It's Showtime (variety show)

As Showtime!

On October 24, 2009, Showtime premiered as a morning program, airing before the network's noontime shows, and served as the replacement for Pilipinas, Game KNB? following its successful 8-year run. The original cast consisted of Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, Kim Atienza, Jugs Jugueta and Teddy Corpuz, and Vice Ganda as the permanent judge. During the third season, the show added previously evicted judges Billy Crawford and Karylle as hosts.

In its first four seasons Showtime's competition format was that three groups, each made up of two to twenty-five members (with no age limit), perform a single performance, either a song and/or dance number. After the group's performance, the judges give a collective "yes" or "no" to the group. If the judges give a "yes", the group is considered part of the main contest, with the judges' scores of the group's performance included in the calculation of the winner. A "no" means exclusion of the group from the main contest. This segment was removed during season 2. In season 3, during the February 16, 2011, episode the segment returned, but with no random selection. Instead the group automatically performs on stage.

The group with the highest average score from the judges wins and proceeds to the weekly finals. All winners throughout the whole week perform in the weekly finals. Whoever wins in the weekly finals gets the chance to compete in the monthly finals. Lastly, all the monthly finalists compete in the season's grand finals.

Aside from the talent competition, Showtime also aired quick, short-term segments that offer cash prizes to the studio audience. On January 1, 2011, the show was moved to the noontime slot temporarily. It returned to its original time slot on February 12, 2011, to give way for Happy Yipee Yehey!. On January 28, 2012, the show aired a special episode to end its two-year competition format as Showtime, and ended with an impartial farewell. On February 6, 2012, it debuted as a reformatted noontime show. It's Showtime was also aired previously on Studio 23 (now ABS-CBN Sports and Action) and CgeTV's website during its relaunch week.

As It's Showtime

Showtime ended its pre-noon time slot run on January 28, 2012, to prepare for a noon time, reformatted show which premiered on February 6, 2012, in its new timeslot, 11:30 am, replacing former noontime program Happy Yipee Yehey!. The show retained all of its hosts, including Vice Ganda, while adding former judges Jhong Hilario, Ryan Bang and Coleen Garcia. Eric Tai was also added as a new host during the pilot episode. It's Showtime aired new long-term segments, while the competitive format returned once again as one of its segments. The competitive format was used for one final season, season five. To cater to the entire family audience, a new competition called Bida Kapamilya was introduced on April 30, 2012, as season six. Throughout the run of Bida Kapamilya, It's Showtime added Joy Rendon (May 19, 2012) and Rhed Bustamante (October 27, 2012) as part of the cast.

Amy Perez and Mariel Rodriguez were added to the show's main hosts on January 2, 2016, after guest co-hosting in December 2015. Coleen Garcia was dropped from the program because of her acting career. Meanwhile, Eric "Eruption" Tai left the show to focus on his sports career and married life. Jhong Hilario temporarily left the show on March 23, 2016 to run for councilor in Makati City; he reprised his hosting duties on May 10, 2016.

Since April 11, 2016, the program was extended until 3:20 pm.

Cast

TrabaHula Extreme!

The celebrity player of the day guesses which one of the four madlang workers is the true worker by analyzing their physical traits, skills and knowledge about the occupation. If the celebrity player identifies the correct worker, they win P20,000. The true worker also wins P10,000. However, if the player identifies the wrong worker, the P20,000 top prize is divided equally among the four madlang workers, with the chosen wrong worker receiving an additional P5,000.

Dancing In Tandem: Nagmahal, Nasaktan, Nagsayaw

Couples showcases the dance performances.

Pusuan Mo Vice

A special segment for Valentine's Day in which studio audience share their love stories live on television headed by host Vice Ganda.

KanTanghalian

KanTanghalian brings ABS-CBN singers and talents for a song performance every Saturday.

Discontinued segments

It's Showtime has developed numerous segments, which include pageants, talent contests, quiz shows, interactive games, comedy sketches, and other concepts. Notable segments of It's Showtime are "Sine Mo 'To", "Kalokalike", "AdVice Ganda", "That's My Tomboy", "I am PoGay" and "Magpasikat".

Competition

One of the major concepts of the Showtime series airing throughout the whole run is the competition, in which talent groups compete against each other in a tournament for the grand finals.

Performers

Everyday there are winner/s who compete in the Weekly Finals, the winner/s in the Weekly Finals are one the finalists for the Monthly Finals. The winner/s in the Monthly Finals compete in the Grand Finals.

