Roja, the latest series from ABS-CBN and Dreamscape Entertainment, has everything an adrenaline junkie and teleserye aficionado looks for: action-packed fight sequences, high-stakes family drama, and a tightly woven thriller at the heart of its 80-episode mystery.
Directed by Lawrence Fajardo, Andoy Ranay, Raymund Ocampo, and Rico Navarro, Roja plays out against the lush, tropical, White Lotus–esque backdrop of the fictional resort, La Playa Roja. It follows Liam Roja (Donny Pangilinan), son of the resort owners Greta (Lorna Tolentino) and Magnus (Raymond Bagatsing). Liam’s former best friend, Olsen (Kyle Echarri), works at the resort as a security guard, although there is a certain tension between the two young men. Completing the trio is Luna (Maymay Entrata), who grew up with both Liam and Olsen. The residents and guests of La Playa Roja find themselves in a life-threatening situation when an armed group, led by the vengeful Uno (Joel Torre), raids the resort and takes as many hostages as possible.
That’s the series’ plot on a surface level; however, its three main cast members promise that there’s more to Roja than meets the eye. “It’s hard to spoil because of how much is happening in the series,” Echarri told Rolling Stone Philippines. “You’re going to get a lot of different plots… so you [might] think you’re getting spoilers, but that’s literally just the icing on top.” His co-stars, Pangilinan and Entrata, agreed, noting how they’d been careful not to let slip any of the show’s different secrets before its release date.
In preparing for their action sequences in Roja, all three actors immediately noted how physically challenging the process had been. “Doon sa preparation ng character ko, hindi siya naging madali since first time ko sumabak sa isang action na genre,” Entrata told Rolling Stone Philippines. “So doon sa physical training, hindi kasi ako mag-workout, pero kailangan for my stamina.”
Pangilingan echoed Entrata’s thought while also noting that in real life, he could never fight like Liam against the resort’s hijackers. “If I were there in La Playa Roja as Donny, ano ba ‘yong gagawin ko doon?” Pangilinan joked. “Hindi ako lalaban ng ganoon, syempre. Parang mas gagawin ko… I’d find a way to hide and stay in a position where people couldn’t find me.”
“I don’t think I’d save as [many] people as I’ve been trying to [save] in the series,” added Echarri.
But beyond preparing for the show’s high-energy action scenes, the three main stars also learned a lot from working alongside Roja’s ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Torre, Tolentino, Bagatsing, Janice de Belen, Bernard Palanca, and more. “Parang napakalaking privilege talaga, an honor to work with mga bigating artista,” said Entrata.
“As [veterans], as people in the industry who are really well-respected, pwede naman silang umuwi na sa villa nila after ng eksena,” said Pangilinan. “Pero hindi, they really take the time to get to know us and to get to know the story.” Echarri agreed, noting that both the veteran and rising actors on set learned from one another. “Ask the veterans, [and] they’ll say that they’re learning every day, from the newbies, from the newest people,” said Echarri.
Roja releases starting November 24 on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, and TV5. Its first three episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.
