Why Muhlach family chose sitcom, not reality show, as first TV project

MANILA, Philippines — Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzales, together with their twins Andres and Atasha, are taking the sitcom route in their first-ever TV series as a family.

Titled “Da Pers Family,” the Sunday series premieres tonight at 7:15 on TV5 with catchup airings on the Sari-Sari Channel every Monday at 7 p.m. It follows the story of the Persival family as they run a struggling business, The Bake Haus of You. Conflict arises as Aga’s former BFF (Roderick Paulate) tries to drive them out of competition. This brings the Persivals closer together as they unite to save their bakery from bankruptcy.

“Da Pers Family” officially marks the twins’ acting debut. It’s helmed by Danni Caparas, the director of Aga and Charlene’s ‘90s sitcom, “Okidokidok.”

During an interview with The STAR ahead of the premiere, the Muhlachs had fun recounting how they somewhat struggled on the first taping day as they had to play a fictional version of their real-life fam.

“When this opportunity came, this was something I could not resist. It’s such a blessing to be able to have the opportunity to work with my children, Andres and Atasha, and my husband,” said Charlene. “But of course, at first, we felt a little nervous.”

She noted that it was particularly nerve-wracking to execute her first scene with Aga “because we’re not used to doing scenes together.”

She added, “We did commercials before, but this is the first time we’re acting together again since ‘Okidokidok.’ But after that, OK na. It was already comfortable.” She also felt so much at ease when she saw that her kids were adjusting well.

For Aga, who has been acting the longest in the family, it was “difficult” watching his kids finally venturing into their parents’ world.

“Mahirap! Because no matter how active we are in the industry, when it comes to our home, parang wala na lahat yun. Now that our kids and even my wife — she’s been in the business for a long time but she also kinda stopped for a while — that’s why when we started taping, binabantayan mo sila, nakatingin ka lang sa kanila. Kahit ako nako-conscious din ako… kasi andito sila sa mundo mo eh. Na yung mundong ito, alam na alam mo na ito,” he shared.

“Minsan may gusto akong ituro sa kanila on the spot but you can’t do it because we want them to experience it. But at the same time, you don’t want them to fail. You want them to ‘fail’ — not fail na pangit ang mangyayari sa buhay but meaning, you want them to experience it so they will improve and become better.

“It will take time. It’s not easy. That’s why I didn’t force them to become an artista until they decided themselves that they wanted to work (in the industry). Now, we’re here together, we’re working. Mas masaya ako nakikita sila ‘pag yung trabaho nila, sila-sila. ‘Pag sa amin nahihirapan talaga ako (laughs). Kinakabahan ako (until now). Nakatingin ka lang eh, ‘pag nag-dialogue sila, ‘OK, ‘wag kang magkamali.’ But magagaling naman sila but I’m just nervous as a father.”

While their feelings, as parents, are valid, they never acted like stage parents. Charlene explained, “We made it a point that we will treat them as co-actors once we’re on the set. When the directors have instructions, let’s all follow. So, with regards to the way they wanna portray their roles, as artists, we give them that space, but if they ask for help from us, Aga and I are always there to support them. But nandun talaga yung respect nila for the craft.”

Andres attested to this, saying that it’s what he really appreciates about his parents. “We’re new, we’re trying to experience things also. We’re not trying to make mistakes. But it’s nice that when we do make certain mistakes, they’ll tell us, oh, maybe you can do it like this,” he said.

“But they’ll never inform us na dapat ganito, dapat ganyan. Whenever we feel na, o, Mom and Dad, ano kaya pwede dito, then they’ll give us advice. But they’re never pushing us really.”

Recalling his first day on set, Andres also shared, “After the first take, the feeling was really like haay. The next day, the next scenes, they got more and more light. Magaan sa loob, easier to work with everyone, and the dynamics started to come out more within the family.”

Atasha felt the same way, admitting that acting with their parents around did make them a little nervous. “Of course, you don’t want to mess it up or cause any delays. But at the end of it, I had so much fun. Because from the first take, it was with Andres, my best friend, so it was easy, the banter was there… Following with the parents, it was very fun, because it was just like at home,” the “Eat, Bulaga” co-host said. “I’m just learning as we go. Everything is so brand-new so we’ll see day-by-day.”

Since they’re playing out characters named after their real selves, the Muhlach family could have opted for a reality show, instead of a sitcom for their first TV5 project. The children, for one, long before they decided to follow in their parents’ footsteps — after they kept their promise of finishing college first — had always attracted the spotlight and public curiousity without them perhaps meaning to.

Aga had thought about a reality show initially but decided otherwise because “my training kasi is so old-school and my private life, personally speaking, has always been private.”

“To come up with a reality show, for me, is somewhat intruding. Ayoko yung ganun. Even with my Instagram, I’m not really active, I cannot post personal things, related to me, wala talaga,” the veteran leading man said. “But of course, I thought of that, too. That’s why we used our real names so that people can identify with Andres, Charlene, Atasha and with me.”

But they’re keeping their options open. He said, “From the sitcom, ‘di mo alam ano pupuntahan niyan eh. Baka mamaya, masanay ako or maisip namin pwede namin ituloy sa ganun. Or, pwede mangyari yun. Bukas ito. Bukas na bukas ang pintuan sa lahat ng (the door is wide open to all) avenues.”