The Legal Wife


The Legal Wife is a 2014 Philippine drama television series directed by Rory B. Quintos and Dado C. Lumibao, starring Angel Locsin, Jericho Rosales, Maja Salvador and JC de Vera. The series aired on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide on The Filipino Channel from January 27, 2014 to June 13, 2014, replacing Maria Mercedes.

Plot

The story revolves around Monica Santiago. Due to the past she encountered with her mother Eloisa, her life is put through the test in a whole new environment with her father Javier, and her two brothers Javi and Jasper. Through a set of circumstances, she will meet and fall in love with Adrian, the man who will teach her how to love again, and the man who will also break her heart.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Prior to the official airing of the show, its working titles were originally known as Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin, and as Langis at Tubig. Jake Cuenca and Andi Eigenmann was originally part of the main cast, but was replaced by JC de Vera and Maja Salvador. Paulo Avelino was also reported to be part of the series but later backed out due to personal reasons. Avelino was later replaced by Jericho Rosales.
Filming of the series began in October 2013.

Scheduling

The Legal Wife was originally planned to air on October 28, 2013. It was later pushed back to November 2013 and was set to replace Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin. But due to the request of Koreanovela fans and taping conflicts because of Typhoon Haiyan, the airing was postponed because of Korean drama When a Man Falls in Love. Eventually, the series had its pilot episode broadcast last January 27, 2014 as part of ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida block. Initially, the series was supposed to replace When a Man Falls in Love, but later ends up taking over the timeslot vacated by Maria Mercedes due to the demanding request of Koreanovela fans.

Reception

Critical reception

Prior to the official airing of the television series, ABS-CBN launched several teasers of the show. One was the slapping scene between Angel Locsin and Maja Salvador's characters aired on January 1, 2014. The trailer was well received and went even viral all over the web, creating parodies and memes.
Since the first episode, the show became a hot topic online and even trended on Twitter worldwide.

Television ratings

Basing on the data gathered by Kantar Media, the pilot episode earned 21.1% of national viewership, making it the 5th most watched primetime program. It is the first drama on Philippine television to win in its late primetime slot in the ratings in all of its episodes. The finale of The Legal Wife scored its biggest nationwide rating of 36.2%. This currently stands as the country's highest rating by any TV show on late primetime since the Philippines switched to nationwide TV ratings system in 2009.

Theme song

The theme song Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin? was originally performed by Sharon Cuneta and served as the theme song for the 1996 film Madrasta, which also starred Cuneta alongside Zsa Zsa Padilla and Christopher de Leon. The film was produced by Star Cinema. It was covered by Angeline Quinto and it was used as the theme song for the TV series.

International broadcast

Reruns

of the show's episodes airs on Jeepney TV.
On March 18, 2020, ABS-CBN announced that the show would be rerun beginning March 23, 2020 via the network's Kapamilya Gold afternoon block, taking over the timeslot of Love Thy Woman as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This rerun was abruptly cut due to the temporary closure of ABS-CBN following the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on account of its franchise expiration.