In the spirit of “War of Y” comes another Thai BL series that takes a look at the fictional world of actors, actresses and the woman who runs their lives.

Set in a modern mansion run by a woman named Suzy (Rudklao Amratisha), her company manages six actors trying to become number one idols. She runs the tight ship; fans wish BL actors had in real life; no interpersonal relationships between the actors, being the main rule. Now this rule seems to be followed purely at her own discretion, as she has hidden cameras set up throughout the mansion. This invasion of privacy is never discussed, but she watches the actors have sex in various areas of the house without mentioning it. It’s clear she considers herself a God. The series drops you into the middle of the story as the housemates gather for a meal. With newcomers Pitch (Golf Pasatorn) and Zo (Bass Pornpipat) receiving an award for their roles, they are logically more under her watchful eye than the rest of the house.

Mintra (Oaey Ponchonak), a social climbing actress who co-stars with her boyfriend Korn (New Akaravin), a kind actor with secrets it seems are also in attendance. Alongside we have Gun (Pepo Nutchapan), a quiet actor who observes everyone around him, but from what I’ve seen is only nice to Pitch. As well are Pawin (Double Tupthep), a fellow actor in the group, and Wayu (Heng Thatpong ), a young actor who hasn’t got a role yet due to his accent. Wayha (Namchok Thanon) is the last actor in the group offering support whenever needed.

The first thing that I can say about this series is that it is well written. As you can see, the show has a large cast, and that means you have a lot of names to remember as it features almost every character in the two episodes that are out now. Unfortunately, the subtitles are machine translations, it changes character’s names based on who’s saying them. So it can get confusing as well as a bit frustrating as words are consistently misspelled and at times you see the characters saying more than one sentence but only “ok” is spelled out on the screen at that moment of time.

As long as you can get around that, it’s a visual treat watching these characters move through the sprawling mansion filled with art and well-designed fixtures. There is even a rage room where the actors can let out their frustration privately (save the camera watching everything). Now the actors assembled for the dinner are under Suzi’s watchful eye. The camera uses a combination of close-up and wide shots to give attention to whoever is speaking. Mintra, whose displayed a very controlling way of living regarding Korn’s choices, turns her sharp tongue on everyone except Gun. The part that killed me was that Suzi allowed the dressing down of her actors by Mintra, while Korn watches until he can’t stand it anymore and storms off. Mintra follows him while the others are left with the wounds her words create in their psyche. Now let’s take a second and discuss the acting. At this point I don’t know these characters, I don’t really know who is who. But the level of acting around the table is downright remarkable. The look on Pawin’s face when Mintra attacks him for not having a role; the absolute embarrassment Golf portrays as Pitch when his bad acting skills are brought up, in the faces of all these better actors (sorry Hiwa you are not included) hits home.

When actors make me feel something is when they are personalizing their roles and this cast does that very well. The show does use flashbacks to tell important parts of the story with added weight. Like in the scene where Suzi and Host (Mie Nannapas) discuss her failure in keeping a stalker away from the actors’ dressing rooms, Suzi explains with a foreboding sense that even Mie is expendable. From there the series switches directions to show Korn and Mintra having sex in the rage room (good acting on both their parts). It feels so seamless as Korn uses sex to distract himself from talking about the reason he’s angry. His performance was sexually distracting. Pawin hides behind a pillar close by, masterbating not to them, but to a fantasy of him and Korn on the very same table that Mintra is on (the show never displays shame for not divulging this bit of information). All of this is watched by Suzi (it’s not creepy because she is not enjoying any of the scenes that’s she’s watching) via her hidden cameras.