Wildcard Week

The best groups that either did not make it to the monthly finals or were in the monthly finals but lost had another chance to compete again in order to win a slot in the Grand Finals. This was called the Wildcard Week. During the week, the main hosts got to switch roles (except for Vice Ganda who was still a judge).

In season one, Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, and Kim Atienza were the judges, Teddy and Jugs were the hosts/interviewers, and the longest serving judge Jhong Hilario introduced the group's contestants. At the Wildcard Finals, aired on July 23, 2010, the groups XB Gensan and Boyz Unlimited Dancers tied in the competition and became the 10th and 11th finalists to compete in the Grand Finals.

In season two, Vhong Navarro, Kim Atienza and Jhong Hilario were the judges, Teddy and Jugs were the hosts/interviewers, and ex-judge Bianca Manalo introduced the. Anne Curtis returned on the Wednesday episode but she still had her spot as host/interviewer and did not join the judging panel. On the Thursday and Friday episodes respectively, Anne replaced Vhong Navarro as judge since he was absent. At the Wildcard Finals, aired on December 17, 2010, the group Ground Zero won the competition and became the 10th finalist to compete in the Grand Finals.

In season three, Vice Ganda joined Vhong Navarro in hosting the show while Karylle, Kim Atienza, Billy Crawford, Jugs and Teddy, and Anne Curtis became the judges. At the Wildcard Finals, aired on May 13, 2011, the group The Next Level Octomix Dancers and Street Noize tied the competition and became the 11th and 12th finalists to compete in the Grand Finals.

In season four, Vhong, Billy and Vice reprised their roles as a host/interviewer while Kim, Karylle, Jugs & Teddy, Anne and Showtime resident choreographers Mel Feliciano, May Francisco and Showtime Dancers were judges. Ex-judge Georgina Wilson took over as a host/interviewer in lieu of Vice Ganda who was absent for two days. The Wildcard Finals was aired on December 5, 2011. It was the first time that the Wildcard Finals was extended to include four different groups in one episode who did not make it in either the daily, weekly or monthly finals. The groups Prime Machine and UDC tied the competition and became the 13th and 14th finalists to compete in the Grand Finals.

Kids Edition

This week was dedicated to the children in a segment called "Showtime: Kids Edition". During the week, kid group performers showed their talents and kids were also the audience. Nash Aguas and Sharlene San Pedro were the special kid judges who joined the judging panel. There was no voting for eviction during the week. At the end of the week, a final was held where the winner was the Showtime Kids Edition Champion. The kid group "Cea's Angels" won and became Showtime Kids Edition Champion, but they were not eligible to go to the monthly finals with the regular performers. During the season 3 summer special, Nash and Sharlene reprised their role as kid judges together with selected Goin Bulilit kids during the April 4 to 9-week long kids group competition. In season 4, Krista Kleiner, Katya Santos and Goin' Bulilit Kids were the special judges who joined the judging panel. There was no voting by the judges for eviction during the week on December 19 to 23-week long kids group competition. At the end of competition the kid group "JPS Dance Crew" won of P200,000 and 2nd Showtime Kids Edition Champion.

Campus Clash Edition

The "Campus Clash Edition" features group performances of all school levels (Elementary, High School and College/Universities). Jhong Hilario, Gabriel Valenciano, Lauren Young, and Gretchen Fullido were the season's judges. The winning group received P 1 million in cash plus P 500,000 for the school campus. "The Campus Clash Edition" lasted for only a month and took place in January 2012.

Grand Sample Finals

This was the Grand Finals of the segment "Sample! Sample! Sample!" of Showtime held at Studio 2 of ABS-CBN. Five contestants called "Grand Sampolistas" performed their talents for the judges and the audience to become Showtime's First Grand Sample Champion. The longest serving judge Ryan Bang acted as the guest host because of Vice Ganda's absence. The special set of judges for the Grand Sample Finals were former Showtime judges: Dimples Romana, Carmen Soo, Bianca Manalo, and Gladys Reyes. At the end of the episode, Grand Sampolista #5 Remiel Galeno from Caloocan emerged as the winner of the competition. He won the grand prize of P100,000 and became the 1st Grand Sample Champion with a final average score of 9.8 points. On February 5, 2011, the second Grand Finals was held along with the Week 5 weekly finals. The judges of Week 5 (except Vice Ganda) are the ones who made the difficult task of judging the four Grand Sampolistas. Grand Sampolista #4 Red & Pink, a duo group from Quezon City, emerged as the winner and became the 2nd Grand Sample Champion with a final average score of 10 pts. They won the grand prize of P100,000 and were the first ever duo group to win the competition.

