Abby's Best of QL 2025 - A Few Favorite Series
(This post is the last in a series of year-end wrap up posts I'm doing! Each day, I posted a few favorites from 2025 in several different categories. I explained it all in this post if you want to learn more!)
In no particular order, here are some of my favorite shows I got to enjoy this past year!
ThamePo: Heart That Skips A Beat (2024-2025)
A show about friendship, about sacrifice, about growing up. About music, about power and commodity, and about being who you are as unapologetically as you can. This series was so sweet and touching and well-told! I really enjoyed it - turned me into a LYKN fan, too!
See Your Love (2024-2025)
Ohhhh, this show. They put their whole heart into delivering the disability rep as faithfully as possible and that made all the difference. It's charming and sweet, it's tragic and moving, it's sexy and sincere. I already mentioned why this one got me so good this year, but it's also just a great story well told. Such a comfort show, and a real favorite for me. I will be rewatching this one constantly.
Kindness! Always! Matters!!! A misunderstanding may have brought Ida and Aoki together, but it was communication that kept them together... as they learned more and more about each other and embraced sincerity and honesty and not hiding from their feelings. I love this show for its gentle humor and its endlessly charming cast. An excellent series!!
Secret Relationships (2025)
I did not expect to fall so hard for this show - but I loved it! It's messy and toxic and Daon goes through hell, but it's such a twisty, wonderful and well-acted rollercoaster ride of a series that still keeps its cute moments too. Kim Junseo really impressed me, and this whole ensemble cast is so good. I'm so glad I gave this a shot, it ended up becoming a favorite. 😊
Another unexpected delight! The fluff and silliness in this one was classic GMMTV fare, but the moments of grief and angst gave this a surprising amount of depth, too. Absolutely thrilled to get this redemption arc for JimmySea this year!
What gave this show the right. The audacity. The absolute left-field swerve of this series, to show up, show off, and make us all insane. I wasn't supposed to like this series at all! And then I loved it. (Kind of like several character journeys in this show, huh??) For such an insane premise, the story we got ended up so sweet and sincere. Here's hoping for more delights from China in 2026!
Where Your Eyes Linger (2020)
This little series took my breath away! I was excited to head into my Hwang Da Seul watch, and as soon as I got about halfway through the first episode I was like "ohhhh I get the hype." What a masterpiece! The chemistry of the leads is insane, they play off each other effortlessly. And the scenework is breathtaking. I really, really love this one, and I don't know if any other bodyguard series will be able to match this one in my heart.
Historical QL my beloved!! I really enjoyed this glimpse into Thailand's past, the complex political circumstances and the negotiations about status and class and what makes one worthy. Great and Inn are so good together, and told this story so gracefully... not to mention AouBoom my beloveds! Gah, what an absolute treat. Loved this!!
I really liked this one! I know a bunch of folks took issue with it, but I thought it was well done for what it set out to be. And yes, the high production value made it feel very polished and intentional. Silly and sweet and earnest and with all that delightful high school drama that feels like the end of the world when you're that age. I liked this a lot, I'm glad we got this series this year!
And then there's this show. As @thisonelikesaliens can attest, this one hurt me so, so deeply and I'm so happy I got to experience it. They really had $2 and a dream, spent the $2, and kept going anyway until they had a masterpiece of tragic beauty. The costumes? Gorgeous. The acting? Brilliant. The plot? Convoluted and delicious. The writing? Incredible. The chemistry and scenework? Next level. I ended up writing some character studies to cope with how badly it consumed my whole brain. This show impressed me so much, I will always forgive it for making me ugly cry.
+ my favorite GLs this year:
Pluto the Series (2024-2025)
The plot of this one was admittedly a mess, but I didn't really mind how soapy and melodramatic it felt... Namtan and Film turned out incredible performances and made it all worthwhile. I had a lot of fun with this show and I was so, so happy to kick off the year with a GL I loved.
... and then we got another great GL immediately after! Emi and Bonnie were so charming together, I love their chemistry. For all its moments of angst and drama, we got a lot of joy and sweetness from the story, too. (And I'm thrilled we didn't redeem the unremorseful abuser in the end!)
The Fragrance You Inherit (2024)
I was more than a little tempted to put this one in the GL category... even if it's not really a lesbian romance. But this series told such a beautiful story about queerness and accepting yourself and feeling like you are enough for the people you love, and where the lesbian romance did show up, it was precious and I loved every second. This story was so sweet and sincere and emotional and full of so much love. Such a fantastic little show. <3
Admittedly, this story was not groundbreaking. But the way they chose to tell this story, with so much character focus, really tightly honed relationships, incredible visuals/cinematography, not to mention stunningly authentic music, made this a delight for me. Is this a QL? Technically, no. Do I think it should count because they are a polycule in my head? YES. (We're getting a season 2 and the actors are touring the world as an actual IRL band called Tenblank, just like the show? Amazing. Love it.)
Two Husbands One Wife (2025)
A perfect exploration of a throuple deciding to be together and then learning and navigating how. There's so much earnestness and nuance here - even though it's a comedy, at no time is anyone's perspective discounted or belittled. The story cares for all of them so much, and gives each of them space to grow individually and as a multifaceted romantic unit. I loved this, and 100% recommend it!
One more time, let's all cheer for the gifmakers!! I love you all for what you do and the way you turn my faves into art. So grateful to: @oyeicher @phiwilliam @my-rose-tinted-glasses @jadekamin @thisautistic @jaehwany @nonglukest @hughungrybear @lesliecheung @earthfluuke @gl-saveme @bubblegeon @easterndelights @nabi-unveiled Thank you all so much!! Consensual hugs for all of you. 😊
Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through this post series - I had a lot of fun seeing the reactions to it! This fandom literally keeps me going a lot of the time, and I love being a part of this corner of the internet. May your 2026 be delightfully queer, full of love and friendship and joy and even more shows to scream about together. 💜💜💜
(Tagging per request: @gayteezsnailboats @my-rose-tinted-glasses <3)
