#gmm studios

[thaimedia]

Ud Awat Ratanapintha in Doctor Climax (2024) Episode 6

[jula483]

morgan morgan 🥺

[hugespace]

pretty

[cindydacatpink]

GTH classic movies deserve fandom and more attention

[intertexts]

good Morning -_-

[bibimbinge]

this MUST be said (cause i so very much called it as soon as the mess of an event ended)

Studio Wabi Sabi 2024 lineup looks more interesting than GMMtv 2024 part 1 line up

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON IDOL FACTORY AKSBXKSBSK

[moviesstoriesandbooks]

Not me , another timeless piece of art. What a time it was to be alive then. At one point i think Kinnporsche and Not me overlapped ? Or was it Bad buddy and Not me??

Oh my God. That was the peak . I don't think we've achieved anything like that afterwards.

The Fallen Angel is one of my favorite paintings to see adapted as fanart bc it slaps EVERY TIME but one of the biggest tragedies in my humble opinion is that most of you will never experience the phenomenal sluttery and homoeroticism of the Fallen Angel nude model painting scene in Not Me: The Series.

[doublel27]

GMM by the numbers: is GMM in danger of getting less gay and more bro-y?

You decide based on a six year trend. (Based off of continued vibes discourse in the Peaceful Property tag)

2019: 2 BL, 15 het romances, 1 bromance

2020: 4 BL (if you count The Shipper and Ohm does), 11 het romances (1 with queer themes), 3 Bromance (TayNew’s first bromance is in this year) 1 thriller

2021: 4 BL, 10 series with main het romance (1 with gay storyline), 1 bromance

2022: 7 BL (if you count both Star and Sky installments as separate), 12 series with a main het romance (3 with queer themes), 1 action comedy

2023: 9 BL (if you count Our Skyy 2), 6 het romances, 2 bromances

2024: 9 BL, 2 GL, 5 Het romances, 2 Bromances (2 bl, 1 gl, 2 het still filming)

2025: 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ we’ll find out soon!

(All data pulled from My Drama List GMM25 - outside studios whose content airs on GMM25)

[respectthepetty]

Why I react when GMMTV acquires more BL Boys like Pokemon

TLWR: GMMTV is bigger than we think

For the people in the room who don't understand why some of us (aka ME) get concerned every time a new artist is announced at GMMTV, let me explain myself (and capitalism) to you.

I'm talking to you.

Yes, you. No, don't roll your eyes. *gently holds your face in my hands* Look at my face. I'm serious. Look me in my eyes. I understand that you think I'm overacting and being ridiculous, but I want you to know why I keep harping on this. And I'll try to make it quick. I promise.

Remember this scene from Jack & Joker when the rich people were playing a version of Monopoly? And Jack asked if they were "just playing with people's lives"?

That's capitalism.

So what does that have to do with a Thai talent agency?

Well, it's becoming a monopoly. Amazon and Google are considered monopolies. Legally. They have been sued for it. You might think that there is no way a Thai company worth millions is on the same level as two American companies that are worth trillions (yes, trillions), but Amazon and Google didn't start that way.

And neither did The ONE Enterprise which is the parent company of GMMTV, One31, Change2561, and a subsidiary of GMM Grammy (which at one point Nadao Bangkok was under it), plus countless other companies like Parbdee Tawesuk, Atime Media, and Exact.

Google started off as a search engine. Now we have Chromebooks, Google phones, Google software, Google maps, Google shopping, Gmail, and so much more like it owning YouTube. But there are still other companies that have search engines, so no big deal! We can just use those. But the reason Google was sued as a monopoly by the Department of Justice (and won) was because Google makes it very hard to use those other search engines since everything else it owns only allows us to use Google products. Therefore, there is no competition simply because Google has enough power to control what we, as the consumer, see.

But this didn't start overnight.

A lot of other companies who produce Thai QLs exist, just like all those other search engines still exist, but The ONE Enterprise produces the most QLs through its various branch companies. But not only do those companies produce them, they contract other smaller companies like Studio Commuan, Dee Hup House, Trasher Bangkok, Hard Feeling Film, and many more, which is normal, but that means at any given time, at least ~65-75% of the QLs from Thailand are from one company. But, but, but, The ONE Enterprise's channels also sells slots to other companies, so their QLs can be watched on GMM and other channels. And, remember, this enterprise has only existed in this form since 2022.

So in two years, that enterprise has gone from being behind maybe less than half of the QLs to having a hand in at around two-thirds of them if not more, which doesn't include the fact that the actors in those QLs also have concerts, music contracts, and so much more.

Also, the companies with the largest profits in Thailand are from the finance (banking), real estates (hotel), tech, and medical sectors. Yet GMM Grammy is the ONLY entertainment company in the top 250 from Thailand. That doesn't include the other parts of the conglomerate.

