Richard Yap shared why his onscreen chemistry with Jodi Sta. Maria remains strong. The two stars are working together on the upcoming ABS-CBN and GMA co-production Unbreak My Heart.

In an interview with Dolly Carvajal for Inquirer, the actor pointed out that their friendship is the foundation of their good chemistry onscreen.

"We’re good friends, so we are comfy with each other—and that shows onscreen," he said. "It’s hard to show something that isn’t there."

Richard also teased some details about the what fans can expect in the story of Unbreak My Heart.

"It’s a story of a very strong kind of love that will overcome all obstacles," he stated.

With ABS-CBN and GMA partnering for the series, Richard believes that it can pave the way for Filipino projects to further compete with international content.

"Healthy competition is good, but competition is no longer limited to local networks. We also have to consider the shows on streaming platforms as competition, that’s why if we put all our strengths together, we may be able to compete with the world," he remarked.

It was on January 23 when it was announced that the Kapamilya and Kapuso networks are co-producing Unbreak My Heart in collaboration also with streaming platform Viu which will broadcast the series in 15 international territories.

"I’m really proud, honored, and excited to be part of this show which is history in the making since this is the first time that two network giants will be working with each other. Of course I’m also excited to be working with Jodi again and all the other people in the cast," Richard stated during the contract signing and story conference held in January.

Meanwhile, Jodi said about the collaboration: "This collaboration will really bring in opportunities not only to the networks, but for the people working in the network, for the people in the industry."

ABS-CBN COO of broadcast Cory Vidanes remarked that Unbreak My Heart marks a milestone in the Philippine industry.

"We're thankful for this opportunity and we're very happy to work with GMA to serve our audiences. We unite as one team. We never imagined that this was going to happen," Cory said during the contract signing event.

GMA senior vice-president for Programming, Talent Management, Worldwide, and Support Groups Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes added that the collaboration is a big win for the Filipino audience. 

"It’s a first for Philippine TV and I’m sure it’s the audience that will be the winners in this collaboration. We’re very excited to be working with ABS-CBN on TV for the first time," the GMA executive highlighted.

Aside from Richard and Jodi, the series will be top-billed by Joshua Garcia and Gabbi Garcia.

Unbreak My Heart will also be filming in Switzerland.

READ: ABS-CBN and GMA co-production ‘Unbreak My Heart’ starts shooting 

The cast members recently started shooting some scenes in the Philippines before traveling abroad.

In an interview on the first day of shoot in the Philippines, Jodi shared how they underwent a lot of preparations before shooting the series.

"Pinaghandaan namin ito, ang dami-daming character discussions and meeting na ginawa para mas mapaganda yung mga characters, takbo ng storya," Jodi stated. 

"I also pray that this project would be the first of many projects na pagsasamahan ng GMA and ABS-CBN. At the end of the day s'yempre, we are all at the service of our audiences and para sa inyong lahat nito," the actress added.