All-Star Barangayan

Signaling the return of Showtime to its regular time slot, the main competition of the show showcased various talents from groups of different barangays. The first competition was held on February 12, 2011. The guest hurados were news personalities: Ted Failon, Gus Abelgas, Pinky Webb and Karen Davila. The episode also welcomed two new co-hosts for the show: singers Billy Crawford and Karylle.

Holy Week special

In honor of Holy Week, Showtime suspended the daily performances and reflected on the best highlights since the show's launch. Also, the hosts looked back at the previous groups who performed on the show and what they gave back positively in this special time of the year. However, in 2012, It's Showtime continued to air live for the next three days with a special letter sender segment with the usual "Arte Mo" and "Singing V".

In 2013, a drama special was shown in place of its usual format, featuring stories of "Bida Kapamilya" finalists as portrayed by Showtime hosts under the helm of TV directors. The drama special aired again in 2014, featuring stories of the 45 finalists as portrayed by Showtime hosts under the helm of TV directors including interviews with the winners. In 2015, the drama special broadcast stories about the "PINASikat" and "I Am Pogay" finalists as portrayed by Showtime hosts under the helm of TV directors including interviews with the contestants as well as musical performances by :Karylle, Noel Cabangon, Kyla, Jason Dy, Erik Santos and Darren Espanto. In 2016, the drama special returned with new faces: Mariel Rodriguez-Padiila, Amy Perez-Castillo, the Hashtags, the Girltrends, and former Paranaque City mayor and comedian Joey Marquez.

It's Showtime Pa-Star Awards

This segment award is a parody of Star Awards showcasing the host acted occasionally in a Lenten drama scene. It was first awarded in March 2016.

Christmas week special

This week contestants had to use a Christmas theme in their performances. The week had special guest judges Including: TV Patrol reporter Marc Logan, Miss Universe 2010's 4th runner-up Maria Venus Raj and Pilipinas Got Talent judges Comedy concert queen Ai-Ai Delas Alas and Philippines' Queen of all Media Kris Aquino. The weekly finals was aired on December 24, 2010. The all-girl group Ephesians won the competition.

Summer special

The show had its month-long summer special, featuring talents of various groups each week. The first week featured All-Girl groups while the audience and guest hurados were All-Boys. The second week featured All-Boy Groups while the audience and guest hurados were All-Girls. The third week featured All-Kid groups, guest hurados and audiences. The next three weeks were a battle between Boy Groups versus Girl Groups versus Kid Groups, and the Monthly Finals were held on the last week.

Show anniversaries

The week of October 18–23, 2010, featured a special episode celebrating Showtime's first anniversary. The contestants consisted of the hosts with ex-hurados and guests. Jugs and Teddy's group with Yeng Constantino, Marc Abaya and Kean Cipriano, Kuya Kim's group with Alessandra De Rossi and Gloc-9, Anne Curtis' group with singers Robert Sena, Led Sobrepeña III and Bugoy Drilon, Vhong Navarro's group with Jhong Hilario, Archie Alemania, Izzy Canillo and Bugoy Carino and Vice Ganda's group with beauty queens Precious Lara Quigaman and Miriam Quiambao. The groups were judged by a special set of celebrity hurados namely returning judge Gladys Reyes, Gary Valenciano, Luis Manzano, Arnel Pineda, and the Kimerald loveteam of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson. At the end of the episode, the winners of the competition were Jugs and Teddy's group.

The show's second anniversary, October 17–22, 2011, suspended daily competitions for the hosts to show their hidden talents and become contestants themselves. Two hosts performed each day and they were judged by a special set of hurados: Celebrity doctors Manny Calayan and Vicki Belo, Director Cathy Garcia-Molina, "Queen of Fragrances" Joel Cruz and Celebrity fashion designer Liz Uy. For the second anniversary, some of former contestants/groups and judges from the previous season performed to introduce the second anniversary week including Showtime's game segments like "Kantaranta", "Arte Mo!" and "I know U!". On October 22, Anne Curtis won the competition getting a perfect score of 10 from all the hurados and received P100,000 which she donated to a charity. Billy Crawford and Vice Ganda were the runners-up and received P50,000 each for their chosen charities.

