“2 Moons 2”, contrary to what we might think, is not the sequel to “2 Moons”. Indeed, this series is a remake of the first adaptation that was released 2 years earlier, on May 7, 2017. Even before its release, the series sparked controversy because the entire original cast had been replaced, and many fans decided not to watch this new version in support of the old main cast. However, the series was another success for Motive Village. Nevertheless, the success was short-lived as other scandals quickly surfaced between the new main cast composed of Earth Teerapat Ruangritkul, Ben Benjamin Brasier, Joong Archen Aydin, Nine Kornchid Boonsathitpakdee, Pavel Naret Promphaopun, and Dome Woranart Ratthanaphast and their former agency Motive village.

Synopsis

Wayo is accepted to Kantaphat University in the Faculty of Sciences. There he reencounters Phana, a second-year boy he’s long loved, though he had never managed to talk to him. When Wayo has the chance to become the “moon” of his faculty, the two are thrust together as Phana, himself the former “moon” of the medical faculty, must supervise the freshmen participating in the competition. Despite a scathing first encounter, the two slowly get closer and closer. Wayo gets to know Phana’s friends, Beam and Kit; Kit who Ming, Wayo’s best friend, forms an unlikely bond with and who he begins to court despite Kit’s initial distaste.

(Source: Psycho Milk)

Why did the cast change?

On June 29, 2019, 2 Moons 2 premiered with the new cast. The series received a lot of criticism due to the cast change, but the artists could count on their fans to flood the hashtag on the X application, formerly Twitter, with positive comments and support. Benjamin Brasier even tweeted to thank the fans for their support. Following the series, similar to the old cast, the 6 moons composed of Earth Teerapat Ruangritkul, Ben Benjamin Brasier, Joong Archen Aydin, Nine Kornchid Boonsathitpakdee, Pavel Naret Promphaopun, and Dome Woranart Ratthanaphast formed a new T-pop group, this time managed by Motive Village, called OXQ. Indeed, a group was also created following 2 Moons, called SBFIVE, and managed by the CCDM agency, which had a large portion of the rights to the actors and their activities. Due to a disagreement between Motive Village and CCDM, the initial contract for 3 seasons was terminated for the former cast. After this issue, according to Motive Village, they decided to build a new cast that they would manage directly without involving another agency. Nevertheless, fans pointed out the fact that SBFIVE was indeed managed by Motive Village and not CCDM because the whole cast signed directly under Motive Village. Plus, the agency issued this letter after recasting for the remake without warning the original cast.

Even after all these changes supposedly for the better, it did not solve the management problem as Motive Village was unable to handle the 6 moons, starting with OXQ, moving on to the promotion of the series and especially the actors, and ending with fan management.

OXQ: Earth Teerapat Ruangritkul, main actor but relegated to the second tier.

When the project OXQ was announced, fans directly remarked that there was something wrong as Earth was not included in the promotion. They directly demanded an explanation from Motive Village who issued a statement on April 15, 2020, saying that he did not meet the criteria to be part of the project. In fact, according to them, Earth was not enthusiastic and passionate enough. This statement did not please the fans who support him through the hashtag #Istandwithearth on Twitter (X). Ans they started to speculate about a boycott of the actor from the agency. Indeed, although the agency had promised that there would be other opportunities for Earth, he was the actor among the 6 moons who worked the least and made the fewest appearances, despite being the main character of the series. But probably not the favorite of the agency, which was accused by fans and actors of favoritism.

Favoritism

It was easy to notice a difference in the treatment of the 6 moons. Indeed, following the series’ broadcast, actors Joong and Nine rose to the rank of public favorites, which allowed them to have numerous opportunities and be prominently featured by the agency. Whether it was opportunities with brands, fan meetings, or even their exposure in the group OXQ, JoongNine were the faces of the 6 moons. This difference in treatment became more visible when rumors spread on social media about Joong and Nine’s participation in the Chinese entertainment program Project I and Asian Super Young, which gave the winner the opportunity to join an idol group. Fans, of course, did not appreciate this news, partly because it meant that the filming of 2moons 3 would be delayed in favor of 2 members of the 6 moons. But more importantly, what about OXQ and the other members of the group who were left behind when this decision was made?

