We are here with the recent updates in the BL industry- more announcements, exciting exclusives!

VIU UPFRONT 2023

VIU held an event on Thursday to reveal its 2023 lineup. They presented 5 new original series, two of which are Boys Love themed.

Close Friend S3: Soju Bomb

A new generation of VIU talent will star in ‘Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb’. ‘Close Friend’ is an anthology series that follows multiple couples each transitioning from a friends to lovers dynamic. The previous seasons featured a selection of very popular actors, this is the first time the series will have completely new faces. The plot follows a group of friends who traveled to Korea with dreams of becoming idols. Unfortunately, they don’t debut, so they invite each other to get drunk before they return to Thailand. during this night, several events transpire that change the course of their friendships. The series will air later on this year and stars Best Cholsawas, Win Suphawit, Earth Nanthawat, Dunk Theerathut and Au Patrapan.

Official Trailer-

Shadow

Singto Patachaya will star in ‘Shadow’. The series recently wrapped up filming and will premiere soon. It depicts the story of Dan, a new student at St. Laurence’s Catholic School who is plagued by sleep paralysis. In his dreams, Dan sees a shadow that suffocates him and it only gets worse when he transfers. While there he tries to cure his ailment with the help of his psychologist, his roommate and friends. It’s during this time he develops a bond to his classmate Nine (Played by Fluke Natouch).

Official Trailer-

GDH LINEUP 2023

‘Gross Domestic happiness’ announced their 2023 lineup at a live event last week as well. This event was especially memorable because it marked PP Krit and Billkin Puthipongs return to acting. Both actors have been primarily focused on their music since the release of ‘I Promised You the Moon’, and fans were eager to see them on screen together again. Unfortunately, they will be appearing in separate projects this year. PP will play the lead role in ‘Project D’, a movie which will be directed by Boss Naruebet Kuno. And Billkin will play the lead in two projects, one of which is a movie called ‘The Chinese Family’, directed by Pat Boonnitipat. There were no further details given regarding the plots of the movies but Billkin expressed his interest in playing a role that is Chinese because it represents his ancestry. He even shared a photo of his extended family during the event. Though both PP and Billkin are pleased to be featured in separate projects this year, they’re not ruling out working together in the future.

JAPANESE BLS TAKE ON AN INTERESTING THEME

Fans were amused to find out that there will be not one but two Japanese BL series airing this April, both of which are centered on food.

Naked Eating

The first is ‘Naked Eating’, which premieres April 14th on GagaOOLala. It portrays Sota Ichijo, a civil servant and seemingly perfect man that has a secret. After a long day of work, he likes to go back to his apartment and eat completely naked. That sense of liberation is the only way he can de stress. Until one day, someone walks in on him. An unexpected love blooms. Directed by Kato Ayaka (Old Fashion Cupcake), the series stars Shori Kondo and Goto Yutaro.

Official Trailer-

Our Dining Table

The second show is ‘Our Dining Table’, based on the manga ‘Bokura no Shokutaku’. Eating around people is a struggle for Yutaka despite his talent for cooking. All that changes when he meets two brothers Minoru and Tane who ask him to teach them how to make delicious food. Yutaka soon finds himself looking forward to their meals together and overcomes his shyness. The series premieres April 6th on TBS. The show stars Atsuhiro Inukai, Hiroki Ijima and Kuuga Maeyama.

Official Teaser-

MBS RENEWS TUNKU DRAMA SHOWER TIMESLOT

MBS has definitely made a name for themselves this past year in the BL industry. Series such as ‘Jack’o Frost’, ‘Candy Colour Paradox’ and ‘Senpai this Can’t Be Love’ left an impression in our minds. Their success was undeniable, so it is of no surprise that MBS has decided to renew their drama shower timeslot for another year. MBS made this decision because they believe the reception from fans has been favorable. And to commemorate this event, MBS will be releasing a new version of ‘Eternal Yesterday’ on April 13th. The previous version will be re-edited by the director Keiichi Kobayashi and will contain previously unseen footage. For those who are watching ‘Eternal Yesterday’ for the first time, the plot follows Koichi and Mistsuru, two high school boys with completely opposite personalities. One is cheerful and popular, the other one stoic and antisocial. The two students are strongly attracted to each other due to their opposite personalities. One morning, while walking to school Koichi is hit by a truck in front of Mitsuru. Shockingly Koichi gets up from the accident and smiles, an accident that should have killed him instantly. Life seems to go by as normal but little by little Koichis classmates start to forget him, just as him and Mitsuru were getting closer.

