TGIF Feature: Meet the cast of 'Almost Paradise' filmed in the Philippines

From left: Christian Kane, Arthur Acuna and Samantha Richelle star in 'Almost Paradise.'

The Philippines and Filipino actors are going to be introduced to US audiences in the new adventure series Almost Paradise, which will debut Monday, March 30.

Starring Christian Kane (The Librarians), who plays Alex Walker, a former US DEA agent who has been forced into early retirement.

He chooses to retire in Cebu, the Philippines, a tropical paradise with the requisite palm trees, blue waters and palm trees. (Picture Hawaii before it became a tourist mecca.) The show also introduces Filipino actors Samantha Richelle and Arthur Acuña as costars.

Richelle plays Kai Mendoza, the youngest person ever to make detective in the Cebu police force. She’s a woman to be reckoned with who has worked tirelessly to get where she is and must constantly fight to prove herself. When Alex enters the picture, Kai views him as an entitled know-it-all, but as they grow closer, they realize their commonalities. Acuña stars as Ernesto Almares, Kai’s partner and the soul of the law-enforcement team. Buencamino plays Ike Ocampo, chief of the Cebu Police Department, and Quesada is Cory, the manager of the hotel where Alex is staying.

The synopsis: Wagner was once the DEA’s most resourceful undercover operative. The combination of his partner’s betrayal and a life-threatening battle with hypertension has sent him as far from the madness as he can go… a small tropical island in the Philippine Archipelago. He now runs the gift shop at the island’s luxury resort hotel, gets his disability payments at the nearby US Air Force base, and generally manages his transition from Jason Bourne to Jimmy Buffett. BUT, the island’s luxury resorts attract rich, powerful, and sometimes criminal elite from around the world, often on a collision course with Alex. Despite his best efforts to begin a tranquil new life, he’s pulled back into a world of dangerous people and deadly situations, either through his friends in the local police department or running into people from his old life. And the problem is: he likes it.

The beautiful tropical setting of the island of Cebu will play an important role, according to Filipino American executive producer Dean Devlin, who is better known for his big-budget spectaculars filled with special effects (Godzilla, Independence Day and the Stargate franchise). 

“We’re trying to show the Philippines to people from the United States and around the world in a way that they’ve never seen before,” said Devlin.

Almost Paradise airs on WGN America, Mondays at 10 p.m. EST/PST. Check here for local channels.

TGIF Feature: Dean Devlin returns to the Philippines for new TV series

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Dean Devlin, left, and 'Off Tropic' star Christian Kane on the set of 'The Librarians.'

A new TV series intended for US audiences will be shot in the Philippines with a Filipino cast  

Heading the project is Filipino American executive producer, Dean Devlin, who will write the first two episodes and direct the finale of Off Tropic, a 10-episode crime drama series. Devlin has huge Hollywood cred producing movie blockbusters such as Independence Day, Godzilla and The Patriot. His best known TV series is the adventure fantasy, The Librarians.

The star of The Librarians, Christian Kane, will play the lead in Off Tropic.


The series, part crime drama and part travelogue, is set mostly in Cebu and will air in the United States via the cable company, WGN America. Devlin, head of Electric Entertainment, will be partnering with the Philippines' media giant, ABS-CBN, which will be making it’s first foray into Hollywood television production.

“It’s a lifelong dream to get do something here, I wish my mom was alive to see it… I haven’t spent much time here and now we get to do a show here,” said Devlin during his contract signing last month with ABS-CBN International.

“We’re trying to show the Philippines to people from the United States and around the world in a way that they’ve never seen before,” added Devlin who shared the series will be filmed in several locations all over the Philippines. Filming will begin in November.

Off Tropic, originally titled Almost Paradise, centers on Alex Walker (Kane), a former US DEA agent who was forced into early retirement. Once the DEA’s most resourceful undercover operative, the combination of his partner’s betrayal and a life-threatening battle with hypertension has sent him as far from the madness as he can go … a small tropical island in the Philippine archipelago. He now runs the gift shop in the island’s luxury resort hotel.  

The island’s luxury resort has attracted rich, powerful, and sometimes criminal elite from around the world, often on a collision course with Alex. Despite his best efforts to begin a tranquil new life, he’s pulled back into a world of dangerous people and deadly situations, either through his friends in the local police or running into people from his old life. And the problem is, he likes it.

“This is a first of many strategic partnerships and collaborations with partners from all over the world and we are very thrilled that we are partnering with a formidable team, Electric Entertainment, to line produce the US series for them,” said Ruel S. Bayani, ABS-CBN head of international production and co-production division. 

ABS-CBN’s international co-production division has other partnerships and collaborations with other companies from all over Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe.

“We chose to partner with ABS-CBN because they have been so instrumental in the development of talent here both in front and behind the camera. I think they have the most experience and they have just been amazing partners. This is going to change the way people perceive the entertainment business in the Philippines,” Devlin said.

“It’s great to be back, I love this country, there’s so many great people, so many colors here, it’s going to be fun," said Kane. "I don’t think the US has seen anything like this on TV before and we’re so excited to bring it home."

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