I know I'm throwing a lot around and it seems disconnected because I'm trying to not make this too long, but know this, if The ONE Enterprise already has a hand in, at the lowest estimate, 60% of all QLs made in Thailand and continues to acquire more actors like Studio Wabi Sabi's fleet when it restructred, the 40% that is left for everyone else will continue to shrink. Domundi/Mandee has about 25 actors. GMMTV alone has about 150. Smaller companies can get more actors just like GMMTV can, but with what money when they have to pay to air their shows on The ONE Enterprise's channels while The ONE Enterprise's shows get moved behind paywalls internationally which gives it even more money? And with what crew when The ONE Enterprise has the smaller houses on contract plus its own fleet of talent? And with what incentives can these other companies give actors when they don't have the capability of giving them a record deal, a hosting job, a reality show, merch options, and so much more that The ONE Enterprise can because IT. OWNS. EVERYTHING?

And most importantly, what is allowed to be created when these smaller companies have to abide by one company's rules so their shows can air?

Good for these actors going where the money is, but it's worrisome that The ONE Enterprise is *the* place where most of the money is, and it's only existed in this form for two years.

Money is power. QLs are Thailand's soft power, which can and does influence policies, laws, and society which means people's lives. So, once again, if one company has the most QLs, the most actors, and the most money, it has the most power.

And one entity having the most power in any sector is never a good thing.

[thaimedia]

Doctor Climax (2024) Episode 5

[khaoala]

I am new som and very curious about this tweet. Do you think you have any links or something? 🙏 I have been searching for an hour of them being teased by other cps but I couldn't find any.

The tweet:

@firstkhaowlw:

let’s talk about the fact that EVERYONE in GMMTV teases FirstKhao about how they can’t be separated and how much they spend time together 

(this is actually very funny bc i saw your ask anon, and then started looking for what you're asking, and this tweet popped up to me. anyway, small bubble)

i start this by saying that we all know first and khaotung are separated entities. they are separate people with separate lives. with that being said, they are together all the time.

they are also very sweet so teasing them is like a specialty for gmm people that i've tried finding more evidence of, but it proved particularly hard especially bc the search engine on twitter sucks.

in 2021, ciize was in this youtube channel, i believe, and they asked her to guess which gmm actor it was from a tiny picture of a body part of theirs, and she kept changing from first to khaotung. you know those friends who are always together that they start to lowkey look like each other? there's that.

during the starlympics in 2023, the mcs were teasing them a lot too, in a if there is khaotung there must be first, too, like they are a package deal. actually, when writing this, i knew i hadn't come up with this sentence by myself, so i looked it up, and that's something gemini said when they were in safe house (which btw, just proves this whole thing, because firstkhao were together most of the time there). ploy (who played teacher sani in the eclipse) also said something similar in one of her lives back in the day.

they also make it so easy to tease them. like the time khaotung was special host for live house and literally in the first 5 minutes, he mentioned asking if he couldn't bring first along with him.

after the episode one of the heart killers aired, they did a twitter space (or whatever that's called) and firstkhaotung were together and p'jo called them out because it was almost 1am and they were still together.

boom, during the practice, i think, for the starlympics filmed the two introverted cats and captioned "you have a pair. i have mine too".

also, i'll never shut up about this press thing they did for lol last year, and p'leo teased them about going everywhere together and every single soul in that studio laughed (especially the usual suspects, earthmix, but also pondphuwin and before anyone else, satang).

no one is particularly teasing them in this video, but it's amusing to me, in the the heart killers wrap up party, first arrived first and one of the first things he said after being greeted by the staff was that khaotung was on his way.

anyway, that's what i could find. like khaotung once said: if you chose khaotung, you have to chose first, too. that's their deal.

[theside-b]

I might be a Kidnap hater but I do not condone the harassment Leng had to go through because of sunken-ship. He didn't had to go through that.

And the blame is squarely on GMM shoulders on that one, their unwillingness to take action, to support both him and Ohm and to put a stop to the delusional people tormenting everyone involved all for the sake of money (I think they still sell merchandise from the ON) got them exactly where they are.

If anyone is in trouble here is Ohm, because Leng will be able to move forward, his fans probably eager to see who he will be paired with next. Ohm on the other hand will always have that shadow over him as long as he stays there.

IMO he got too big for the studio, I wouldn't mind him going solo (like Pond Ponlawit does), but in order to have that freedom he will need to get out of GMM, and I'm sure all other studios would fight to have him on their roster.

My biggest issue with them was the skill disparity, I thought it was a mistake to have Leng thrown at leading role with so little experience, the difference in acting chops when near Ohm was brutal. That said, I was curious to see what they would do together in Only Friends, and hell, they could still do it together just as a last fuck you to delulu watchers.

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV, and When Queer Media Goes Mainstream: The Lakorn Corner, Part 2 -- The Incredible Miracle That Is The Miracle Of Teddy Bear, and How Its Performance Speaks to the BL We Watch Today

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I'm continuing a three-part sub-series on queer primetime lakorns in Thailand, this time highlighting 2022's magnificent The Miracle of Teddy Bear.]

TW: child abuse and a few major spoilers. I absolutely urge you to watch this show, and I really don't want to spoil anything, but please know that this show is one of my new favorite Thai queer dramas, so if that means anything to you, maybe watch it first before getting to this piece!

Hello again! Welcome to part two of the OGMMTVC's sub-series, The Lakorn Corner, where I'm examining important moments in television when Thai queer media and themes, concentrated mostly in the niche Series Y/Thai BL genre, crossed over into mainstream spaces -- namely the lakorn, or primetime drama, space.

