Primetime King Coco Martin returned to television with a bang as the action-filled pilot episode of his new series FPJ’s Batang Quiapo jumped to the number one spot of trending topics on Twitter and earned 341,509 live concurrent views on Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube on Monday (February 13).
Coco’s explosive return in Batang Quiapo was warmly welcomed as fans packed Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila to join the cast for the series’ official poster unveiling and live public viewing of the almost one-hour-long, action-packed pilot episode.
Coco expressed his gratitude to the viewers for their overwhelming support and said, “Nakakatuwa kasi na-appreciate nila ‘yung pinaghirapan namin. Kasi talagang dugo at pawis ang pinagpuhunan namin para mapaganda namin ‘yung palabas ngayon. Susulitin namin ‘yung pagmamahal na ibinibigay nila sa amin.”
The public viewing capped off Coco’s two-week-long festivities to celebrate the premiere of FPJ’s Batang Quiapo. Earlier, Coco and his co-stars, led by Lovi Poe, Cherry Pie Picache, John Estrada, and McCoy de Leon, greeted fans who filled the streets in a festive-like parade that passed through Baclaran, Luneta, Quiapo, and Tondo and lasted almost four hours on February 9.
The official hashtag for the premiere of the series, #FPJsBatangQuiapoDay, was also the top trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines with over 22,000 tweets. Coco, as well as the tags “Primetime King Is Back” and “Plaza Miranda” also made it to the trending list on Twitter, while Miles Ocampo ranked among the worldwide trends for her emotional portrayal of a conflicted young mother.
The first episode of FPJ’s Batang Quiapo gave a series of backstories that started with how the high-speed chase for Ramon (Coco), a notorious criminal, led him to rape a stranger named Marites (Miles Ocampo), in his desperate attempt to continue his bloodline. Later on, it was revealed that the child that Marites gave birth to is Tanggol (Coco).
Meanwhile, fans also flocked to Cebu last February 11 to witness the special performances of the Batang Quiapo cast during their mall show in Cebu.
FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, which is inspired by the original story of Regal Films, airs weeknights at 8:00 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, iWantTFC, and Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.