Viewers will see a different side of the former Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition housemates in their upcoming suspense-thriller series The Secrets of Hotel 88. The series will stream first on iWant beginning February 23, seven days ahead of its television debut.
During the media conference, director Henry King Quitain described how each housemate’s character will deliver secrets and twists that add depth to the story and keep fans and viewers hooked, setting the series apart from other primetime offerings.
“Sa akin, sila ang magpapaiba talaga sa primetime viewing habit ng mga viewers natin. It's a mix genre. Hindi lang siya thriller, suspense, there’s romance, there’s family drama and there’s intense confrontation na mapapanood ninyo and sa akin sila talaga magbibigay ng ibang bihis sa primetime kasi ibang iba sila sa napanood sa PBB,” director Henry said.
“Masusurprise ka. Yung iba, magugulat ka kasi they really worked hard for it. Nagworkshop sila and pinagaralan nila yung mga characters,” he expressed.
Admitting to being a fan of the group, the director added, “Ako, I’m really amazed kasi I’m a fan ng batch nila. Happy pill ko sila and pinapanood ko sila while I'm doing my two shows kaya sobra akong na-amaze sa kanila rito.”
The series brings together former Kapamilya PBB housemates Brent Manalo, River Joseph, Bianca De Vera, Kira Balinger, Esnyr, Xyriel Manabat, and Ralph de Leon, alongside Sparkle artists Mika Salamanca, AZ Martinez, Dustin Yu, Josh Ford, and Will Ashley, marking their first project together as the latest collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA Network.
The series teases a dark and mysterious storyline centered on a hotel filled with hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered. The trailer already garnered more than one million views on Instagram, as of this writing.
Highlighting the genre-blending nature of the show, Star Creatives Business Unit Head Des De Guzman emphasized that The Secrets of Hotel 88 goes beyond horror.
“Hindi siya horror. It's a genre bending of family drama, a lot more romance and suspense thriller and a bit of action,” she said.
Creative Manager Jay Fernando also shared that the series aims to give the popular PBB Collab housemates an avenue to showcase a new side of themselves while offering viewers a “summer to remember” kind of experience.
“It’s not really inspired by true events but more of like we want to give the audience a summer to remember. When you watch a summer movie, it was like an adventure, may kaunting habulan and kaunting takutan. It bonds us as barkada and also as family,” Jay explained.
He added, “When we were thinking of PBB - the cast, we wanted to give them a good ride apart from family drama or a love story.”
Jay further noted that the series was carefully crafted with each housemate in mind: “We were very careful in crafting the characters that will suit every member of the household kasi when we see them, it's not just barkada but also a family. We want to give all of them the right character to showcase their skills and to showcase how they connect to the audience.”
READ: ‘The Secrets of Hotel 88’ teaser excites PBB Celebrity Collab Season 1 fans
The Secrets of Hotel 88 will stream first on iWant beginning February 23, seven days ahead of its television debut. The series is set to premiere on March 2 on GMA Prime and Kapuso Stream at 9:35 p.m., airing Mondays to Fridays, with a late-night telecast at 11:25 p.m. on GTV. It will also be available on GMA Pinoy TV.