Entertainment
A Cinematic Suspense and Romance Unlike Any Other: Love You Stranger
The first official trailer for the primetime series, which dropped on May 24, presented a unique storyline and a cinematic montage on the life of the people in Sta. Castella and the myth of the mysterious shadow creature called ‘Lilom’, who can only be tamed by offering a dance ritual. (File: khalilramos/Instagram)
Mystery, horror, and romance will dwell on your primetime screens as the GMA News and Public Affairs-produced series ‘Love You Stranger’ premieres this June.
Love You Stranger stars Gabbi Garcia as LJ, a strong-willed independent production designer in search for the truth behind a shadow creature that continues to terrify her mother Lorraine, played by Andrea Del Rosario.
Garcia’s real-life partner Khalil Ramos stars opposite her as Ben, a charming upcoming director who wants to explore and film the infamous shadow creature of the old town of Sta. Castella in a movie called “Lilom”, derived from the creature’s name.
The similarities between Ramos’ character Ben, with himself is almost uncanny as the young actor started out with directing and was involved in film productions before venturing into acting, which makes him perfect for his role in Love You Stranger.
“On the surface level, right away, naka-connect ako kay Ben dahil ‘yung everyday life niya is something that I experience in my life everyday. (On the surface level, right away, I connected with Ben because his everyday life is something that I experience in my life everyday,” Ramos told Philippine Canadian Inquirer (PCI) during GMA Pinoy TV’s Funcon.
He also added that he can relate with Ben on a deeper level. “Ako din, like everyone, we all have our struggles growing up and, ayun nakakarelate din ako kay Ben. I connected with him through that because of the situations I have been in dati sa childhood ko (I too, like everyone, we all have our struggles growing up and I can relate with Ben on that. I connected with him through that because of the situations in my childhood before),” he added.
Highlighting LJ’s strength, for Garcia, she is a resourceful character and an icon of women empowerment. Although she finds some differences in their personalities, Garcia admires LJ’s values as this is also their common ground.
View this post on Instagram
“LJ and I are very different, actually. Pinapanood nga namin ni Khalil tapos nakikita ko ‘yung sarili ko sa trailer, tapos sinasabi ko talaga ‘Grabe sobrang hindi ako talaga ‘yan’. Parang hindi ako makapaniwala na naka-dive ako sa character ni LJ (LJ and I are very different, actually. While Khalil and I were watching the trailer, I thought ‘That’s not me!’. It’s like I can’t believe I got to dive in to LJ’s character.)” Garcia said.
“And ako, feeling ko, I got by with my career, with all the issues, with all the problems in my life with diskarte also. So ayon, similar kami sa part na ‘yun. (And for me, I feel like I got by with my career, with all the issues, with all the problems in my life because of my resourcefulness. So that’s how I can relate with [LJ],” she added.
The first official trailer for the primetime series, which dropped on May 24, presented a unique storyline and a cinematic montage on the life of the people in Sta. Castella and the myth of the mysterious shadow creature called ‘Lilom’, who can only be tamed by offering a dance ritual.
Directed by King Baco, the scenic masterpiece that is Love You Stranger promises suspense and mystery as LJ investigates the horrors of her mother’s past, as well as romance as she discovers who Ben is in her life.
The series is truly a collaborative effort between the young couple and the production team of GMA News and Public Affairs as they were also given the chance to be a part of the creative process of the story, the script, and the character development, aside from starring as the main leads.
“They really, really encouraged us to collaborate with them. ‘Yun yung isa sa pinakanagustuhan namin dito sa buong team. (They really, really encouraged us to collaborate with them. This is what we liked the most with the whole team),” Ramos, who also has a background in directing and productions, emphasized.
“It was such a breeze to work with them, ang sarap nilang katrabaho dahil ang sarap ng energy na na-feel namin kasi we were welcomed not only as actors but also as creatives, para mabigyan talaga ng buhay ‘yung istorya. (It was such a breeze to work with them. They were so great to work with because of the energy that we felt, because we were welcomed not only as actors but also as creatives, so we can give life to the story),” the young actor added.
View this post on Instagram
Garcia also added that the romance-mystery series is her most favorite role ever since she started acting, because of the maturity her character shows and the creative collaboration she had with the production team.
“Dito sa Love You Stranger and sa News and Public Affairs, parang they’re very open na ‘Hindi, let us know what you think! We need to hear your side’ (Here in Love You Stranger and News and Public Affairs, they’re very open like ‘No, let us know what you think! We need to hear your side’),” she recalled.
“And then nung na-build na ‘yung confidence namin ni Khalil na we can actually collaborate with them, gumanda nang gumanda ‘yung relationship namin with them and napaganda lalo ‘yung storya so everybody was really comfortable and nagtulungan talaga lahat (And when our confidence was built where we can actually collaborate with them, our relationship with them became greater which also made the story beautiful [because] everybody was really comfortable and everyone is always helpful),” the actress said.
Aside from the couple starring as the lead roles, they are also joined by fellow cast members Gil Cuerva, Kim de Leon, Lexi Angeles, Tonton Gutierrez, Carmi Martin, Maey Bautista, Lui Manansala, Bodji Pascua, Dindo Arroyo, Ces Quesada, Soliman Cruz, Nor Domingo, Alex Medina, and Angeli Sanoy.
Love You Stranger is Ramos’ first full-length project with GMA-7 after transferring from the network two years ago. However, the GabLil couple were also previously leads of the musical film LSS (2019) and the mini-series Stories From The Heart: Love On-Air in 2021.
Originally lined-up to be released last year, the series is finally set to be premiered on June 6, 2022 at 9:35 p.m. Philippine time, which is also available on GTV.
Kathleen Mae Guerrero