Last week, I wrote about 2019's The Fallen Leaf, Thailand's first-ever queer primetime lakorn, which focused on the life story of a transgender woman. I posited in that piece that The Fallen Leaf made a number of significant breakthroughs for broadcast primetime Thai television, especially in centering very specific ideas and themes of LGBTQ+ equality that reached a much bigger audience than the shows of the smaller Series Y genre had ever had previously. Important to note is that The Fallen Leaf aired on the One31 channel (which belongs to GMM, an entertainment conglomerate that also owns GMMTV).

Since the airing of The Fallen Leaf, One31 has subsequently aired two more very important (and VERY huge) queer primetime dramas, 2022's Khun Chai/To Sir With Love, and 2024's Spare Me Your Mercy. The wonderful @clairedaring posited in the tags of my post on The Fallen Leaf that the immense popularity of TFL on One31 allowed One31 to widely broaden its scope of experimentation beyond the traditional heterosexual romances that usually dominate the lakorn genre.

This is important for me to note because, a few years later, Thailand's biggest broadcast channel, Channel 3, decided to broadcast a queer lakorn of its own: The Miracle of Teddy Bear. I want to posit right away that one theory I have about Miracle being able to occupy arguably the biggest primetime airing spot on Thailand's broadcast television was due to both the massive success of The Fallen Leaf in the same time slot on a different channel, as well as the explosive and exponential growth of the smaller Series Y/Thai BL genre between 2019 and 2022, which likely led Channel 3 executives to believe that its own broad and mainstream audience was ready for queer content in primetime. I'll get more into this in a moment.

(The Miracle of Teddy Bear is actually -- HA -- the third queer lakorn to have aired in a primetime slot, as the flopped comedy Rak Diao aired earlier in the year of 2022 on One31. However, Rak Diao did not make a large cultural impression on queer media in Thailand as did The Fallen Leaf, Miracle, or Khun Chai, so I'm leaving it off of this list.)

As opposed to The Fallen Leaf (which centers a single transgender female character), I've seen The Miracle of Teddy Bear categorized as either a BL and/or a lakorn. This discussion on Reddit regarding "lakorn BLs" describes the confluence of "new" queer storylines within the long-existent soap opera/Thai lakorn structure, especially with the subsequent airing of Khun Chai (To Sir With Love) later in the 2022 autumn season.

It's important for me to note here Miracle wasn't a typical lakorn OR a typical BL. It was not a soap opera, it was not a historical drama, and it was not a typical romance. It was very much an exploratory and penetrating drama, but it happens to be labeled as either BL and/or lakorn due to its airing time and its themes.

I emphasize these mundane points because I want to highlight, as I said in my review of The Fallen Leaf, that

as opposed to The Fallen Leaf, which centered one queer main character,

The Miracle of Teddy Bear was the first queer drama to air in a primetime slot on a major Thai broadcast channel *that centered same-sex relationships*.

Considering that Miracle focuses a huge part of its dialogue on love and acceptance, rather than a lifespan-focused psuedo-bildungsroman format like The Fallen Leaf, we MUST therefore juxtapose Miracle against the airing of GMMTV Series Y dramas, which air on GMM25 in Thailand, a channel akin (to us in the States) to, say, the WB or MTV, meaning -- a channel that is not as popular and culturally widespread or significant as the broadcast-level ABC/CBS/NBC channels of the States.

AS WELL, Channel 3 was already showing BLs by the time of Miracle's airing, particularly Secret Crush On You, earlier in 2022 and produced by Idol Factory. But Idol Factory's BLs on Channel 3 air in later timeslots, often at 10 pm or 10:30 pm -- certainly not targeted to a much wider primetime audience.

In other words: in every hotel room I stayed in during my trip to Thailand last year, I had Channel 3, but I never had GMM25. International fans that watch GMMTV dramas on YouTube must understand that while *we* have easy access to most GMMTV dramas, thus making GMMTV dramas plentiful fodder for online fandom -- that GMMTV dramas WITHIN Thailand face tremendous competition from het and queer shows airing on more culturally prominent channels, if they're not web-exclusive shows.

As I noted in my review of The Fallen Leaf, I pondered the reasons why One31 executives approved that show's script. One31 is known for being a bolder channel than the more staid Channel 3. But I also wonder -- it may have helped the One31 executives to approve The Fallen Leaf precisely because its transgender main character was NOT centered in a romance (in fact, she was centered in a notorious love tangle involving her uncle-in-law, her father, and her aunt) (I know, I know).

When I think about this, to jump three years later into 2022 and to see that Channel 3 approved of The Miracle of Teddy Bear's script -- I do think, circuitously, that the airing and popularity of BLs previous to The Miracle of Teddy Bear certainly helped Channel 3 to consider airing holistically queer content, partially centered within a same-sex relationship, in a primetime slot. The amazing @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup of @the-conversation-pod, along with the utterly inimitable and dearest @happypotato48, posited recently that the creators of Miracle may have gotten AWAY with getting this show to air, because the premise of the show -- an inanimate teddy bear is alived to become a human -- itself was so absurd as to perhaps be interpreted as comedy.

