This Week in BL - So Much To Watch I Forgot to Take Screenshots
Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.
LOOK AT THIS INSANITY! And this isn't even all of it!
Payback (Sat iQIYI) ep 8 of 10 -
Epic levels of tsundere. Epic.
That is some swelling-arse music they got going during Jay's confession.
Holy smoking hot nc scenes, Batman.
I didn’t know getting deepdicked-out could give you reason to live, but I guess we’re all doing what we can to survive 2026. And Jay is doing The Most.
It’s a marker of how long I’ve been on the fringes of the ETB that I was mostly just extremely worried by the fact that Sun left his script JUST SITTING THERE in the rain for anyone to pick up!
The Edge of Horizon (Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Pond is having too much fun with this role. Phob has become a bit of a gangster in his old age - looks hot on him. This remains extremely good. Possibly my favorite of the recent historicals.
Peach and Me (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 4 - I love when we get to see Peach and Thee conversing as a grown-up married couple with good communication skills, it’s just so rare in BL. Peach is just the quiet mild-mannered heartbeat for his whole family. Also, thank you GMMTV for having Est randomly standing around in his skivvies on my screen. You understand the assignment.
Be My Player Two (Thurs WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - NERDS IN LOVE!!! YAY! I've been waiting for Falling Into Your Smile the BL for a while now. So this is right up my ally. But the weird bear-head is throwing me off. So I’m delighted that we closed out that conceit (between the two of them) by the end of the this ep. Honestly, this is a bit extra and over-dramatically silly, but also cute. I enjoyed the start and I’m looking forward to next week.
Love Destiny (Tues iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Adapted from the novel Bupphesanniwat co produced with China directed by the same man who directed the wildly popular 2018 version. I’m enthralled but so far mostly by things that aren't the BL. I would’ve preferred they kept the time traveling character an archaeologist, hopefully we're given good plot reasons for making him a doctor instead.
I loved the original so I’m very interested to see what essentially is our first BL adaptation of a popular het romance drama (come on Korea you can do eet). K'Mai has a vast pool of Thai actors we normally don't see in BLs (because his back catalog includes agencies that he likes working with who aren’t enmeshed in the BL side of the industry).
When Oranges Fall (Weds YT) ep 10 of 12 - an enjoyable and cute episode in a string of enjoyable and cute episodes. I don’t have anything else to say.
A Dog and A Plane (Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - we just waffling at this point. Side dishes are serving. Music is ridiculous. I still smile as I watch it.
Knot (Thurs iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - Apparently some boys don’t wanna be trad wives. I just wish the script was not written by a 12 year-old. There’s too much infodumping, pat dialogue, and platitudes. It’s all so unnecessary. In addition to a poor script, wardrobe department should be unilaterally fired. Except for the way Boat’s trousers fit in the arse, nothing else is good... including the rest of Boat’s trousers.
I do have to say, that this is one upside of critiquing in a genre that utilizes branded pairs. (Yes, I just typed that.) The acting isn't awesome but I can't blame the actors for this, because I know for a fact they can do better together, because I’ve seen them do better together, and that was their first outing. ALSO pairs usually improve with each BL, as they get more comfortable with each other. All of which is to say, I’m struggling with who to blame for how bad this show is. But it sure-as-shiz ain’t BoatOat.
Don’t Be Too Emotional (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - and now we have the battle of creepy boyfriends. And creepy friends for that matter. Everyone in this show is creepy. The emotional manipulation is getting to me, both of the audience AND of the main character. I'm thinking of dropping this before it becomes the poster child for 2026 sunk cost fallacy.
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
The Prosecutor's Office's Proposal (Korea Fri iQIYI) eps 6 of 8 - I’m behind the rest of you because I refuse to pay iQIYI more than I already am for such a shitty interface. But I know this is gonna get great. Our seme is SO EXTRA in a v Korean BL way. (He is now my spirit animal.) The dialogue is really good in this, the translations don't accurately reflect this, but the script is genuinely funny.
My Summer of You (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - so far, this is just as good as the original manga is and that’s saying something.
I have to say that the way in which Japan is leaps and bounds above all other BL producing countries is in continuity supervision. Their cuts are just so clean and consistent. I just noticed it in the opening hug sequence of this show and felt compelled to comment on it . Back to your regularly scheduled waffling.
The Servant Prince (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I and my five kindred spirits here on Tumblr continue to love this. No one else gives a rat's arse.
Are the Sexy Buttocks Not Good? (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - still extremely enjoyable. Looks like we’re getting some good bisexual rep in the next episode. I’m enjoying this.
Bittersweet Love (China Fri Viki & Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - AKA just turning my sister‘s husband into my wife. In ep 5 they were mostly apart, which was sad for all of us. Ah the 90s, when your ex just turns up after 2 years with cake and a hand job. As you do. Also I do love a sadist on my screen.
Your Summer My Storm (Japan Tues Viki) ep 1 of 10 - to start with a breakup is actually a very yaoi thing, it’s just we haven’t really seen it much in BL. I am enjoying this. It’s quite silly. But in a way that appeals to me.
