Fresh from the hit TV series Di Na Muli and Brillante Mendoza horror flick Bahay Na Pula, Julia Barretto is back to star in The Seniors a coming-of-age story about four mean girls in a rural high school struggling to survive in a meaner world.
The eight-part series also stars dancer-actress Ella Cruz, singer-actress and former Pop Girls member Andrea Babierra, and actor-comedian Awra Briguela.
The latest youth drama series is directed by Shaira Advincula-Antonio, produced by VIVA TV and PROJECT 8 Projects. Created and produced by box-office directors Dan Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone, the series now streams on Vivamax.
“Instead of a new student from the province going to Manila, we created a story about a girl from Manila na pumunta ng probinsiya. At ang mga bida naman, mga high school students sa province,” Jadaone said of the story.
The Seniors follows the story of four students in a provincial public high school, who must face life and love problems in their final year in high school. In Pacaque Rural High School, “The Certifieds” is the well-known it-trio. Jennifer (Ella Cruz) is the overachiever Student Council President who leads “The Certifieds,” along with the school’s “Muse” Nicole (Andrea Babierra) and the school Volleyball Team Captain Fifi (Awra Briguela). Being consistent in the star section, the three of them believe that they are elite students and that they should stick together no matter what. But as they face their senior year, major changes are about to happen. One of these changes is the arrival of Diana (Julia Barretto), a smart and pretty transferee from Manila. With Diana’s arrival, the four students’ final year in high school will be twice the fun and also twice the trouble as they struggle to juggle good grades, friendships, and relationships.
Shaira Advincula-Antonio, the director, is a young and award-winning Mindanaon short filmmaker whose recent work Tembong has already traveled to international short film festivals including Guanajuato International Film Festival in Latin America, International Inter-University Short Film Festival in Bangladesh, and Short Cut Film Festival in Serbia. Here in the Philippines, Tembong won the Best Short Film Award in the 2019 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Gawad Urian Awards. The Seniors is her first series.