Snooky Serna returns to television after a year focused on vlogging

January 23 ------ After stepping away from television for a year, Snooky Serna is back on the small screen. The multi-awarded actress officially made her television comeback through GMA Afternoon Prime’s newest drama, “House of Lies,” which premiered on January 19. The return marks the end of her hiatus and highlights how Serna quietly reinvented herself during her time away from acting. “So far, I only have good things to say. Honestly, I’m thankful that GMA has always been supportive and helpful to me. I was given this work. Thank God. After one year of hiatus, I got a new job,” Serna shared during a roundtable interview.

Born Maria Milagros Sumayao Serna, the actress is one of the most enduring figures in Philippine entertainment. Dubbed as the industry’s “Eternal Star,” her career spans more than five decades, beginning as a child actress at just three years old in “Wanted: Perfect Mother” (1970). She later became one of the original Regal Babies in the 1980s and rose to massive fame with the box-office hit “Blusang Itim” in 1986. In “House of Lies,” she stars alongside Beauty Gonzalez, Kris Bernal, and Jackie Lou Blanco. The project is also notable for marking the first time she has worked with Blanco, another respected actress from her generation.

While her comeback may look seamless on screen, Serna admits that returning to acting required adjustment. For the past three years, she has grown accustomed to a very different role — that of a digital creator. “I’ll be very honest. I’m used to hosting vlogs now. It’s different. I’ve been doing this for three years. I’m the one who asks questions. I’m really a newbie [in acting] again,” she humbly admitted.

During her yearlong break from television, Serna focused on building “The Snooky Serna Channel” on YouTube. What began as a casual idea before the pandemic became a serious endeavor when traditional work slowed down. Serna recalled that the idea to vlog came up during a coffeehouse conversation with a friend. “My friend said, ‘Let’s do a Q&A session. Let’s see if you can vlog since vloggers are popular now.’ “And, of course, during the pandemic, the world shut down. We couldn’t find a job, so my friend said, ‘Let’s just release what we’ve done,’” she said. That was the turning point — what began as a spontaneous experiment soon became something Serna took seriously.

The result was a channel that steadily gained traction and, more importantly, a meaningful and rewarding platform for the actress. As of today, Serna has 259,000 subscribers drawn to her candid storytelling, nostalgia-filled content, and deeply personal interviews. In these tell-all “Dear Snooky” conversations, she speaks with fellow showbiz icons, including Maricel Soriano, Dina Bonnevie, and William Martinez. Because she is a contemporary of her guests, the discussions often feel more like honest conversations than formal interviews.

Beyond the showbiz stories, Serna also uses her platform to talk openly about her faith, health struggles, and the emotional toll of early fame. Not all reactions have been positive, but she has learned to take criticism in stride. “I was bashed when I talked about my anorexia. I talked about it in good faith, but some bashed me, so I was sad. [I wasn’t] really affected, because in the scheme of things, with all the problems we have in the world, I realized that we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff anymore,” she shared.

Vlogging, she admits, has also become a practical source of income. “Yes, I make money out of it,” she said with a laugh. While she keeps the exact amount private, she acknowledged that it has become “a good source of my bread and butter.” Despite her long list of achievements, Serna remains grounded when asked about the secret to her career longevity. “It’s all in God’s grace, my dear,” she told The Manila Times. “I really don’t know. I don’t have a secret to my longevity because I didn’t do anything extraordinary,” Serna added. As the “Eternal Star,” Serna is also widely regarded for her timeless beauty and respected stature in the industry. Yet she is quick to share that admiration with others.

Source: manilatimes.net