JENNYLYN MERCADO concedes that 2020 is a difficult year for all but she’s blessed as continues to be blessed all throughout the year. In February, before the corona lockdown started in March, she had a very successful live “CoLove” concert with her inamorato, Dennis Trillo.
That same month, her drama series with Dingdong Dantes, the local adaptation of the Korean hit “Descendants of the Sun” also started airing on primetime. It was disrupted by the pandemic and, in the meantime, she co-starred with Dennis in the suspense-drama episode of “I Can See You” entitled “Truly. Madly. Deadly”.
Taping for “Descendants of the Sun” continued on a lock in basis in Tanay, Rizal and then it continued airing again last October.
Now, the series is on its finale week and will reach its exciting climax and conclusion right on Christmas Day, this coming Friday. But it’s now still streaming on Netflix, the first locally produced drama to be shown in that streaming channel.
“‘Descendants of the Sun’ will always remain in my heart as one of the most unforgettable shows I’ve ever done,” says Jen. “My role as Dr. Maxine or Beauty is one of the most colorful roles I’ve ever played in my career and I’m so thankful to GMA-7 for choosing me to portray her.
"I also want to thank all the viewers who supported us through our entire run kahit naputol kami dahil sa pandemic. Their support is really overwhelming at marami talaga ang nagsasabing nagandahan sila sa aming show.
"And of course, I want to thank Dingdong Dantes, one of the best leading men any actress can have, and all our co-stars in the big cast who contributed to huge success of ‘DOTS’.”
Dingdong says he also wants to thank Jen for being a real trouper when they did many difficult action sequences in the series.
“Jen is a fearless actress, kahit gaano kahirap ang eksenang gagawin namin, hindi niya inuurungan,” says Dingdong. “Very memorable din sa’kin playing the role of Big Boss in ‘DOTS’ and it’s something I will be truly proud of doing in the years to come.
"It is an honor for me to be part of a project this big and was even recognized internationally. But more than the entire experience and the trainings that my character went through, it’s the family we have built on the set with all our co-stars that I will really miss.”
Rocco Nacino, who played Wolf, says he owes something else to ‘DOTS’.
“It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to my character and to the series, dahil minahal ko talaga ang pagganap bilang si Wolf. DOTS opened my eyes to new opportunities, at dahil din dito ay naging navy reservist ako. But I’m excited for everyone to watch our last few episodes because there are more surprises in store.”
And Jasmine Curtis Smith, who plays Moira, adds:
“It’s truly a blessing to have been part of something so big and so relevant to what we’re experiencing right now. To portray a character in a series that represented our frontliners is something I’m proud of. I’ll truly miss everyone here.”
The series is under the helm of esteemed director Dominic Zapata. Don’t miss its thrilling last episode on Friday night.
