Mumbai: With casting complete and production set to begin in January on its newest major tentpole co-production series The Bagman, after its successful Cattleya Killer, ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company involved in the creation, production, and distribution of television programming both domestically and internationally, announced today it will be attending this year’s ATF in Singapore looking to secure worldwide sales for it’s eight x one-hour action-packed drama series The Bagman. Additionally, the leading multi-awarded Filipino actor and star of Cattleya Killer and The Bagman series, Arjo Atayde, will be at the ABS-CBN international productions booth (K18) on 7 December promoting the series. The announcement was made today by ABS-CBN head of international productions Ruel S. Bayani, who will be attending ATF along with Gary Marenzi of Marenzi & Associates.
With casting just finalised, The Bagman stars Atayde, reprising his character Benjo Malaya from the original Bagman series, a role that won him the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards Best Actor. The series also stars John Arcilla (On The Job 2: The Missing 8, The Bourne Legacy), Volpi Cup Best Actor in the 78th Venice International Film Festival, and Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo (Mindanao, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano) 2019 Cairo International Film Festival Best Actress.
“Having initially announced The Bagman in March of this year, the timing could not be better to now be offering worldwide sales at ATF for our suspenseful, gripping, and fast-moving drama series,” commented Bayani. “As we continue to advocate for Filipino representation, we are thrilled to also be announcing the award-winning talent of Arjo, John, and Judy Ann who are now part of The Bagman. Filipino programming is continuing to grow and expand, and we are honored to be at the forefront in offering diverse new projects to meet the growing demands of the industry.”
The Bagman, a spin-off of the original locally produced digital series Bagman for the Filipino audience is produced by Philippine-based companies - ABS-CBN International Productions, Nathan Studios Inc., Rein Entertainment and Dreamscape Entertainment.
The original digital series, Bagman 1 and 2, which sold to Netflix Philippines, follows the story of Benjo Malaya, a neighborhood barber who landed a job as the governor's henchman and gets caught up in a dangerous web of crime, corruption, and political turmoil.
Now with The Bagman, when convicted prisoner and former governor, Benjo Malaya, learns the tragic news about his missing family, he is left with no choice but to return to the vicious underworld that he turned his back on, and take on a new mission, this time, as a Bagman for the sitting president of the Republic of the Philippines to stop an impending and civil war.
ABS-CBN’s track record as a storyteller and content creator has been the main draw of the media company as a partner in international co-productions, as seen in its growing slate of global titles. The company has been a pioneer and leader in globalizing Filipino content.