According to this EXCELLENT reporting and analysis post by @flowerbeasblog, Miracle's ratings were unimpressive, maybe even dismal, as compared against mainstream het dramas airing in the same timeslot. (Here's another Reddit post about Miracle's low ratings as well.) In conversation with @happypotato48, he shared with me one social media post by a Thai fan that read, "i saw the rating and feel so hopeless about this country."

In the podcast linked above, @happypotato48 further clarifies,

For people who didn’t know this show aired on the time slot called ละครหลังข่าว, or after news lakorn, on the most popular channel in Thailand, channel 3, and the rating was not good. It was bad, like really really bad, a lot of the BL girlies didn’t show up for it and the lakorn aunties just think it was too weird and was not ready for any gay leads lakorn. And it’s pissing me the fuck off because this show depicted the queer truth unapologetically and because of that reason that’s why there haven’t been a BL show [on Channel 3] in that time slot since.  

For us international QL fans, however, we should note, again through @flowerbeasblog's excellent work, that Miracle happened to outperform the much-more-niche, Series Y GMMTV dramas by multiple points.

In other words: as compared to GMMTV QLs, Miracle bested them easily. But Miracle vastly *underperformed* when put up against other primetime dramas on bigger channels.

(I will have more to say on QL vs. lakorn ratings in part three of this sub-series, when I review Khun Chai.)

Moving on to the actual show itself, @happypotato48 also shared with me that Miracle had a vocal base of passionate fans who were excited about real exploratory LGBTQ+ content airing in such an accessible time slot and channel for a wider Thai audience.

My amazing writing friends @bengiyo (here) and @lurkingshan and @twig-tea (here) have written fabulous essays about this INCREDIBLE show, both of which dive well into important plot points and the surrounding history of the show's airing.

I was so blown away by this incredible 2022 queer drama, so impressed by the show's ability, as @bengiyo wrote, to leave not a single thread of a storyline behind for the sake of rushing towards a conclusion. Each episode did not contain a minute of wasted time. Each minute of this show was rich in its themes and plots, describing the incredibly difficult lives of queer children growing into adults, and managing the trauma cards they were dealt with by the imperfect, often biased, and sometimes evil adults that raised these children.

I can take a couple guesses myself, as an Asian child of Asian parents, as to why Miracle didn't perform well during its airing. For a much wider Thai audience than the typical girlies that watch BLs -- an audience that certainly included parents and grandparents -- Miracle was a HELL of an exercise of accountability towards underperforming adults who are involved in the raising of queer children.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear took a goddamn SCALPEL to the biases, the trauma, and even the violence that adults commit unto children and other adults, in the name of demanding that children conform to their demands and to societal expectations. If parents were watching this live -- parents who could have either been raising, or had raised, queer children -- and raised them in the context of bias and conformity, than I can only imagine that this show made them squirm in shame. But besides this point about shame, Miracle, as I mentioned before, was also not a typical primetime romance drama. It was heavy, emotional, penetrating material, and a primetime audience may not have been primed to deal with such heavy content at that airing time.

I urge you to read @bengiyo's and @lurkingshan and @twig-tea's in-depth essays on Miracle's plot, but I'll run quickly through it now to get to some important points that I want to highlight.

Our main protagonist, Nut, lives with his mentally impacted mother, Na. She hallucinates regularly, speaking to a man that she calls her husband. One day, Tofu, a teddy bear that Nut owns, comes to life. While Na accepts Tofu immediately, Nut is extremely concerned by the sudden appearance of a strange man in his house (who wouldn't be). The connection between human Tofu and Nut's suddenly-missing teddy bear is not made, and Tofu is eventually accepted by Nut to live in his house and take care of Na.

Over the course of the series, it is revealed that the man that Na hallucinates (Saen) is not actually her husband -- but is the twin brother of her deceased actual husband (Sibmeun), a husband that was devastatingly homophobic and abusive to both Na and Nut while he was alive. Na and Saen had previously been in love, but due to a confluence of events, Na ended up marrying Saen's twin brother, Sib.

This single decision, in all of its intergenerational traumatic glory, is the kingpin to a cascade of horrifying trauma for Nut as he grows up.

Nut knows he is gay throughout his life and is punished brutally by his father, time and time again, for it. Na is blamed and punished separately by Sib for her fault of not "correcting" Nut of his sexuality. Nut is brutally separated by his high school boyfriend, Tatarn, by Sib, who originally learns of Nut's relationship through a homophobic teacher who narcs on Nut and Tatarn after seeing them together.

Tatarn himself is an injured protagonist in a separate storyline, as this generation of children become adults, of how his effort to fight the government against taking over his family's land leads him to a series-length coma. With Tatarn in a suspended state, Tofu is able to come to life through Tatarn's life force, and Nut and Tofu eventually fall in love. I want to emphasize that there's SO MUCH MORE to this series that you must catch up with in Ben's and Shan's/Twig's essays, or, ideally, in stopping everything and watching this show.

