Marimar (2007 TV series)


Marimar is a Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on a 1994 Mexican television series of the same title. Directed by Joyce E. Bernal and Mac Alejandre, it stars Marian Rivera in the title role and Dingdong Dantes. It premiered on August 13, 2007 on the network's Telebabad line up. The series concluded on March 14, 2008 with a total of 155 episodes.
The series was released on DVD by GMA Records.

Cast and characters

;Lead cast
;Supporting cast
;Recurring cast
;Guest cast
Marimar was a Mexican TV telenovela that was first aired in 1994 on Televisa with singer-actress Thalía in the title role. The series had 75 forty-five-minute episodes, and is the second part of a "Maria" trilogy. The first was Maria Mercedes, and the final was Maria la del Barrio.

Casting

The contract with Televisa for the rights stipulates that GMA Network should start the series in 2007. It was originally offered to Angel Locsin, as a follow-up to the big-budgeted action series Asian Treasure with Robin Padilla. However, Locsin rejected the offer. The network was prompted to give auditions to their roster of young actresses for the role. On March 13, 2008, a video of the fifteen actresses who auditioned for the role of MariMar leaked on YouTube. These actresses are Bianca King, Nadine Samonte, Jennylyn Mercado, Ryza Cenon, Jewel Mische, LJ Reyes, Rhian Ramos, Camille Prats, Pauleen Luna, Katrina Halili, Valerie Concepcion, Nancy Castiglione, Cheska Garcia and Karylle.
The role eventually went to Marian Rivera, who beat her closest rival for the role, Jennylyn Mercado. Some actresses who took part in the audition also landed major and supporting roles in the series. The antagonist role of Angelika Santibanez went first to Bing Loyzaga but was replaced by Katrina Halili. Her character Ashley was killed off from Lupin which would replace it, so the role of Esperanza went to Bing Loyzaga instead. The role of Natalia and Inocencia went to Bianca King and Nadine Samonte respectively.

Farewell TV special

A farewell special entitled "MariMar: Isang Pasasalamat" was aired on March 9, 2008 prior to the finale week of the show. This is the second time that GMA Network made a farewell special, the first was for Encantadia. It got a 52.9% rating in Mega Manila which is the highest for that date according to AGB-Nielsen. It rated a higher 38.1% in the March 2008 ranking of AGB Nielsen's Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement .

Ratings

According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of Marimar earned a 36.6% rating. While the final episode scored a 52.6% rating which is the series' highest rating.

Accolades

;1st Filipino-American Visionary Awards
;4th USTv Students' Choice Awards
;Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Philippines 2008