Two men meeting by happenstance would be an ordinary thing to happen, if not for the whipsmart writing and amazing chemistry between characters Joshua (Ellis Gage) and Andre (Sebastian Castro) in “Stay The Series”. The show is 7 episodes long and details Andre’s time in America. The bilingual Sebastian Castro articulates Andre’s naïveté quite well as the series focuses on him. Beside him is the cynical Joshua, who can be described as prickly. Andre navigates the city of Los Angeles, debuting his powerful short film and winning an award for it. The set for the award ceremony was shot using clever angles, so it gives the impression that there is more to it, as well as more people in attendance. Attention to details like that make or break the image before the viewer’s eye and fortunately that is taken into account in every scene of this show.

The script illustrates Andre’s situation as he wins his award and instantly finds himself meeting a financier who offers him an opportunity of a lifetime- investing in an upcoming venture that would enable him to work on a production and also introduce him to other amazing film makers. It’s here that Andre’s naivete is in full effect because he has no knowledge about the directors or people of real power in the industry. As the scammer spawns off names of popular Hollywood actors, Andre has the dollar signs in his eyes. The only problem being that he has a limited amount of money and is on a pay by day stay at a hotel. After an ironic and hilarious phone call to the owner of a room at 2am, Andre finds a temporary place to stay. He haggles the price down to 600$ from 1200$ and after meeting with the man about the business investment; he vents his frustration to the cab driver who turns out to be Joshua, his supposedly new landlord. After an intense argument, they further haggle the rent amount since Andre was short on money.

The moment Joshua rolls his eyes at the things Andre tells him and offers condescending but well-meant advice, the two begin to mix. Their frisky chemistry is the backbone of the show. It is a modern BL about two grown men who both have secrets that have layers to them. By the second episode, Andre’s real reason for being in Los Angeles is revealed. Joshua accidentally calls Andre by another man’s name but won’t say who Ivan is. Andre, who has an instant crush on Joshua begins to chip away at Joshua’s cold exterior. It makes him smile when Joshua, does nice things for him; even though he does it grumpily and has sardonic, biting remarks to accompany them.

The series is shot in amazing high definition and the camerawork makes a smart use of various angles to make spaces seem bigger and well lived in. It’s easy to get lost in the small piece of L.A. that Andre and Joshua inhabit. While expansive scenes of Los Angeles remind us we aren’t in the Philippines, I’m curious to see where it’s going and what secrets both men hide from each other as the series moves forward.

Rating- 4 out 5

Streaming on- Team Campy YouTube Channel