The utter BRILLIANCE of this series emanates first with Tofu -- a grown man borne out of a teddy bear, who knows nothing about how the human world functions, thus establishing Tofu as a brilliant and objective narrator commenting on the fallacies of human behavior that he observes around him, Nut, and Na.

Tofu is able to ask the most simple questions about why people act the way they do. He poses these questions like a child.

Where does homophobia come from? Why does it exist?

Nut himself asks, in the BRILLIANT episode nine of this series -- why do people have to disturb our love?

And with Tofu's existence, Nut is able to begin exploring his repressed and traumatic memories, to finally be able to tell the story of his brutal childhood to an objective listener.

He says to Tofu, in episode 10 (I paraphrase here),

"[my parents] ruined it for me. They ruined my self-esteem. They never explained [their homophobia] to me."

Nut goes on to tell Tofu that his high school boyfriend, Tatarn, was the first person in his life that didn't make him feel like an intruder.

This theme (there were so, so many themes in this show, from traumatic patriarchy, to embedded and generational misogyny, omg so much) of internalized homophobia and intergenerational trauma reminded me of an Instagram post I once saw from an older gay man, who wrote about missing his young adulthood due to the trauma of his upbringing. He wrote that it wasn't until his 40s that he could actually LIVE as a gay man, because he spent his 20s and 30s in fear of prejudice, and processing the trauma that he had grown up with. He wrote that his is the case for most queer people -- that one's 40s are the equivalent of a heterosexual's 20s.

We catch Nut fully processing this, after a lifetime of internal and external struggles, with Tofu, to the point of Nut seeking therapy at the end of the series.

There are many more storylines dealing with homophobia (including that evil fucker Jan, FUCK YOU JAN), as well as unfettered support for queer children, as we see through Gen and his lovely family. We see parents changing their views on same-sex relationships, through Song and his father, Anik.

I want to note something for the sake of the OGMMTC syllabus and the history of Thai BL, as this show aired starting in March of 2022. What remarkable show had ended just two months prior?

That's right, GMMTV's inimitable Bad Buddy. (BBS GIRLIES CAN'T LEAVE 'EM ALONE.) As I made comparisons between GMMTV and Channel 3 earlier, I also want to compare what Bad Buddy represents vis à vis homophobia versus how Miracle dealt with it.

We all know that Bad Buddy exists in GMMTV's common No Homophobia Bubble. We all know that Bad Buddy leverages other themes, including intergenerational trauma, school infighting and bullying, and personal and family rivalries, to represent conflicts that commonly arise in situations of homophobia. We all know that the resolutions that Pat and Pran come to at the end of the show are oftentimes compromises that queer couples must make to survive in love and the world.

I believe that one of the reasons why The Miracle of Teddy Bear underperformed in ratings at the time of its airing is because, unlike Bad Buddy, Miracle surgically dissected just about every emanation of homophobia that one could possibly imagine. (TW: child abuse, spoiler) At one point during a flashback to Nut's childhood, we see Na saving Nut's life by slapping him in front of his homophobic father, as a means of distracting the father from potentially killing his gay son.

As I keep repeating, The Miracle of Teddy Bear is not a BL. In the context of the show's conversation about homophobia, the series ACTUALLY COMMENTS ON SERIES Y, brilliantly so, as Nut himself is a Series Y screenwriter, and Miracle demonstrates that Thai BLs are actually GOOD for reaching audiences that may otherwise question same-sex relations.

And Miracle is also not a romance. Except for the re-animated teddy bear, Miracle strikes about as realistic a vision of the difficulties of love and acceptance as I've seen in a fictional drama.

And I drank every minute of it up. It was incredibly refreshing to me to watch a truly queer piece of art just absolutely dissect almost every experience of the trauma of a queer child growing up in a difficult environment, and processing those difficulties in his adult life.

There are a few other pieces on the OGMMTVC syllabus that touch upon this brutal angst. From The Love of Siam, to Gay OK Bangkok, to Dew, to The Eclipse, there is a world of Thai queer cinema and shows, some of which include BLs, that don't shy away from wrangling with the oft-present brutality of growing up and living queer.

As I think about how Miracle performed in primetime broadcast ratings in 2022, I'm thinking about what some of us in critical circles have been discussing regarding the last year and a half of GMMTV shows -- GMMTV being the biggest producer of Thai BLs at the moment. GMMTV shows, since Bad Buddy, have not been as critically incisive into worlds of bias, and shows like We Are or My Love Mix-Up Thailand have actually generated criticism for being too out of touch from the oft-difficult realities of being queer.

I think it's extremely important for us, as a small fandom in the huge world of Asian dramas, to think about what we want to see out of the shows we prefer. I had no prior expectation before I tuned into The Miracle of Teddy Bear, not at all expecting such a thorough and rich commentary into the realities of being a queer Thai man.

I feel that The Miracle of Teddy Bear has given me such a broader insight into the kind of parenting that many young queer Thais likely experienced in their childhood. It's given me a larger holistic view of the issues I need to be aware of when I interact with any of my queer friends. And I think this holistic education into a queer experience should, frankly, be on the list of anyone who considers themselves a fan of queer media, so as to be better educated about the realities of bias that our friends and family may face.

