna already. Hindi pa ako pinapanganak may Darna na."
During the time of Krystala, the Kapuso network was already in search of its Darna, who turned out to be Angel Locsin.
However, Krystala and Darna would only go against each other in the prime-time arena for 18 days.
Krystala premiered on October 11, 2004 and ended on April 22, 2005. Darna, on the other hand, aired from April 4, 2005 to November 25, 2005.
But it was thanks to Krystala that Judy Ann met the love of her life and her husband, Ryan Agoncillo, who played one of her leading men.
Krystala started streaming on Jeepney TV’s YouTube channel on March 15, 2020, the very day community quarantine was declared in Luzon.
The channel has completed uploading all 118 episodes.
YSABELLA
Ysabella, which aired from June 25, 2007 to January 18, 2008, is another title role for Judy Ann.
She plays a young cook who dreams of making it big and getting justice after her late mother’s recipe for Chicken Inasal was stolen by Victoria Amarillo (Coney Reyes).
Along the way, Ysabella meets three men with whom she falls in love: Andrew and his twin Albert (Ryan Agoncillo) and Mito Valenzuela (Derek Ramsay).
Ysabella premiered on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel on November 1, 2019 and its complete episodes are available for streaming.
HUWAG KA LANG MAWAWALA
Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala was one of Judy Ann’s most controversial projects, particularly because of its short-lived airing. The series aired from June 17 to August 23, 2013, for a total of 50 episodes.
It tells the story of Anessa (Judy Ann), a woman driven to claim what is rightfully hers after her husband (Sam Milby) betrayed and abused her.
The series premiered on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel on December 1, 2019, and all 50 episodes have been uploaded.
In her 2019 PEP.ph interview, Judy Ann revealed why the show, which she described as a “test of patience and character,” was suddenly cut short.
She said, "Simply because from second timeslot, nilipat kami ng third timeslot, na totally fine kasi hindi naman pambata yung storyline ng Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala, di ba?
"So, from second na 8:30 'tapos nilipat na kami ng 9:30, okay pa rin. Pero siyempre, parang medyo sumasama na yung loob ko.
"Hanggang sa ililipat na ako sa alas-diyes, doon na yung parang ang dating sa akin, 'Bakit hindi niyo na lang tapusin?'
"Kasi sino pang manonood ng… hinihingan niyo ako ng ratings, anong ratings ang maibibigay ko sa alas-diyes ng gabi? Yun naman yung pinanggagalingan ko.”
It was a big deal for Judy Ann because it was dubbed her comeback teleserye after three years.
Instead of being moved to the last prime-time slot, Judy Ann requested the management to just end the series.
She explained, "I wanted to prove so many things, but how can I do that if pabagu-bago ng timeslot? At saka parang nawawalan na ako ng gana. Hindi na ako nagde-deliver nang tama.
"Parang it's unfair not just for me, but for everybody else who is working tirelessly nang walang question, pero ako half-hearted.
"Parang I just felt that I wasn’t being fair anymore. Parang hindi tama na ganoon yung naging trato ko sa trabaho, 'tapos sila, buong puso nilang binibigay. Unfair para sa kanila na hindi kami patas ng ibinibigay na passion doon sa project. That's why I had to decide.”
IPAGLABAN MO: "BATA"
In June 2021, Jeepney TV started uploading episodes of the original run of Ipaglaban Mo from 1993 to 1999.
Judy Ann has one episode available for streaming. It originally aired in 1995 while she was still doing Mara Clara.
Titled “Bata,” Judy Ann played Mayette, a teenage girl with special needs. Unfortunately, her condition was taken advantage of by her neighbor (Rez Cortez) when he sexually abused her.
WANSAPANATAYM: "ANG MAHIWAGANG PALASYO"
Did you know that Judy Ann was the lead actress of Wansapanataym’s very first episode in 1997?
Titled “Ang Mahiwagang Palasyo,” Judy Ann was paired with Rico Yan in this episode directed by Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan.
The episode featured Judy Ann as a princess from a hidden castle which was discovered by the character portrayed by Rico.
“Ang Mahiwagang Palasyo,” along with other classic episodes of Wansapanataym, are available on Jeepney TV’s YouTube channel.