The show's third anniversary, October 22–27, 2012, had no competition after the "Bida Kapamilya" finals were held. This time, the hosts were grouped into pairs, after their solo performances two years ago. These pairs showed their hidden talents as contestants themselves. There were one or two pairs to perform each day and it was determined by the special set of hurados: (actress Eula Valdez, talent manager Alfie Lorenzo and his wife Angge, actor-singer Jericho Rosales and veteran actress Maricel Soriano). At the end of the week, teams Anne & Karylle, Jugs & Teddy, and Billy & Vhong all had perfect scores for a triple tie, and each won P100,000 prize money for their chosen charity.

The show's fourth anniversary, was the week of October 21–26, 2013. Once again, the hosts were grouped into pairs or trios and they showed their hidden talents as contestants. They were judged by a special set of hurados: comedy actress Ai-Ai de las Alas, TV hosts Amy Perez and Ruffa Gutierrez, and singers Robert Seña and Isay Alvarez-Seña). At the end of the week, 3rd place went to Team Billy Vhong and Coleen, 2nd place went to Team Vice and Kuya Kim, (Vice performed as a solo in place of his partner Kuya Kim after his successful hospital recovery), and the Grand Championship went to Team Teddy, Karylle and Jugs. Half of the cash prizes went to the victims of the Visayas earthquake through ABS-CBN's relief arm Sagip Kapamilya, while the rest went to the winners' chosen charity.

The show's fifth anniversary, October 20–25, 2014, revived a previous segment "Arte Mo!" while "Sine Mo'To" featured sequels to past stories that had been told in the segment. The hosts once more were grouped into pairs or trios, and one team performed during the five-day competition period. The performers were judged by a special set of hurados: singer Pops Fernandez, former APO Hiking Society member and social media activist Jim Paredes, and actress Cherie Gil). At the end of the competition, the third place prize went to Anne and Coleen, who performed a two-woman band and acrobatic stunts. Second place went to Vhong and Jhong, who performed a skit about their friendship that resulted in a work of art featuring their faces. And the Grand Championship went to the trio of TBJ-Teddy, Billy and Jugs, who did a mock game show and one audience member took home P90,000. The winning team's cash prize went to their chosen charity, as did the two non-winning teams' P50,000.

The show's sixth anniversary was the week of October 19–24, 2015. Once again, the hosts were grouped into pairs or trios and showcased their special talents in a five-day competition period - one team per day. The performers were judged by this year's hurados, divided into three pairs: Sakto tandem Amy Perez and Marc Logan, original heartthrobs Tirso Cruz III and Edgar Mortiz, and Forevermore loveteam BangLi Bangky and Lilia Cuntapay. At the end of the week, third place went to the group of Anne, Kuya Kim and Eruption who did a performance on the environment. As well Kuya Kim's hair was shaved on live TV towards the end of their performance which imparted a message itself about climate change. Second place went to the group of Karylle and Jhong who did an all-original, mini-musical skit. Team Vice-Jugs-Teddy was the grand champion, which marked Vice Ganda's first championship. The trio did an optical illusion, which has never been done on any live program, and sang their original composition. Each of the winning teams got P100,000, P200,000, and P300,000 respectively for their chosen charities.

The show's seventh anniversary was the week of October 17–22, 2016. The hosts as well as the members of Hashtags and Griltrends were grouped into pairs or trios and showcased their special talents in a five-day competition period - One team per day. The performers were judged by: Mel Villena, Precious Lara Quigaman, Nick Olanka, Jolina Magdangal and, Senator Sonny Angara.

Best of Showtime/It's Showtime

In 2010, the show held its first year-end special week. This was hosted by Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, Kim Atienza, Teddy Corpuz, Jugs Jugueta and Vice Ganda. This week highlighted the best and funniest scenes and performances by the contestants, judges, and hosts since the beginning of Showtime.

In 2011, the show held its year-end special week. Like the previous year, the host highlighted the best and funniest scenes and performances by the contestants, judges, and hosts in seasons threed and four of Showtime.

In 2012, the show held its year-end special week for only four days after the Christmas special. This year highlighted the best and funniest scenes and performances of the contestants, judges, and hosts of It's Showtime for the previous 11 months since it debuted on the noontime slot in February.

In 2013, the show held its year-end special for only 3 days. This year highlights were featured some of the former contestants and various performers on the show.

In 2014, the show held its year-end special for only 4 days for the fifth anniversary of It's Showtime. This year's highlights featured some of the former contestants and various performers on the show.

In 2015, the show held its year-end special for only 3 days after the Christmas Special. This year's highlights featured some of the former contestants, former segments, and various performers on the show, their sixth anniversary kick-off, their "Magpasikat" performances, and the show's anniversary special.