In other words, what I'm trying to say is, The Miracle of Teddy Bear is so brilliant, that we as a fandom need to work on giving it the broader reputation it deserves. It deserves an important spot on the OGMMTVC syllabus as a must-watch, critical exploration of society vis à vis sexuality. For me, it's in my top three with He's Coming To Me and Bad Buddy as my favorite Thai queer dramas, if I'm broadening my criteria out of BLs, and also lands up in non-BL-land for me with the movies The Love of Siam and Dew.

If any of us out there think that we understand the culture of Thai queerness, or even of the trauma that being queer could cause to a child -- check yourself (as I did), watch The Miracle of Teddy Bear, and prepare for a rich and artful education into issues and themes that you may not have even thought of.

[Aaaahhh, I have been waiting for MONTHS to pen this tribute to Miracle, and I'm glad it's out of my system! It's long, but it's absolutely a must-watch.

Speaking of must-watches! My next post in this series is not a part of The Lakorn Corner sub-series, we'll take a quick break from that. I have been waiting, also, for MONTHS to revere over Triage (TRIIIIAAAAGGGEEEE!), the best medical BL ever, ever, ever. I'm just gonna gush in my piece, I hope that's okay with y'all.

I'm watching 2022's Khun Chai at the moment, and I'll review that after Triage, and then I'll take a look at the start of the GL era in Series Y territory with GAP and some preceding shows. My School President is on the horizon!

Here's the latest OGMMTVC playlist for yer pleasure!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Love Songs Love Stories: Pae Jai (2015) (Thailand’s first serialized GL) (to be reviewed with GAP the Series) 5) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 6) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 7) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 8) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 9) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 10) Together With Me (2017) (review here)

11) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 12) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 13) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 14) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 15) The Fallen Leaf (2019) (not a BL; adjacent to the project as Thailand’s first lakorn featuring a queer/transgender main character) (review here) 16) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 17) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 18) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 19) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 20) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content at GMMTV) (review here)

21) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 22) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here) 23) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 24) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 25) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 26) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (review here) 27) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 28) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 29) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 30) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here)

31) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 32) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 34) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 35) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: preamble here, part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4) 36) Secret Crush On You (2022) (review here) 37) The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022) 38) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here)  39) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist (part 1 and part 2) 40) Triage (2022) (review coming)

41) Honorable Mention: War of Y (2022) (for the sake of an attempt to provide meta BL commentary within a BL in the modern BL era), with a complementary watch of Aam Anusorn’s documentary, BL: Broken Fantasy (2020) (thoughts here) 42) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 43) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine "Genre BLs," Along With a Critical Take on Branded Ships (review here) 44) Khun Chai/To Sir, With Love (2022) (watching) 45) Love of Secret (2022) (a GL that preceded GAP) (I will not be watching this, but it's on the list to precede GAP) 46) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL with a branded pair and ship) (review coming) 47) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023), Coupled with a Speed-Watch of My Love Mix-Up Thailand (2024) to Comment on GMMTV Trying to Make Magic Happen Twice  48) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 49) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) 50) La Pluie (2023) (review coming)

51) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 52) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 53) Only Friends (2023) (tag here) (not technically a BL, but it certainly became one in the end) 54) Last Twilight (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as Thailand’s first major BL to center disability, successfully or otherwise) 55) Cherry Magic Thailand (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as the first major Japanese-to-Thai drama adaptation, featuring the comeback of TayNew) 56) Ossan’s Love Returns (Japan, 2024) (adding for the EarthMix cameo and the eventual Thai remake) 57) 23.5 (2024) (GMMTV’s first GL) (thoughts here) (I am not finished with this show; I will finish it when I get to it on this list) 58) Spare Me Your Mercy (2024) (thoughts here) (added as the finale of Sammon's medical trilogy in Manner of Death and Triage, and as a major lakorn starring two of Thailand's biggest actors in Tor Thanapob and Jaylerr)]

[cindydacatpink]

[myloveismineallmine]

okay apparently watcher released an apology so here's my thoughts (not asked for):

it was decent, as far as youtube apologies go. I don't understand why people are now saying that people overreacted when we probably wouldn't have gotten an apology if no one said anything? like being critical of things is okay, you know? and in this case it led to the right outcome.

I also don't think it's wrong that people started criticizing the content at watcher. especially after being told they had to pay for it, like you're gonna become more critical of things when you're being asked to pay money for it instead of it being free. and when the product is becoming more expensive to produce but it ends up being less entertaining, that is not a good thing (*cough* ghost files)

watcher 100% needs someone to budget their money, idk who is in charge of it now, but they really don't seem to be doing a good job. production is expensive, but you cannoooot be making projects as if you have a disney/warner brothers type budget when you're an indie studio. even with the streaming service money, this will still be an issue. they're trying to grow their company way too fast, and it will lead to them going under completely if they're not careful. you can't rely on the fans to bail you out when you make bad choices.

