''La Vida Lena'' () is a 2020–2022

Philippine television drama Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'', Filipino telenovelas or P-drama, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebis ...

revenge series broadcast by

Kapamilya Channel Kapamilya Channel (stylized as Kapamilya channel) is a 24-hour Philippine pay television network formerly known as ABS-CBN Corporation, a company under Lopez Holdings Corporation owned by the López family. The network is headquartered at th ...

, starring

Erich Gonzales Erika Chryselle Gonzales Gancayco-Lorenzo (born September 20, 1990), better known by her stage name Erich Gonzales (), is a Filipino actress. She is a contract artist of ABS-CBN's Star Magic. She started her showbiz career at the age of 14, as ...

. The fast-cut version was streamed on

iWantTFC iWantTFC is a Filipino over-the-top content platform and production company owned and operated by ABS-CBN Digital Media, a division of ABS-CBN Corporation, formed in 2020 through the merger of two streaming services iWant and TFC Online. In ad ...

from November 14, 2020 to January 16, 2021. The full series was aired on the network's ''Primetime Bida'' evening block and worldwide via TFC from June 28, 2021 to February 4, 2022, with simulcast on

A2Z A2Z may refer to: *A2Z (2006 film), a 2006 German action film *A2Z (TV channel), a Philippine television channel **A2Z News Alert, a Philippine television newscast broadcast by A2Z (TV channel) *A2Z Group A2Z Group is an engineering, procurement ...

and TV5.

Plot

Despite being the subject of bullying and discrimination because of the big scar on her face, Magda refuses to let criticisms get to her and strives hard to secure a comfortable life for her family. Using her skills and intelligence, she hits the jackpot when the soap she created quickly gains popularity in the town of Salvacion. However, the young lady's success does not sit well with the Narciso family, the owners of Royal Wellness, the biggest surgical and cosmetic company in the country. When Magda refuses to sell her formula to the Narcisos due to their contrasting views, a string of bad luck comes her way. Losing everything dear to her, Magda returns with a new face, armed with determination to retaliate against the powerful clan who ruined her life.

Cast and characters

Main cast

;Starring *

as Magdalena "Magda / Lena" Mendoza Narciso-Cabrera *

Carlo Aquino Carlo Jose Liwanag Aquino (born 3 September 1985) is a Filipino actor and musician known for being the lead singer of the band Kollide and formerly of JCS with John Prats and Stefano Mori. Aquino achieved critical recognition for his performan ...

as Jordan A. Cabrera *

JC de Vera John Carlo de Vera (born March 10, 1986), better known by his screen name JC de Vera, is a Filipino actor, host and model. Personal life De Vera was offered a basketball scholarship in Colegio de San Juan de Letran after he graduated from high ...

as Adrian R. Narciso /Adrian R. Suarez *

Kit Thompson Keith San Esteban Thompson (born February 15, 1997), better known by his screen name Kit Thompson, is a Filipino-New Zealander actor, model, and television host. He was a housemate in the reality show '' Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition 4'' (201 ...

as Miguel Villarica *

Agot Isidro Maria Margarita Amada Fteha Isidro (born July 20, 1966), known professionally as Agot Isidro, is a Filipino actress. She is the fourth of the six children of Jose Isidro, an architect, and Palestinian mother Edwarta Fteha. She graduated from t ...

as Vanessa Rubio-Narciso *

Raymond Bagatsing Ramon "Raymond" San Diego Bagatsing III is a Filipino actor, model and aspiring politician. Having jumpstarted his acting career in the early 90s, he is most notable for the role of Jaime Laurel in the hit ABS-CBN series ''Pusong Ligaw''. Ea ...

as Lukas Narciso *

Janice de Belen Catherine Janice Yap de Belen (; born November 9, 1968), better known as Janice de Belen, is a Filipino actress, commercial model and television host. She is dubbed as the “''Queen of Horror-Drama''” for her acting prowess and exceptional ...

as Ramona Joaquin ;Also starring *

Sofia Andres Sofia Louise Alejandre Andres (born August 24, 1998) is a Filipino actress and commercial model. She is best known for her roles in ''Princess and I'', ''She's Dating the Gangster'', '' Relaks, It's Just Pag-Ibig'', '' Forevermore'', ''Pusong ...

as Rachel Suarez-Villarica *

Pen Medina Crispin "Pen" Parungao Medina Sr. (born August 27, 1950, in Arayat, Pampanga) is an actor from the Philippines who started acting in theater plays in his youth. He eventually played versatile roles on the big screen and in various television s ...

as Francisco "Kiko" Cabrera * Ruby Ruiz as Digna Abuel-Cabrera *

Christian Vasquez Christian Oliver B. Vazquez (born February 8, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model and a former housemate of ABS-CBN's ''Pinoy Big Brother: Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition''. During his stint at Pinoy Big Brother, he was one of the comedian ...

as Conrad Suarez * Malou Crisologo as Martina Ramirez * Josh Ivan Morales as Brian Rubio * Hasna Cabral as Bettina "Betchay" Buenafe * Renshi de Guzman as Rambo Lumba * Danica Ontengco as Allison Suarez / Alice Garcia

Guest cast

* Soliman Cruz as Diosdado "Dado" Mendoza * Isay Alvarez as Helen Mendoza * Miguel Faustmann as Don Luis Narciso * Giovanni Baldesseri as Fernando Castro

Production

Casting

Ivana Alawi Mariam Sayed Sameer Marbella Al-Alawi (born 25 December 1996), known professionally as Ivana Alawi (), is a Filipino actress, model, and YouTuber. She is also the CEO of her own skincare brand called Ivana Skin. Regarded as one of the biggest s ...

was originally cast for the lead role, with a working title ''Lihim ni Ligaya''. The pre-production had started and the cast was already introduced during a presscon back in February 2020. Due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and

enhanced community quarantine in Luzon The enhanced community quarantine in Luzon was a series of stay-at-home orders and ''cordon sanitaire'' measures implemented by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the island of Luzon a ...

in March 2020, Alawi backed out of the project; her main reason was to avoid risking the health of her family as she will be exposed during lock-in tapings. In August, Deo Endrinal, the head of Dreamscape Entertainment, approached

to take on the lead role. The title of the series is officially named ''La Vida Lena'', inspired by Jojo Saguin, one of the directors who is known to her colleague named Lena. From Ligaya, the lead character's name was changed to Magdalena Mendoza. Several recasting and revisions in the script are being made to suit the new theme and new cast. ''La Vida Lena'' served as Gonzales' return to television two years after playing her first triple role in '' The Blood Sisters'' (2018).

Filming duration

Pre-production started in September 2020. The entire cast and crew underwent rigorous procedures and COVID-19 protocols before heading down to their filming location at Antipolo. The first cycle of lock-in taping started on October 1, 2020, and finished on October 17, 2020. Second cycle of taping resumed on November 15, 2020, and finished on December 4, 2020. Third cycle of taping started on January 10, 2021, and finished on January 30, 2021. The fourth and final cycle of taping concluded in February 2021.

References

External links

* *
La Vida Lena
' on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vida Lena, La ABS-CBN drama series IWantTFC original programming Television series about revenge Philippine drama television series Philippine romance television series 2020 Philippine television series debuts 2022 Philippine television series endings Television series by Dreamscape Entertainment Television Filipino-language television shows Television shows set in the Philippines