As specified earlier, opportunities were mostly reserved for JoongNine, greatly affecting their colleagues Pavel, Earth, and Benjamin, who complained about Motive Village’s favoritism on the X application. This animosity began to damage the relationships among the members. Motive Village didn’t really react except with a tweet: “I think you’re imagining things.” Benjamin and Pavel didn’t stop there. Benjamin did a live stream on Twitch to provide more details about the favoritism treatment within the agency. After this live stream, Joong also did a live stream on intsagram, a timing that led fans to speculate about a possible diversion tactic from the agency.

End of the contract

This situation did not improve as Benjamin, Pavel, and Earth had a meeting with their mothers to discuss their situation in the agency. Soon, internet users showed their support for the actors under the hashtag #saveearthbenphoom. The actors no longer wanted to stay in the agency but were blocked by the contract. This situation was so frustrating for Pavel that he began to accuse JoongNine (J9) and Motive Village of making fun of the situation. In the agency, director P’Aam was on the side of Benjamin, Pavel, and Earth, supporting their statements on social media. Following all this scandal, there was no news about 2moons3 as the original cast was not sure about continuing with the agency. On October 9, 2020, Earth issued a statement thanking Motive Village for the opportunity offered to him with 2moons 2. The following year, Joong and Nine left the agency, followed closely by Dome, Pavel, and Benjamin. This confirmed one thing: if 2 moons 3 were to exist, it would be with an entirely new cast.

A glorious future for the actors

2 Moons 3 was released on October 10, 2022, under the title “2 Moons: The Ambassador.” The series was only broadcasted in Thailand, making it very difficult for international viewers to watch, at least with subtitles.

Among the actors, Joong (with 2.7 million followers on Instagram) is the one who has had the best evolution. One year after leaving Motive Village, he joins GMMTV where he immediately pairs with Dunk Natachai and takes on a leading role in the mini-series “Star in my Mind.” His pairing works very well as he continues with “Our Skyy2,” and then lands a full series, “Hidden Agenda.” He has a huge fan base that he has managed to build thanks to his acting skills as well as his influence as an influencer. And today, he is among the artists at GMMTV who work with the biggest luxury brands.

Fun fact: Joong is a big reader of fan fiction and also writes on the Thai application Joylada. In fact, that’s the name fans have given to his group of friends, composed of himself, Gemini, Dunk, Phuwin, and Pond. He is friends with Daou and went viral with a TikTok trend where he did a playback with him.

Pavel (with 1.2 million followers on Instagram), on the other hand, took a short break during which he became a fitness influencer on Instagram. He started again his acting career with “Coffee Melody” and a new pairing with actor Benz in 2022, but it didn’t really work out for them. It was in 2023 that he starred in “Pit Babe” under Change 2561, which was a huge success. It’s safe to say that this was the moment his career took off with his new pairing, Pooh Krittin. His relationship with Joong also seems to have improved over time, and we can see them today as friendly as before. Thanks to the success of his series, a season 2 was announced as well as a horror BL with his pairing, “Goddess Bless You From Death.”

Fun fact: His only battle today is to ensure that his pairing is PavelPooh.

Benjamin (306k followers on Instagram) also took a break in his acting career until 2023 when he had the supporting role of Kevin in “Be Mine Superstar”. During that year, he was announced in the adaptation of the Chinese novel Red Peafowl; however, the project has been put on hold, and we have no information on its progress. He recently signed with the Yzilla agency with Dome for the series Flavor of Us.

Fun fact: Yzilla was created by one of the directors of Motive Village.

Dome (261k followers on Instagram) was also seen in 2023 in the series Luminous Solution. Since then, he is expected in three future projects: “Born to Be Y”, where he has a leading role, “The Theory Series”, and “Flavor of Us”.

Nine has continued his career in China, participating in several variety shows and starring in the wuxia drama “Hello! We’re the Joy Corps”, where he had a leading role in 2023. He is also expected in the series “Long Life”, “Long Street”, and “Insect Detective 2”.

Finally, Earth (257k followers on Instagram) he took a hiatus after “My Secret Love the Series” alongside actor Fluke Chatchawan and returned this year as a singing artist. He has recently signed with recording studio bibbidii entertainment, which has enabled him to return to the Thai entertainment scene in the best condition.

Source- 1, 2, 3

Article written by Fanny A. From the team BLSECRETS.