The show shifts gears swiftly to Zo consoling Pitch over Mintra’s vile words. Then they are in bed together, cuddling and being romantic until a director calls it cut. Unknowingly, he adds fuel to Pitch’s belief that he sucks at acting, by saying he felt nothing for his portrayal of a lover in the scene. As a show, it focuses the most on Pitch, which I found an interesting choice as there are more intriguing characters. Pitch’s mother calls, asking for more money. Zo stands behind listening to him (no one believes in privacy in this mansion). He tries to be supportive by offering to pay for his time if he hangs out with him. They do hang out for free, unaware someone is snapping their pictures until Suzi shows them on an iPad. Whether she sent the stalker or if it’s a fan we never know (this show really leaves you with a lot of questions) and makes it clear that Pitch is on thin ice. The episode ends with Pitch looking at comments on the fan club page, but because it’s in Thai, I couldn’t read them. But whatever he reads has him sneaking out. Then someone gets struck by a fast driving SUV. Following the preview for the next episode, we see a flashback scene where a much younger Zo and Pitch are preparing to act a love scene. Pitch kisses Zo as the scene requires them to do so. For Pitch, it was a dry run, but Zo seems visibly affected by it.

The way the wreck happened randomly led me to believe that the person who was hit by the SUV was Pitch. But the second episode shows it’s actually a dream that Gun is having. Again, as the show switches between scenes randomly, we are made to put that dream in the back of our minds and focus on the present where Gun has a lead role in a drama. He brings along Wayha to be his scene partner, which surprises me as he seemed dismissive of him in the first episode. Unfortunately, Wayha has an accent that kills the audition for him. In a surprising twist, Pitch attends the same audition and it could just be my shipper brain, but Gun seems stunned to see him there. In the first episode, Gun subtly paid more attention to Pitch and seeing the two act out the dramatic scene had my brain eating it up! Unfortunately, to everyone’s shock, the director doesn’t approve of Pitch’s acting skills. I love how the actors in this series say so much with their facial expressions.

Pitch returns home to get lectured by Suzi on taking an audition without her permission (that’s a no no but watching people have sex is fine, I guess)) but she further makes him feel bad about how his actions affect the other housemates. I don’t see how, so I deem this an emotional blackmail. Pitch rushes off to find Wayha to apologize to him (I don’t see why). But meets Gun instead. Pitch is having tunnel vision for his goal and doesn’t see the seriousness of the best actor in the house taking the time to compliment him on his acting. Also, when Gun tries to make actual eye contact with Pitch for further conversation, Pitch runs off to find Hiwa while Gun watches him go with a look of disappointment.

The chemistry between Pepo and Golf is subtly the best in the series. As the show continues with Pitch and Zo practicing music for their fan meet, Zo seems to be a natural while Pitch can’t seem to hold his notes. I wondered if the director was just being nice, not pointing out had bad he was at singing or what. After declining Zo’s offer for a ride, he helps a crew member who is carrying water bottles to another studio where Gun has a practice session. Pitch is entranced as he watches Gun’s fight sessions while imitating the movements. Wayha (bless his heart) is actually trying to learn how to speak better so he can get a role. The inclusion of this part was a good way to add depth to his character, as he is the only one trying to improve himself. He asks people to help him but the first one says no. Fortunately he asks Wayu next, who agrees to help him. In a typical boyish fashion, he does laugh at Hiwa for mispronouncing certain words but does help him. Unbeknownst to them, Suzi is watching them and convinces Pawin to help Wayha. And they begin practicing together. There is a cute moment for shippers here.

Korn and Mintra do an advertisement for a soft drink and during the job, Korn becomes angry at a crew member for their homophobic statements. Mintra is shocked by his anger but reins him reminding him they are working.(I wondered if she noticed he gets upset towards guys being mistreated), but they finish the work all the same. Gun unknowingly hurts his training partner and Pitch (he’s hiding his identity) is asked to stand in. He and Gun train and Gun isn’t aware of Pitch’s identity until the end. Pitch realizing he’s stayed out far too long, rushes back to the mansion. Suzi is waiting there with his bags packed, firing him on the spot.

In my opinion, this is one of the strongest starts to a series that I have seen this year. The acting is wonderful, the chemistry between all the actors is exactly what it should be. The writing feels as good as reading a BL novel. I’m giving this show a benefit of doubt because of the horrible subtitles in the second episode. I hope they have better subtitles for the remaining. There were some scenes where it felt like a surprise would unravel, but as I got invested in, it wasn’t real.

Overall, I had a wonderful time with it and appreciate the message it gives. Now I have a reason to await the next Monday!

Rating- 3.5 out of 5

Streaming on- IQIYI