MANILA – Asian entertainment streaming platform iQiyi and ABS-CBN are joining forces to bring more content to international viewers.

In an attempt to expand its Southeast Asia content catalogue, iQiyi tapped the Philippine media network to produce two original Filipino series for the global audience -- “Saying Goodbye” and “Hello, Heart” -- as iQiyi’s first local originals in the region.

In an official statement, iQiyi announced that “Saying Goodbye” will be headlined by Andrea Brillantes and Seth Fedelin, who rose to fame as onscreen partners when they teamed up in the highly successful TV drama “Kadenang Ginto” produced by ABS-CBN.

“Saying Goodbye” will follow the story of Ricky and Elise, an unlikely pair brought together by their love for music and adventure.

“Hello, Heart,” meanwhile, will feature the first onscreen tandem of Gerald Anderson and singer Gigi de Lana.

The series is a romantic comedy that tells the story of Heart, a beautiful, perky, hard-working but very unlucky woman, who meets her lucky charm, Saul. He hires Heart to pretend to be his wife to please his grandmother with dementia.

Both series will premiere exclusively on iQiyi International worldwide.

In a virtual event, iQiyi’s vice president of international business Kuek Yu-Chuang said this partnership, among others, materialized after they saw a positive trend of international viewers consuming more Asian content as a whole.

“As the leading global streaming player rooted in Asia with a global footprint, iQiyi will double down its investment in introducing premium pan-Asian content to the world,” he said.

“We are excited to play a crucial role in putting Asian content front and center in collaboration with top-notch creators and talents from Korea and the Philippines to bring compelling Original stories to our users in 191 territories," he added.

For his part, iQiyi Philippines country manager Sherwin dela Cruz said the platform was delighted in partnering with ABS-CBN.

"We are delighted in partnering with the country’s leading entertainment organization ABS-CBN for our first local original slate," Dela Cruz said.

"This exclusive streaming deal marks one of the biggest milestones in the country and signals the start of more excitement in the pipeline," he added.

Aside from its partnership with ABS-CBN, iQiyi’s international slate also include new exclusive content from Thailand and Malaysia. It also features four new Korean Original productions: “Crazy Love,” “Us At One Point,” “My Oppa Is An Idol” and “Weekday Wife.