'Probinsyano' nears its end; 'Darna' debuts on August 15th

Both "Mars Ravelo's Darna" and "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" announced their start and conclusion dates in back-to-back announcements on Friday night, respectively, signaling the end of an era for the now-iconic hero cop and the return to TV of a pop culture legend.

"Ang Probinsyano" ended its episode on July 22 with a teaser that began the three-week countdown to its conclusion, with main actor and director Coco Martin bidding farewell and thanking viewers. 

"Ang Probinsyano," the longest-running drama series in the nation, consistently ranked as the top TV show in the Philippines for five years prior to ABS-forced CBN's broadcast suspension in the middle of 2020. Since moving to digital channels, the series has gradually won back its audience and now has over 300,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube alone.

The beloved Mars Ravelo character Darna, who will be represented by Jane de Leon in the ABS-CBN TV version, enters the scene as Cardo leaves. ABS-CBN confirmed the debut date for "Darna" along with the confirmation of "Ang Probinsyano's" finale: August 15, Monday. 

Iza Calzado, who plays the original Darna and Narda's mother, Leonor, and Janella Salvador, who plays Darna's snake-haired adversary Valentina, were also included in the new "Darna" teaser. 

A third director, Benedict Mique, was mentioned in the teaser along with renowned filmmakers Chito S. Roo and Avel Sunpongco. Three years have passed since Darna's impending takeoff when de Leon was first unveiled as the series' lead actress for the ABS-CBN program.