More Filipinos nationwide tuned in to action-drama queen Angel Locsin’s much-awaited return to primetime as the action-packed pilot episode of “The General’s Daughter” scored a double-digit lead against its rival show last Monday (January 21).

The series instantly hooked viewers as it scored a national TV rating of 34%, or more than double that of “Onanay’s” 14%, according to data from Kantar Media.

In the first episode, viewers were introduced to 2nd Lieutenant Rhian Bonifacio (Angel), who went on a critical mission to save a group of fishermen seized by Chinese coast guards in the West Philippine Sea. Luckily, her body was brought ashore to Elai (Arjo Atayde) and Nanay Isabelle’s (Maricel Soriano) home, who will give her refuge until she has fully recovered.

It was also a huge hit among netizens as the show earned praises and even topped the list of trending topics on Twitter until Tuesday (January 22) morning.

“You feel how much ABS-CBN treats Angel Locsin as a prized talent based on this first episode of #TGDReportingForDuty. Seeing how passionate Angel is and the rest of the brilliant people behind this show are, we’re definitely in for more surprises,” @arjei tweeted in Filipino.

“’The General’s Daughter’ sets the bar high for a pilot episode. The directing, the acting, the writing are excellent. I hope they will sustain it in succeeding episodes. It exceeded all of my expectations,” another Twitter user @allanjeancastlen said.

“Breathtaking fighting scene @143redangel. #congratulations you are really ‘the best,’ I will always be your fan. Great scene with nay Maricel and @AtaydeArjo. Greetings from Hamburg, Germany. Promise I will watch till the end,” said @_engamelrach.

Watch out for “The General’s Daughter” on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable ch 167).