A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills' Dream (China Fri Gaga) ep 11-12 of 16 - sipping tea watching this, it’s like I’m on the deck of some afternoon sundown barge going down to serpentine river. And you all know how I feel when a BL makes me poetic... Mildly confused but I’m enjoying it.
[unknown, teen girl sound]
is my favorite caption of 2026, I can tell you that right now.
Smile after Tears (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - The new couple is very cute together, but I’m just so disengaged from this show. I’m so glad we get a new one coming from Taiwan next month 'cause their last few have disappointed me.
Cherm Chey (Tues Gaga) ep 10 end - summary
About a gay kid and his bar and the weirdo (fond) who meets him at a temple and falls in love. Started out as Eat Pray Gay but became a grown-up Thai pulp that had good queer authenticity going for it (although they meta reference and poke fun at BL-gay), decent chemistry, and a nice look-in on the weird side of queer. But it waffled badly and there was no through-line or plot, which made me disengage relatively early on and wish it were much shorter. Oh yeah, and it was boring. 6/10
Love Class 3 (Korea Viki) eps 15-16 end - I have to say the language issue with the sides in this series worked slightly better for me than in others, mostly carried by Khun (Petch) speaking Thai, Korean, and English. It was an extremely lackluster ending, tho. Which always counts with me. Or in this case counts against.
This was almost but not quite the Kpop BL I’ve been waiting for from Korea. After a survival show, two boys who had an on (and off) screen ship are brought back together for a second chance at boy group fame. Add in side couple of a boy who was erroneously slandered and new talent out of Thailand. I’m happy Korea gave this premise the ol' college try, and they even included good NC! But the talent was middling, the Kpop component underdeveloped, and the ending lackluster. This falls into the "the girl you tried pat pat pat" camp. ThamePo still blows this out of the water. 7/10
Never in my life did I think the boy group BL to beat would have come from Thailand. What insane times we live in.
Lost to Light (Thai YT) 10 eps - ENDED THIS WEEK. I really did try. The leads are cute. I watched the whole first episode. For which you should absolutely praise me. Because this is bad. Very slapstick. Unreal amount of egregious sound effects. To the point that I, who am mostly inured to idiotic noise in Thai BL now, still noticed them. And there’s like some form of some iteration of do we call it?) “music” involved. No. Not for me.
Ordinary Love (Japan ????) 8 eps - Fumihara Ichiro and Higashi Kei are colleagues whose relationship began through a shared love of movies. While Kei admires Ichiro as both a mentor and a supervisor, neither expects their growing bond to develop into something more. I did want to see this, but it seems hard to find from Japan (SIGH) and I just don't have the energy for their prima-donna behavior.
Blue Lips (China) 16 eps - I watched 3. I like the visuals, but the production is absolutely abysmal. I mean worse than normal for a pulp out of China. The looping could be used to teach how not to loop. The music doesn’t sync. I don’t know what they want us to believe is going on, but whatever it is, there isn’t much of it. This definitely feels like it should be animated or AI or something. Dropped without further thought.
Sin and Love (Korea iQIYI) 10 eps - I didn't make it through ep 1. I find the leads utterly lacking in chemistry (still). Police, drug lords, undercover agents, and spies inhabit a power system that is collapsing. This feels like a bunch of kids playing dress up.
Make it Right 2026 (Thai Fri Viu) 10 eps - The remake no one asked for on a channel no one watches.
When Light Fades (Thai YT)10 eps - dropped at ep 4. I just wasn't engaged and I don't think it's going to end well.
Next Week Looks Like This:
7/24 Class Crush Crisis (Thai Thurs Netflix/YT) 8 eps - trailer One of those high school messy gay shows Love Sick style.
7/26 Your Third (Thai Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - trailer Like ForceBook I prefer MaxNat when they do drama, not comedy, so I am not sure about this. Enthusiastic secretary has to track down and bring back his boss's spoiled heartbroken younger brother.
7/26 Match Point (Thai Sun YT?) 10 eps - trailer Finally GMMTV is bringing us a sports BL. I don't think Ping is a particularly strong actor and I don't know Teshow but maybe they will surprise me. This is Bad Buddy plays tennis so I'm not exactly mad about it. SingChimon as the second leads is SENDING ME tho.
7/27 Duty First, Kiss Later AKA Kiss wa Sousa no Ato de (Japan Mon ????) - trailer stars Watanabe Shu and Saito Ryu directed by Ouchi Takahiro (Sugar Dog Life). A kindhearted beloved detective in his late 30s constantly bickers with his sharp-tongued, much younger colleague (10-year age gap). A sudden matchmaking proposal for the detective takes their contentious relationship into something deeper.
All BLs Announced for 2026 that I knew of at the start of the year. (Not kept updated.) Domundi Line 2026 Line Up (mid year)
The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs @waitmyturtles @worldhopping
(hellsite doesn't allow me to tag that many people, sadly)
