DonBelle, the onscreen love team of actor Donny Pangilinan and actress Belle Mariano, stirred excitement on X with the release of a teaser of its forthcoming primetime series Can’t Buy Me Love.
ABS-CBN Entertainment dropped the teaser on Tuesday, which immediately created a buzz among DonBelle’s fans and made the phrase” HALA MAY TEASER NA” trend on X.
“LOVE IS BACK!” the Kapamilya network captioned the teaser.
In Can’t Buy Me Love, Pangilinan portrays a hardworking man named Bingo who is devoted to providing for his family, while Mariano plays the role of a Chinese woman named Caroline who was born into a wealthy and traditional family.
The 58-second clip opened with Pangilinan saving Mariano from drowning. While there’s a huge difference between their two worlds, the teaser showed how fate managed to bring Bingo and Caroline together when they met at a banquet.
Can’t Buy Me Love is DonBelle’s first-ever primetime series. This is also the first-time that Pangilinan and Mariano have worked with blockbuster director Mae Cruz Alviar.
The project was first announced at a press conference in July.
Just like their fans, both Pangilinan and Mariano also expressed their excitement about the series during the project announcement and said that it was something that they were hoping to work on together.
Star Creatives released the first poster of Can’t Buy Me Love in July, showing DonBelle’s characters crossing paths on the street.
The premiere date for the series has yet to be announced, but the teaser said that it will be released in October.
Previous projects
Pangilinan and Mariano gained popularity as onscreen partners in the teen romantic comedy series He’s into Her in 2021, which was based on the teen romance novel of the same name by Maxine Lat Calibuso, also known as Maxinejiji.
The series follows the story of Maxpein (played by Mariano) and Deib (played by Pangilinan), who are students at Benison International School. The two students are always at each other’s throats until they develop romantic feelings for each other.
The first season of the show was well-received by Filipinos, which eventually led to its second season in 2022. He’s Into Her also received multiple recognitions, including the Best Drama Mini Series award at the 35th PMPC Star Awards for Television.
With the success of their tandem, the two celebrities starred in the rom-com film Love is Colorblind in 2021.
From enemies-to-lovers in He’s Into Her, Pangilinan and Mariano were best friends in Love is Colorblind. Cara (played by Mariano) returns to the Philippines only to find out that her best friend Ino (portrayed by Pangilinan) was involved in an accident that took his mom’s life and left him colorblind.
The Kapamilya stars’ latest project is the 2022 rom-com film An Inconvenient Love.
Mariano played the role of a working student named Ayef who aspired to be an international animator, while Pangilinan gave life to a shop owner who is secretly a social activist named Manny. The two agree to form a convenient relationship that will expire the month Ayef flies to Singapore.
The 2022 movie was recently named the Best Asian Feature Film/Telemovie by the ContentAsia Awards.
