MANILA - The debut telecast of "Dyesebel" with Anne Curtis in the title role became the No. 1 worldwide trending topic on Twitter Monday, as viewers took online to share their excitement with the iconic mermaid's return to television.
Curtis, who is the seventh actress to play Dyesebel in a lead role, is seen swimming as the orange-tailed mermaid in the opening minutes of this latest adaptation of the Mars Ravelo comics series.
The pilot episode of "Dyesebel," which joins ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida line-up, focused on the love story between the parents of the lead character -- Tino (Albert Martinez), a prince of the merfolk, and Lucia (Dawn Zulueta), a young woman from a fishing village.
Enraged by the destruction wrought by some fishermen on marine life, Tino vows revenge on humans. He has a change of heart, however, when he witnesses Lucia and her father (Bembol Roco) arguing with a group against using dynamites to fish.
When a dynamite accidentally explodes at the height of the exchange, sending Lucia and her father plunging into the seawater, Tino decides to save them both by bringing them to the shore.
While Lucia survives, her father dies due to injuries from the blast.
Drawn to the young woman, Tino once again swims near the shore, only to see Lucia grieving. Tino initially looks on from a distance, but decides to show himself when Lucia catches a glimpse of him and requests that she be given the chance to thank him.
At first shocked to see Tino's tail, Lucia remembers his efforts to save her and her father. She returns to the beach after initially fleeing, and sits beside Tino to talk about her life, as he does.
No. 1 trend worldwide
Hours leading up to the airing of "Dyesebel" on Monday, the pilot episode's official hashtag, "#DyesebelAngSimula," was already a local trending topic on Twitter.
But as the episode aired, the hashtag zoomed up to the top spot in Philippine trends on the micro-blogging site, before claiming the No. 1 spot in the most talked-about topics worldwide.
Aside from the official hashtag, "Albert Martinez" and "Anne Curtis" also became worldwide trends at different times after "Dyesebel" aired.
Also seen in the pilot episode of the series were Ai Ai delas Alas, Eula Valdez, Jaime Fabregas, and John Regala. The rest of the cast includes Gabby Concepcion, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Andi Eigenmann, Sam Milby, and Gerald Anderson.
"Dyesebel," which is under the direction of Francis Pasion and Don Cuaresma, airs weeknights at 7:40 p.m. after "TV Patrol."
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