ABS-CBN’s “Made For YouTube” premieres “SPARKS CAMP”, the Philippines’ newest queer dating reality show

By Oliver Carnay

Catch the first episode here and follow the campers’ search for sparks on Black Sheep’s YouTube channel:

As the summer months are about to officially begin in the northern hemisphere, ABS-CBN’s “Made For YouTube” ushers in a hot new show from the global Filipino media company’s Black Sheep Productions.

“Sparks Camp”, the newest queer dating reality show from the Philippines, premiered on May 24, on Black Sheep’s YouTube channel and has been racking up views fast as of this writing. Interest in the show has been building up since its original trailer generated over 3 million views. Netizens are excited about the show’s concept as it gives a realistic perspective on dating and relationships among men from the LGBTQIA+ community.

The 10 campers looking for romantic sparks are: Aaron Maniego, commercial model and content creator; Stanley Bawalan, virtual assistant; Karl Bautista, architect; Justin Macapallag, college student; Gabe Balita, student jock; Nat Magbintang, medical student; Boy Gonzales, aspiring actor; Alex De Ungria, college student and video game player; Dan Calman, law student; and Nick De Ocampo, business owner. All of them will go through challenges to test how their personalities match and possibly find someone who will add color to their lives.

“Sparks Camp” is directed by acclaimed TV and movie director and story editor Theodore Boborol. His impressive experience from being part of “Pinoy Big Brother,” “MMK,” “Ipaglaban Mo” will help him draw the raw emotions of the campers in their journey.

The show is written by Patrick Valencia, whose previous works are queer-centric stories like “Hanging Out,” “The Third Party,” and the “Hello Stranger” mini-series, and Daniel Saniana, writer of “Sila Sila.” Hosting the series as the campers’ ‘Mother Sparker’ is LGBTQIA+ icon Mela Habijan who has been an active voice of the trans community. She also started her own digital show “3Some,” TikTok series “Mahalagang MELAman Mo,” and YouTube content “All Things T.”