also, they need other on-screen talent. like the try guys have been struggling for awhile now, but at least they were smart enough to get people like kwesi and johnny to be new cast members. ryan and shane are 1000% burnt out, they need other talent. I remember they had a show with one of the staff members(?) but it only lasted 3 episodes and then they just stopped it. obv it didn't get as many views, but you need to build an audience and that takes more than 3 episodes to do. if they want to actually produce more content (which would help make more money and make their huge staff actually make sense) they need new people to be on screen. look at dropout/GMM/smosh. bigger casts, way more output. putting steven and andrew as hosts is actually a good choice i think, but sadly they're choosing to have them host one of the most expensive shows to produce. when you're making food content, why are you starting with the pricey international restaurants? start at del taco or something. build a bigger audience to justify the costs. look at eat the menu; the first episode was literally taco bell, and five years later, NOW they're doing fine dining. because they can put more money into it, because they KNOW it's one of their more profitable shows.

idk. acting like there still isn't problems is so strange to me. they apologized, that's a good thing, but it doesn't solve all the issues that have been brought to the forefront as a result of this whole debacle.

[clairedaring]

Netflix Thai Original Line-up Information

(updated as of January 2024)

2024

1. Ready, Set, Love (Series)

Release: February 15, 2024

Summary: In a parallel universe, female newborns vastly outnumber their male counterparts due to an inexplicable pandemic. As men become rarer, they are hailed as “national treasures,” and women must win their affections in a government-sponsored competition called “Ready, Set, Love.” An ordinary young woman named Day is unexpectedly accepted into the competition where she meets Son, the most popular guy, and sparks fly. Together they uncover a conspiracy operating beneath the surface, which threatens their love and the world they have come to know.

Director: Yanyong Kuruangkura

Writer: Rangsima Akarawiwat, Phuwanit Pholdee

Producer: Anuthida Silanarong

Production Partner: Get More Film Plus

Cast: Blue Pongtiwat, Belle Kemisara, Lily Nichapalak, Man Trisanu

2. The Believers (Series)

Release: March 27, 2024

Summary: Three young and ambitious entrepreneurs must find a way to repay a mountain of debt from their failed startup, when they stumble upon an unthinkable “business” opportunity — exploiting people’s beliefs in religion for money.

Director: Wattanapong Wongwan

Writer: Aummaraporn Phandintong, Watcharapol Paksri Asamaporn Samakphan, Perapat Rukngam, Jiraporn Sae-lee

Producer: Chanajai Tonsaithong, Somprasong Srikrajang

Production Partner: Joy Luck Club Film House, Deluxe Production

Cast: James Teeradon, Peach Pachara Chirathivat, Ally Achiraya

3. Doctor Climax (Series)

Release: May 2024

Summary: In the late ‘70s when sex talk is still taboo, the life of a straitlaced skin doctor and specialist in venereal diseases is turned upside down when he starts moonlighting as a sex columnist under the pseudonym “Doctor Climax.

Creator: Ekachai Uekrongtham

Director: Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Pairach Khumwan

Writer: Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Tinnapat Banyatpiyaphoj

Executive Producer: Ekachai Uekrongtham

Production Partner: GMM Studios International

Cast: Ter Chantavit, Goy Arachaporn, Praew Chermawee, Ton Tonhon Tantivejakul, Tob Chaiwat

4. Terror Tuesday: Extreme (Series)

Release: TBA

Summary: A collection of haunting hit stories inspired by the “Angkhan Khlumpong (Terror Tuesday)” radio program with terrorizing twists and turns that are dialed up to the extreme.

Director: Prin Keeratiratanalak, Abhichoke Chandrasen, Prueksa Amaruji, Chayan Laoyodtrakool, Surapong Ploensang, Chookiat Sakveerakul, Eakasit Thairaat, Alisa Pien

Writer: Prin Keeratiratanalak, Abhichoke Chandrasen, Prueksa Amaruji, Kasidej Sundararjun, Pun Homchuen, Onusa Donsawai, Chookiat Sakveerakul, Thanamas Dhalerngsuk, Eakasit Thairaat, Kanokphan Ornrattanasakul

Producer: Chartchai Worapiankul, Genwaii Thongdeenok, Duangkamol Wongpratoom, Chayamporn Taeratanachai, Chuyot Mueagyot

Production Partner: ATIME, BrandThink Cinema

Cast: Nat Kitcharit, Piglet Charada, Gee Sutthirak, Smile Parada, Earn Pattaravadee, Cherprang Areekul, Music Praewa Suthamphong, Rujira Chuaykua, Not Vorarit, Praew Narupornkamol, Poon Mitpakdee, Care Panisara, Tonhorm Sakuntala, Pat Chayanit, Point Cholawit, Bee Namthip, Sydney Supitcha, Kachapa Tonjaroen, Nina

Yarinda

5. Master of the House (Series)

Release: TBA

Summary: When a diamond tycoon dies mysteriously, a cutthroat battle over his estate erupts between his ruthless heirs and the housemaid whom their father recently married.

Director: Sivaroj Kongsakul

Writer: Nut Nualpang, Weerasu Worrapot, Vatanyu Ingkavivat, Sita Likitvanichkul, Athimes Arunrojangkul

Executive Producer: Kulp Kaljareuk

Production Partner: Kantana Motion Pictures

Cast: Yada Narilya, Bie Teerapong, Chai Chartayodom, Gap Thanavate, Nus Nusba, Claudia Chakrabandhu

6. Don’t Come Home (Series)

Release: TBA (Series)

Summary: A mother and her young daughter flee to their family’s abandoned mansion but soon find themselves haunted by paranormal incidents that lead to the little girl’s mysterious disappearance.

