Banana Sundae


Banana Sundae is a Philippine comedy gag show broadcast by ABS-CBN. The show premiered on October 11, 2008, and currently airs every Sunday from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, on the network's Yes Weekend! block. It also airs worldwide via TFC.

History

Banana Split is a spiritual successor to the comedy program Goin' Bananas that featured Edgar Mortiz, Christopher de Leon, Jay Ilagan, and Johnny Delgado.
Banana Split debuted on October 11, 2008 with an all-girl cast led by Angelica Panganiban and Cristine Reyes, with different male celebrity guests each week. The second season premiered on February 28, 2009, and the third season on April 18, 2009 with a new cast, including John Prats, Zanjoe Marudo, Jayson Gainza, Pooh, and Pokwang. The fourth season premiered on July 18, 2009. On September 30, 2009, a 30-minute weekday afternoon edition called Banana Split: Daily Servings originally aired every Mondays to Fridays on the network's Hapontastic afternoon block. The timeslot later moved to Umaganda weekday morning block from 10:00AM to 10:30AM starting August 2010, but was moved again twice as early from 9:00AM to 9:30AM on June 27, 2011. On July 9, 2011, the original Saturday edition was reformatted as Banana Split: Extra Scoop, featuring live comedy performances and also includes the second season of Clown in a Million segment, a reality comedy search. On September 12, 2011, Banana Split: Daily Servings was renamed to Banana Split: Lafternoon Delight as the timeslot moved to 2:45PM as part of Kapamilya Gold afternoon block. However, it was later cancelled on October 7, 2011.
Banana Split: Extra Scoop garnered high ratings on its Saturday late-night timeslot compare to the counterpart programs. Due to the success, ABS-CBN launched a late-weeknight edition called Banana Nite which premiered on February 25, 2013 every Mondays to Fridays right after Bandila. Banana Nite extended its airtime to 45 minutes on August 5, 2013, but was later reverted to 30 minutes on February 10, 2014 onwards. Banana Nite ended on October 30, 2015 after a two-year run. Meanwhile, Banana Split: Extra Scoop ended on November 7, 2015 after its four-year run. The show reformatted on November 15, 2015 as Banana Sundae which now airs every Sunday afternoons at 2:30PM right after ASAP Natin 'To.
In April 2020, Banana Sundae was temporarily put off the air, in response to rival network GMA extending Kapuso Movie Festival to a two-movie block, which made the network extend the Sunday edition of KB Family Weekend to two movies, causing ASAP Natin 'To shorten to a 1-hour airtime in Banana Sundae's timeslot, as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes due to the 2020 Luzon lockdown, which is part of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. However, the program was cancelled when ABS-CBN Channel 2 was forced to shut down indefinitely, but its aired on replays at 11:45PM every Weekdays.

Cast

;Current cast
;Former cast

Current portions/segments

;Former segments

''Clown in a Million: Season 2'' (2011)

Elimination chart

Controversies

Theme song

composed the theme song Banana Split performed by Kool Chix, and is available as a bonus track in Willie Revillame's album Giling Giling from Star Records. However, the theme song was changed during the third season.

Gay kiss issue

During the December 6, 2008 episode, coverboys Rafael Rosell, Jon Avila and Will Devaughn were involved in a practical joke segment following a dating game format, where they kissed an extra gay instead of the Banana Split girls. This event caused a short rift between Rafael and a Banana Split executive producer. As a result, few clips were aired instead of the whole segment. A public apology was also delivered after the end of the show.

Casting cut-out

Valerie Concepcion, Roxanne Guinoo and Dianne Medina left Banana Split to focus on Precious Hearts Romances series where they will act in different episodes. It was reported that Guinoo was removed from the show because of her weight problems, while Concepcion left the show due to a talent fee dispute. The rift between Angelica Panganiban and Cristine Reyes arose as another issue, resulting in Reyes' departure.

John Prats and Jason Francisco Altercation

Cast members John Prats and Jason Francisco figured in an altercation during rehearsals for a show in 2013 to be held at the Music Museum. The two parties eventually patched things up a year later.

Binay Blackface skit

Banana Sundae attracted controversy prior to the May 13, 2019 elections when they aired a skit parodying the church argument of Binay siblings Abby Binay and Junjun Binay, who were both Makati mayoral candidates. Pooh and former SexBomb Girls member Sunshine Garcia played as the Binay siblings, putting black makeup on themselves. The skit drew mixed reactions with viewers calling it "racist and insensitive" as well as referencing the history of blackface, while others noted that the show never mocked skin color, but instead, the argument itself and the political history of the Binay family.

SPG rating

Banana Sundae is given an SPG rating by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board due to themes and strong languages not suitable for very young audiences.

Accolades