Thanksgiving episode

On January 28, 2012, the day after the finals of the "Campus Clash Edition", the show aired a special episode wherein they gave thanks to its loyal viewers with different performances by past contestants and winners. The episode also featured the show's staff and the previous judges and their contributions to the show's success. The episode ended ambiguously with the hosts exiting the stage while entering an arc decorated with words giving thanks to the viewers. The episode caused quite a stir with fans and online users as many speculated that Showtime was cancelled. It was hinted during the show that followed its timeslot, Happy Yipee Yehey!, during a cold opening sketch done by its main hosts that Showtime would only say goodbye for a week while it was HYY saying goodbye forever. This was leter confirmed in news reports - HYY was indeed cancelled and the relaunched Showtime would replace it under the title It's Showtime.

Finals Week

This was the first time that instead of the usual format, which is after the wildcard finals, were the Grand Finals. The show had its Finals Week, where the viewers got to know the finalists right before the actual Grand Finals. In October 15–19, 2012, nine finalists for "Bida Kapamilya" were introduced for the entire week. These family teams were joined by their celebrity mentors who trained and motivated each family team.

Ratings

Showtime's first grand finals on July 24, 2010 garnered a 35% national rating based on Kantar Media Philippines, beating 8.9% of Diz Iz It! and 13.7% of Eat Bulaga!

It's Showtime scored a 13.6% national rating when it made its debut on the noontime slot on February 6, 2012. The episode received an overall 16.3% rating when the viewership numbers from Studio 23 were added. Initially placing behind Eat Bulaga!, the show's rating peaked to a 20.9% national rating during the final of the "Bida Kapamilya" segment and its third anniversary week-long celebration.

The final of the "Kalokalike" segment garnered a 26.8% national rating on June 2, 2013, leaving Eat Bulaga! and Wowowillie with 13.2% and 2.8% ratings, respectively. The final of the segment's second iteration posted a 21.6% national rating, once again beating Eat Bulaga! and Wowowillie with 15.8% and 2.6% ratings, respectively.

It's Showtime continued its dominance in the noontime slot with its fourth anniversary week special held from October 21–26, 2013.

MTRCB suspension

Showtime was suspended by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for twenty days. This was due to comments uttered by guest judge Rosanna Roces against certain groups, especially teachers, heard live on January 7, 2010. As a form of self-regulation, ABS-CBN relieved Roces of her jury duty, but a suspension was still served against the show effective January 11, 2010. It returned on February 1. In the meantime, a placeholder show called Magpasikat took over Showtime's timeslot. The show had essentially the same format as with Showtime, except that the competing groups were composed of celebrities.

However, the suspension period lasted for only six days after the Court of Appeals issued a 60-day temporary restraining order against the MTRCB on January 15, 2010. The issuance of the order, and therefore the return of Showtime was announced later on Magpasikat.

On March 26, 2010, MTRCB ordered a total one-month suspension of the program because of the incident, including the replacement Magpasikat. The MTRCB also directed the filing of criminal charges against Florida Tan, ABS-CBN vice-president for programming, and other officers "responsible for the violation." Bong Osorio, head of ABS-CBN's Corporate Communications said that the suspension was not yet final and that they were seeking appeal before the Office of the President. However the variety show won the case because the MTRCB had not presented new arguments that would justify a reversal of its previous resolution.

"Pastillas Girl" controversy

"Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas?" was a daily reality-dating game serial which drew the ire of netizens and the women's group Gabriela. Because of various complaints from online social networking sites, MTRCB summoned the show's executives to discuss the segment. After a thorough investigation, MTRCB imposed "self-regulation" on It's Showtime because of the segment.

Showtime: The Album

A self-debut album composed of five music tracks featuring the Showtime hosts.

Tours

In 2010, Showtime held live shows from February 1 to 6 in Cebu. Voting for judges was suspended as Sheryn Regis and Gab Valenciano stepped in as special judges. The program also had a special episode featuring highlights from the One Kapamilya Go event at the Great America in Santa Clara, CA which took place on September 12, 2010. The special episode aired on October 7, 2010, exclusively on The Filipino Channel. The special judges consisted of Pooh, Angelica Panganiban, Michael Copon, Gelo of Barangay USA and Vice Ganda.

In 2011, Showtime visited Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2013, the It's Showtime hosts performed in Honolulu, Hawaii for their day-long concert tour.

In 2014, the It's Showtime hosts performed in Canada as a part of the program's fifth anniversary celebration.

In 2015, It's Showtime kicked off its month-long, sixth anniversary celebration at the Araneta Coliseum. The program also toured at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna and Hoops Dome in Cebu.