Director Woottidanai Intarakaset

Writer Woottidanai Intarakaset, Aummaraporn Phandinthong

Producer Thananuj Ebrahim

Production Partner: Hub Ho Hin Bangkok

Cast: Noon Woranuch, Pear Pitchapa, Cindy Sirinya, Ploypaphas Fonkaewsiwaporn

7. Tomorrow and I (Series)

Release: TBA

Summary: This anthology series explores the intersection of futuristic technologies and Thai culture, and the unimaginable tensions and moral dilemmas that arise out of their inevitable conflict

Director: Paween Purijitpanya

Writer: Paween Purijitpanya, Pat Pataranutaporn, Jirawat Watthanakiatpanya, Abhichoke Chandrasen, Tossaphon Riantong, Panuwat Inthawat, Eakasit Thairaat

Producer: Surawut Tungkarak

Production Partner: Jungka

Cast: Violette Wautier, Aelm Bhumibhat Thavornsiri, Ray Macdonald, Phuak Pongsatorn, Boy Pakorn, Ink Waruntorn, Poyd Treechada, Tangkwa Chananticha, Wanichaya Pornpanarittichai

8. Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell (Film)

Release: TBA

Summary: When a dedicated rescue worker inadvertently gets caught up in the kidnapping plot of a mogul's tween daughter, he must save her from the clutches of rival gangs hunting them down with unpredictable dangers around every corner.

-> Note: Film sequel to 2021 Netflix Thai original series Bangkok Breaking

Director: Kongkiat Komesiri

Writer: Kongkiat Komesiri

Producer: Kongkiat Komesiri, Piyaluck Mahatanasab

Production Partner: Kongkiat Production

Cast: Weir Sukollawat, Duu Sanya, Mind Atitaya

2023

1. The Lost Lotteries (Film)

Release: November 16, 2022

Synopsis: A heist-comedy film about 5 losers united by a crazy mission to retrieve their 30-million-baht winning lottery tickets from a mafia gang headquartered in a firecracker factory.

Director and Writer: Prueksa Amaruji 

Producer: Ekachai Uekrongtham 

Starring: Wongravee Nateetorn, Phantira Pipityakorn, Napapa Tantrakul, Somjit Jongjohor, Thanaporn Wagprayoon, Padung SongSang 

Production Partner: GMM Studios International

2. Hunger (Film)

Release: April 8, 2023

Synopsis: Aoy, a woman in her twenties, runs her family’s local stir-fried noodles restaurant in the old quarter of Bangkok. One day, she receives an invitation to leave the family business and join team ‘Hunger’, Thailand’s number one luxury Chef’s table team led by the famously ingenious, and infamously nasty, Chef Paul.

Director: Sitisiri Mongkolsiri

Producer: Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Soros Sukhum  

Writer: Kongdej Jaturanrasmee 

Starring: Aokbab Chutimon, Peter Nopachai Jayanama, Gunn Svasti 

Production Partner: Song Sound Production

3. The Murderer (Film)

Streaming date: July 27, 2023

Synopsis: When an English man is accused of murdering his Thai in-laws, his wife is the only witness that stands between guilt and freedom.

Director: Wisit Sasanatieng

Producer: Transformation Films

Writer: Abishek J. Bajaj

Starring: Mum Jokmok, Oom Eisaya Hosuwan, James Laver

Production Partner: Transformation Films

4. Once Upon A Star (Film)

Streaming date: October 11, 2023

Synopsis: Join the crew of a traveling pharma-cinema troupe as they go on the road to spread the joy of live-dubbed movies, all while overcoming difficulties, deceits, and reaching for their dreams.

Director and Producer: Nonzee Nimibutr

Writer: Ek Iemchuen

Starring: Weir Sukollawat, Noona Nuengthida, Kao Jirayu, Samart Payakaroon, Nat Sadaktorn 

Production Partner: 18 Tanwa

5. Delete (Series)

Streaming date: June 28, 2023

Synopsis: The story of a complicated relationship with secrets to hide, and a grim question to ponder: who do you want to delete from your life? 

Director and Producer: Parkpoom Wongpoom

Writer: Parkpoom Wongpoom, Jirassaya Wongsutin, Tossaphon Riantong

Starring: Nat Kitcharit, Ice Natara, Fah Sarika, Aokbab Chutimon, Jaonaay Jinjett 

Production Partner: GDH

6. Analog Squad (Series)

Release: December 7, 2023

Synopsis: At the turn of the millenium, a group of misfits is hired to play the part of estranged family members in order to fill in the cracks of one broken family.

Director: Nithiwat Tharatorn

Producer: Nalina Chayasombat

Writer: Nithiwat Tharatorn, Aummaraporn Phandintong, Chanathip Amonpiyaphong, Sopana Chaowwiwatkul

Starring: Peter Nopachai, Jaylerr Krissanapoom, Namfon Kullanut, Primmy Wipawee

Production Partner: Jungka Bangkok