MANILA -- Donny Pangilinan has nothing but good words for his love team partner Belle Mariano, saying she continues to exceed his expectations when it comes to being an actress.

The DonBelle tandem stars in "Can't Buy Me Love," which will premiere on Netflix on October 13. It will also air on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, Jeepney TV, TFC, A2Z, and TV5 starting October 16.

In a recent media huddle, Pangilinan recalled Mariano's beginnings as a child star, which partly formed his first impressions of her.

"For someone who's been in the industry for a while since she was a kid, parang you'd expect na 'yun na 'yung atake niya... kasi she already knows the gist of the industry and stuff," he told ABS-CBN News. "But I think she's grown so much in terms of her artistry and how she plays around with her emotions, the different takes she does."

"How she approaches life, work, and being professional, it's very different from the day I met her in 'He's Into Her.' Even the way that she prepares [for projects] is very different," he added.

Pangilinan went on to share that he has seen Mariano's "motivation to get better every day."

"And it's still there, it's very evident even though we've been doing a lot of projects," he said.

"I think she has so much pa that she can do even if she has already proven so much. It's so nice that you know in every project, she will still show a different side of her. Like 'wow,' that's all I can say."

Mariano, for her part, said she is proud of how Pangilinan has "evolved in his craft."

"Grabe, talagang mapapa-clap ka sa binigay niya," she said, referring to one of the scenes they shot for "Can't Buy Me Love." "Who would have thought, you portraying this role? You can see how he really grew in his craft. I'm so proud of him."

Pangilinan and Mariano have starred in a number of hit projects, such as the series "He's Into Her" and the movies "Love Is Color Blind" and "An Inconvenient Love."

In "Can't Buy Me Love," they respectively play the roles of Bingo and Caroline, which are "totally different from our previous works."

Bingo (Pangilinan) is a hardworking young man who juggles different jobs to make ends meet, while Caroline (Mariano) hails from a wealthy Chinese family.

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"Bingo is a guy who grew up with... maybe not the best background. And he's gone through a lot of things I haven't gone through yet," Pangilinan admitted. "I think it's very exciting for us to go through these kinds of characters because it really opens up a new portal of how we (Belle and I) interact with each other."

Mariano, on the other hand, said she had to "really immerse myself" in the culture and lifestyle of a traditional Chinese family to be able to effectively portray her role.

"I had to take language classes," she said, adding that she has been working with their director in building Caroline's character.

When asked how they want "Can't Buy Me Love" to be remembered by viewers, Mariano replied: "I want our show to make an impact sa audience, na you can really find true happiness within yourself and the people you surround yourself with."

Pangilinan, meanwhile, hopes that their series will pave the way for more collaborations with Netflix, and more creative projects.

"Hopefully it can be remembered as one of the best shows that will come out of this collaboration," he said, referring to ABS-CBN's partnership with the streaming service. "Hopefully it can be a journey towards something more."