“Show Me Love” is a story about girl power, sisterhood and falling in love. The acting is quite outstanding, and the actors are extremely comfortable in front of the camera and have great chemistry, which was refreshing to see (this has to be said because there are a lot of actors that get to lead series but are very stiff in front of the camera it’s uncomfortable to watch). Although the story itself is your run-of-the-mill romance story, it is not complicated, and the characters are able to talk through things to avoid any unnecessary prolonging of the story, which I quite appreciated. The chemistry between the leads was so compelling that even though a “special episode” was released to show the more intimate scenes, the scenes in which they were more oblivious of their feelings were much more captivating to the audience.

“Show Me Love” follows the story of Cherine (Charlotte Austin), a beauty pageant who has always dreamt of becoming a beauty queen but was discouraged by her past attempts and is thinking of giving up this dream, and Meena (Engfa Waraha), a village girl who runs away from home to the big city in pursuit of her dream of being a singer. Despite her talent, Meena sees that Bangkok is a tough city to succeed in, as her dreams of becoming a singer seem to be evading her every chance she tries. When Meena meets Cherine, her seemingly stuck-up neighbor, they do not immediately get along, however, this changes when Cherine and her friends witness Meena singing, and realize this talented and beautiful girl might be what their agency need in order to compete in the Miss Grand beauty pageant.

Cherine’s agency is run by Mama Kiki (Anna Warinthorn Watrsang) and when one of her girls has an “accident” that ends her in a cast, she must find another girl to participate in the pageant. After witnessing Meena’s singing, she asks Cherine to have her join the agency. Although Meena is initially reluctant to join the pageantry, she realizes that this can be a step for her to achieve her dream of having the world hear her music, and make money from it to support her family. Meena eventually agrees to join the agency with the support of Cherine, Lalin (Nudee Mahmoodi) and Diana (Chompu Athita Payak) and the 4 of them embark on this journey at the Miss Grand pageant.

Throughout their preparations for the finale, Cherine and Meena become closer while Meena quickly realizes her feelings for Cherine. However, Cherine, despite constantly being jealous of anyone who tries to get close to Meena, is very oblivious of her feelings for Meena. Meena and Cherine’s chemistry is so strong that fans of the pageant begin shipping them, which also helps with their popularity in the pageant. The girls show a great sense of sisterhood and support each other throughout the pageant, and despite one of the girls Organ (Arayha Suparurk) having betrayed them, when it came to vouching for her in the midst of her being blackmailed by Mama Queenie (Madam Pam Winlaphat Srisakulmekhi), a rival agent. With the help of Mama Kiki, Cherine is even able to reconcile with her mother and the two are able to clear their misunderstandings and rebuild their relationship.

Cherine’s ex-boyfriend Keane (Pom Chantasaro) recruits one of the contestants, Heidi (Heidi Amanda Jensen) to try and sabotage Meena and her relationship with Cherine, however, their little plot is caught just in time to allow Meena to continue with the pageant.

While watching the show, it actually was a source of tension for me to find out who won the pageant (if Cherine wins because it was so important to her) so I will not be spoiling it for anyone. After the pageant, Meena confesses her feelings for Cherine, however, Cherine does not seem quite ready yet to tell her how she feels. The two were clearly more comfortable with each other when they were play-flirting and being too close to each other before they confessed their feelings, and it is funny how we are shown that after they have admitted their feelings, they become so coy they cannot even look at each other. Just one of those realistic portrayals of the joys of dating.

The show wraps up quite nicely and gives us a happy ending for both leads. Whether intentionally or not, it also gives us an insight into the industry and the questionable rules imposed on stars, the fans’ expectations and constraints that limit the freedom of famous people, which is quite jarring. The “product placement” marketing of the pageant was a bit much, but not too much that it ruined the show, but it may have taken away from some spontaneous fun scenes of Meena, Diana, Cherine and Lalin, we could have used a lot more scenes of the girls’ banter and sisterhood. Show me love is an easy watch and it hits all the necessary spots of a fun romcom. Highly recommended watching.

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- GrandTV YouTube Channel