I’m going to be very honest and say I’ve been waiting for this series since December 2021. It was my most anticipated series of 2022 and now that it finally exists it’s like a fever dream.

Some background first: what we know of the conception of this series is that Jojo Tichakorn (3 Will Be Free, The Player, Never Let Me Go) had an idea about a midnight chicken rice restaurant that he wanted to include in the anthology series Gay OK Bangkok but never managed to make it happen, until Backaof offered to direct the story, and cast actors Earth and Mix as the leads. Jojo’s vision is a story quite unlike the traditional BL narrative, of real people with complicated lives, and that’s what Moonlight Chicken promised to be.

Along the way, there were fears (compounded by Jojo looking somewhat confused at the final trailer for the series) that this vision of the story of a working class gay man was being diluted in the interests of a more wholesome, GMMTV friendly narrative, but the first two episodes at least don’t stray too far from Jojo’s idea.

This review is spoiler free except for things that are obvious from the trailers.

Earth Pirapat plays Uncle Jim, the owner of a Hainanese Chicken Rice restaurant in Pattaya’s Chinatown, where it’s all-you-can-eat after midnight. The series opens on a documentary about the ravages of COVID-19 on Thailand’s tourism industry, particularly in a town like Pattaya, and features Jim talking about his restaurant. I appreciated the raw look of the documentary footage – it reminded me that while this is a work of fiction, this is still the world we live in. One full moon night, Jim meets a drunken diner, Wen, played by Mix Sahaphap, and after a walk and a conversation or two, they end up in bed together in what is, Jim reiterates, strictly a one night affair.

Wen returns to an apartment that he seemingly shares with someone (bringing in the suggested infidelity that’s the reason why people have been calling this series ‘Cheating Cock’ for a year), but it’s clear that his night with Jim is still in his mind. One thing leads to another and he ends up working part time at the restaurant with the very clear intention of seducing the owner once again. “I like to eat older people” he says, at one point, and I have to comment that Mix playing a sexy, shamelessly seductive character is something the world deserves.

Meanwhile Uncle Jim’s, Li Ming (played by Fourth Nattawat), whom he is raising, gets into trouble during a delivery run at the house of a wealthy family whose son, Heart, played by Gemini Norawit, lost his hearing due to a disease. Li Ming has been accused of trying to steal liquor from the household, and they demand money in recompense – and Li Ming offers to work at the house instead of putting the additional financial burden on his Uncle. This sets in motion the plot for the series second couple.

Episode 1 also introduces us to some other supporting characters: Khaotung plays Kaipa, the son of the meat supplier who has a very obvious crush on Jim (that Jim is clearly aware of and trying to subtly discourage) and Mark Pakin plays Saleng, one of Jim’s staff and a hilarious addition to the cast.

If Episode 1 was the set up, Episode 2 fleshes out the characters and relationships more. The chemistry between all the cast members really shines in this episode: the hints of jealousy between Wen and Kaipa, the tensions between Jim and Li Ming, and the adorable budding romance between Li Ming and Heart, and the mess that Saleng and his girlfriend Praew (played by the delightful View Benyapa) have gotten themselves into. And of course, Jim and Wen and the complicated attraction between them that Wen wants to act on and Jim wants to discourage – a push and pull that had me screaming at my screen at least once.

One thing I wanted from Moonlight Chicken was, as was promised, a picture of real people and their struggles, and so far, it has come through on its promise. It addresses income inequality and class privilege in a very real way, not superficially as is often the case with a genre like BL. There’s no romanticisation of poverty here, just a statement of facts. Jim drinks one beer at the end of his night as a reward, because he doesn’t have the luxury of drinking more. He has to choose which bills to pay and which to put off for later, or find alternate sources of income in cases of emergency, but still goes out of his way to help his friends.

I look forward to future episodes that will definitely reveal more about the character’s pasts and motivations, and see how the all their stories infinitely more complicated (I look forward to seeing how Alan (First Kanaphan), Wen’s boyfriend fits into the whole thing).

As it is now, the cast absolutely nails it in terms of performance: they all come in as fleshed out characters with not a wrong note in sight. Aof has always excelled in bringing out strong acting performances while still making the characters seem natural, and that shows here. Even the way they look, costumes, styling and makeup, are subtle and quite well done.

EarthMix’s chemistry is something I can write essays about and they fully deliver the simmering tension between JimWen. GeminiFourth also live up to their super rookie title by completely owning their scenes and bringing a nice freshness in their storyline. The supporting cast never feel superfluous, they all have their own rhythms and fit in well.

As a final note, the series is already a visual treat: the cinematography is gorgeous and the lighting and use of colours carries echoes of Wong Kar Wai’s films – a deliberate aesthetic decision, for sure, given that the OST is a cover of Teresa Teng’s The Moon Represents My Heart sung by the cast.

I recommend Moonlight Chicken thoroughly, not at all because I’m going in biased, but because it’s already looking to be among GMMTV’s best BLs.

Rating- 4 out of 5