The Philippines’ former broadcaster ABS-CBN is launching The Bagman, an action drama series remake of their own Bagman digital production, which ran for two season and sold to Netflix Philippines.
Following previous success of Cattleya Killer, which launched at MIPCOM last year, the group announced The Bagman as its tentpole international co-production for 2023 and will unveil at Hong Kong FILMART next week. The announcement was made by Ruel S. Bayani, head of ABS-CBN’s international production division “Having had the privilege of being the first Filipino company to screen a series at MIPCOM, we are honored to be following up on the success of Cattleya Killer with our new premium drama series The Bagman. We continue to advocate Filipino representation in a manner that is engaging and entertaining in today’s global marketplace. I have no doubt ‘The Bagman,’ packed with action, suspense, and dark humor, will have audiences around the world on the edge of their seats.”
Filipino actor Arjo Atayde will reprise his Benjo Malaya character from the original Bagman show, a role that won for him the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards best actor prize.
The original Bagman told the story of Benjo Malaya, a neighbourhood barber who lands a job as the governor’s henchman and gets caught up in a dangerous web of crime, corruption, and political turmoil. Now with The Bagman, convicted prisoner and former governor, Benjo Malaya, learns the tragic news about his missing family, he is left with no choice but to return to the vicious underworld that he turned his back on, and take on a new mission, this time, as a fixer for the sitting president of the Philippines to stop an impending and civil war.