THE PROMISE – SERIES BREAK

Devonte296’s original series ‘The Promise’ will be going on a series break until April 19th 2023. ‘The Promise’ is a story of two best friends who clearly love each other but can’t seem to align their feelings correctly. Their bond cemented in a promise they made years ago to never leave each other’s side. Five episodes have been released so far, the last one ending on a cliffhanger that will have fans counting the days until the next episode airs.

WATERBOYY 3

Kaownah Kittipat and Turbo Chanokchon have reached the peak of their careers, it’s one project after another for the two ‘Love Stage’ stars. Just a couple of weeks after wrapping up filming ‘My Universe: The Camp Fire’, they have already announced their next project. They will be playing the leading couple in the next installment of the ‘Waterboyy’ franchise. Though the ‘Waterboyy’ sequel will follow a similar theme, it is not a remake of the original. This season follows Ram, a young fisherman from the country after he gets accepted into the most prestigious swimming academy in the country. Ram has a hard time fitting in with the high society students that populate the school because he didn’t grow up in a life of privilege. Luckily he has Q to protect him during these trying times. Eventually the two develop a fondness for each other.

IS THE OMEGAVERSE FINALLY COMING TO LIVE-ACTION TV?

We have just witnessed the first trailers for real live Omegaverse TV dramas. Both were released just hours apart from each other and fans are still reeling from the revelation. Omegaverse (aka Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics or ABO) is an erotic fantasy trope which divides characters into dominant alpha, submissive omegas and neutral betas.

‘Couple or Not’ is an ABO Dangai adapted from a BL manga. It portrays the story of Gui Ming who swaps consciousness with himself in a parallel universe. In that universe he is married to his rival Shi Youtian.

Durian Culture Production released the conceprt trailer for ‘Desire’. The story is witten by NongJian and is expected to be serialized this month end. Desire depicts the story of Bai Lan, a young man who wants Mr. Shen, a proud alpha, to be his omega. According to the casting announcement ‘Desire’ will consist of 24 episodes with 45 minutes runtime per episode.

The producers of these series are confident that they will pass censorship and the series will air internationally. Fans are still skeptical of course because the laws that govern censorship in China are unclear and open to interpretation.

ME, MY HUSBAND AND MY HUSBAND’S BOYFRIEND

Ayano Ayano’s manga “Me, My Husband and My Husband’s Boyfriend” is getting a TV drama adaptation starring Kyoya Honda. This is Kyoyas second BL project this year after Jacko Frost. He will star alongside Yuki Furukawa and Akane Hotta. Paravi will exclusively pre-deliver episodes 1-5 from 7:00 pm on March 28th 2023, and episodes 6-10 from 7:00 pm on April 11th.

The plot centres on Misaki Nakamichi (35) she is a teacher who has been married for 5 years to her attractive husband. She appears to have a life that many would be envious of. However, the truth is that she has been concerned about her marriage due to the lack of intimacy. Her husband only sleeps with her once a year, on the day of their wedding anniversary. As she continues to question her husband’s sexual desire for her, their next anniversary arrives and she’s shocked to see him kissing a man. He decides to come clean and tells her he’s having an affair with one of her former students. The revelations don’t end there though, the student loves both Misaki and her husband. Will the couple be able to return to their original form, or will they break up? Is it a love story woven by a distorted love triangle of wife x husband x husband’s boyfriend.

Official Teaser-

Stay tuned, until next week!