Featured Photo by GMMTV
Story by Larry Rincon
Thailand is currently one of the biggest sources for queer entertainment. The country has been creating series under the boys love genre since 2014, and after 2021 they managed to make the genre an international hit.
When it comes to queer media, lust and sex are topics that Thailand has been working on depicting more sincerely for the last few years. In fact, sex has become such an integral part for these series, that the performances rely on choreographers to make no children, also referred to as NC, scenes come across as strong as normal dialogue and action.
One studio known for their extensive production of boys love series is GMMTV, but up until this year they never had series with NC scenes keeping their shows at a pg-13 rating.
This past Saturday the season finale for their first mature boys love series, “Only Friends” aired, and as someone who watches a lot of queer TV series, this show takes the cake.
The series follows a group of friends Mew, Ray, Boston and Namchueam who decide to run a hostel together. Boston introduces Mew to a guy named Top resulting in Mew and Top getting together. Ray develops a sort of obsession with their favorite bar’s singer Sand, and Boston finds himself in a friend’s with benefit situation with Sands eventually roommate Nick.
The entire show revolves around the problems that come from the relationships between the characters. Friends betray friends. Boyfriends cheat on boyfriends. The entire show is pure drama and toxicity, and the story is something new to the boys love genre.
Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong, the director and screenwriter for the show, has been writing and directing boys love series for a long time. He’s known for series like “Friendzone,” “The Warp Effect” and “Never Let Me Go.” As a gay man himself, he wants to write the different ways a gay relationship can take form.
It’s safe to say he’s brought to life perhaps one of the most diverse group of characters that I have seen in a while. The characters in “Only Friends” are far from perfect, and the series shows their struggles in such a raw way that I was left in shock with the way the series unfolded.
The characters are very dynamic. You never know what they’re thinking, or even if you think you do, they end up surprising you. All of them have their moments where you love them and then hate them. Their morals are all gray, and even the greenest flag has something for you to critique.
Sexual desires are a key element in “Only Friends”. Sex is quite literally the reason why all the problems in this series exist.
Once Top and Mew are together, Boston goes behind his friend’s back and sleeps with Top. There’s no loyalty between anyone whether they’re dating or close friends. As a viewer you get to see how that affects Mew and the choices he subsequently makes, such as dating Ray.
These choices ended up affecting all the characters. Top ends up changing for the better, and Boston ends up in a situation where he could have become a better person but didn’t. Ray, who had been in love with Mew, eventually figured out who really wanted and needed, Sand.
One of the best parts in this series is that it was sincere in showing how not everyone in the show manages to become a better person. People don’t always change just because they find someone who loves them.
Nick was the character who was dealt one of the worst cards in the show. While he was at times a bit stalker-ish, he fell in love with Boston who was never able to stop hooking up with multiple people. Even when they were boyfriends, Boston never could truly be exclusive, and Nick grew from being delusional and in love to figuring out he needed to love himself first.
This being GMMTV’s first mature boys love series, I can’t believe it was executed as well as it was. The cast was phenomenal, delivering in every performance especially First Kanaphan Puitrakul and Khaotung Thanawat Ratanakitpaisan. I’ve seen their acting before and I still found myself impressed by the emotions they managed to convey in their body language, voice and in their eyes.
The choreographed NC scenes weren’t amazing by any means, but they were essential to the story and had significance to the plot. Most Thai series tend to add those kinds of scenes as the selling point, but “Only Friends” made sure that the storyline was front and center at all times.
A good series like this is hard to come by. TV series these days look for ways to produce more seasons, resulting in years and years of unresolved issues and plot holes. Thai series on the other hand, usually give you one season, and the story is done.
All the episodes of “Only Friends” are available to watch for free on YouTube, so for anybody in need of some spice in their life this series is at the top of my recommendation list for the year.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
