Julia Montes to star in PH adaptation of Japanese series ‘Mother’ 

MANILA, Philippines –  Julia Montes is making her teleserye comeback through Saving Grace, the Philippine adaptation of the popular Japanese drama series Mother. 

The upcoming remake, which was announced on Monday, July 15, will be in collaboration with ABS-CBN Studios, Dreamscape Entertainment, and Nippon TV. 

Aside from Montes headlining the series, other details about the project, such as its target release date and other cast members, have yet to be disclosed. 

First aired on Nippon TV in 2010, Mother revolves around a struggling elementary teacher who abducted a first-grade pupil after believing that the student suffered abuse from her own parents. They then escaped town and pretended to be a mother and child as authorities searched for the student. 

In the announcement video, ABS-CBN Chief Operating Officer Cory Vidanes expressed her excitement for the network’s first adaptation of a Nippon TV series. 

“It’s a beautiful story that centers around the importance of family and motherhood and promises to be a very emotionally engaging and heartwarming series that will deeply resonate with the Filipino audience and non-Filipino audience worldwide,” she said. 

Nippon TV’s content business representatives, Sally Yamamoto and Yuki Akehi, added that they’re happy with the partnership with ABS-CBN. “We truly believe in ABS-CBN’s production capabilities and that the Filipino audience will love this show,” they said. 

In a separate post, Dreamscape Entertainment also shared clips from Montes’ first taping day. The actress shared that the project is “special” to her.

ABS-CBN’s Saving Grace will be the 10th adaptation of the hit Japanese drama. Prior to the Philippines, the series has also been adapted by Turkey, South Korea, Ukraine, Thailand, China, France, Spain, Mongolia, and Saudi Arabia, making it Asia’s most exported scripted format. 

Meanwhile, Saving Grace will be Montes’ first top-billed teleserye in about five years. 

In February 2020, she returned to the small screen in the series 24/7, but her comeback was short-lived after the show stopped production due to the pandemic and the loss of ABS-CBN’s franchise. She also joined Ang Probinsyano from 2021 to 2022. – Rappler.com