how good does it hurt?

Nowadays, we see more and more "feminine" portrayals in mainstream media. However, 10 years ago, "feminine" wasn't as widely accepted. This forced 15-year-old Thanagrit Jiamjanya to wear a mask and try to be as little of himself as possible to conform to societal norms.

From a child who feared others wouldn't like him, to a fabulous diva of the BL series industry who replaces his usual awkwardness with 'coolness,' 25-year-old Ohm - Thanakrit Jiamchanraya refuses to lose himself anymore. Today, he's ready to embrace his past self and accept himself in every dimension, whether beautiful or vulnerable.

Previously, 'Ohm Thanakrit' or 'Ohmkit' starred in the series 'Khaam Fah Kiang Ther' (Crossing the Sky Beside You), playing 'Phetay', a character representing those who suffer violence due to class differences. He then appeared in the series 'Third Time for Her' (The Third Time for Her) as 'Doctor Song', a character who taught him to stand up for himself. And soon, he will be participating in the blessing ceremony for the series 'Magic Lover Series' (The Wizard of Love).

"Previously, BL series only presented the love between two masculine men, like the line, 'I don't like men, but you're the exception.' But modern BL series can represent a wider spectrum of diversity. Seeing femininity in media is a very good thing."

Regarding the common speculation that some BL (Boys' Love) actors aren't actually "effeminate," Ohmkit says, "I think many people aren't questioning the 'effeminateness' aspect, but rather the 'true self' of the actors... But we have to reconsider whether we really know them better than they really do. Can we really judge someone based on the fact that this isn't their true self?"

“On the other hand, I see people as not having just one side. Some days I want to be feminine, some days I want to be masculine. It's about sexual expression; we can be anything we want to be in this world. We're not confined by boundaries because we're not characters in The Sims who have to be the same way their whole lives.”

However, one of the things Ohmkit is certain he made the right decision was writing a "letter to himself 10 years from now." Reading that letter allowed him to reconnect with his younger self and to see the value of the things around him more clearly.

And now, the memoir of 'Diva Ohmkrit's' life at 25 has also been recorded in this interview.

Could you help define 'Ohmkit' so others can get to know him better?

Ohm is a person who is both soft and strong. On the soft side, Ohm is gentle and appreciative of the love others give him, and he's ready to return that love. On the strong side, Ohm has a strong mental state and resilience to thrive in this field. Ohm doesn't allow negative energy or ill intent from others to affect his life, because if we don't allow others to hurt our feelings, we won't be hurt; we won't get pain. It all depends on our permission.

This kind of attitude takes time to cultivate, because before, Ohm didn't have this immunity. In the early days of working in the entertainment industry, we were very sensitive to other people's words. As we get older, we realize that everyone's words carry different weight, depending on whose words we value.

In addition, Ohm places great importance on spirituality, mindfulness, and wellness, believing that positive thoughts and a positive emotional state will lead to positive experiences in life. At the same time, Ohm is also 'materialistic,' appreciating beautiful things. His preferred aesthetic style is Fairycore, characterized by its whimsical, vibrant, and pink aesthetic.

The four aspects of one's personality may seem contradictory, but they can coexist. For example, softness and strength can complement each other, creating balance in our lives.

What kind of negative comments has 'Ohmkit' received in the past?

He doesn't like us for who we are. He's not happy that we're here or working on a particular project. These words can affect our mental state, but as we grow and look back, we realize they were just small things. Why focus on negative energy when you can find so much more praise and support if you look elsewhere? Why prioritize negative over positive? The day you stop dwelling on the sadness and rise again, those words will no longer affect you.

Where does the name 'aka DIVA' come from? Why do fans call 'Ohmkit' by this name?

Ohm grew up with pop culture, and while the word 'Diva' has actually been used for a while, it's only recently become popular again, thanks to content like "Who's this Diva?" or "A Diva who's going to be okay." Ohm feels that the Diva energy reflects who she is – "This is so me!" – because she doesn't see a Diva as arrogant, but rather as someone fabulous and stylish. She started using the word frequently in daily life, which led to fans calling her by her aka 'Diva'. Ultimately, Ohm decided to name her fandom 'Divas' because, for Ohm, everyone can be a Diva.

'Ohmkit' once tweeted, "Ohm has spent almost his entire life thinking that what he likes and who he is cannot make most people like him." Why did he think that way before?

It's really like the saying, "It was too ahead of its time." The femininity within us was too new for that era. Because if you go back 10 years, men with femininity weren't as accepted, admired, or had as much space in society as they do today. This made me feel that my true self couldn't make anyone like me. So I tried to be careful about how I expressed myself, tried to be as little of myself as possible, tried to wear a mask, and be the way society expected—what's called 'pretending' today—in order to fit in at that time.

But as I grew older, I found myself in a society that was more accepting of femininity, and I received a lot of love from my fans. This made me stop thinking that my identity was a bad thing. On the contrary, seeing that people appreciate me for who I am makes me feel very lucky to have met these people.

Ultimately, the best way to build our self-confidence is through 'self-acceptance'. We just need to accept who we are. We don't need to want to be someone else. We don't need to be beautiful, have a perfect figure, or possess the wealth of others. Simply accepting ourselves as we are is enough. Like the lyrics from Beyoncé's Pretty Hurts say, "Perfection is a disease of a nation," and "When you're alone all by yourself, and you're lyin' in your bed, reflection stares right into you. Are you happy with yourself?"

How does forcing ourselves to be someone else make our lives unhappy?

Having to pretend to be someone else makes us feel invisible because we're a minority in society. At that time, I thought it would be nice to live in a world where we weren't judged by those around us. And now, we are living in such a world.

"Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University" is one of the reasons Ohm loves himself more. He's glad to have been a part of this community at least once in his life, because "Niju" (Communication Arts) is a space where anyone can be whatever they want to be. People are diverse in many ways, whether it's their sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, or interests.

Why did 'Omkit' write a letter to his future self?

To be honest, I don't even remember why I wrote a letter to my future self, but I'm so grateful to my past self for deciding to do it. Because when I read the letter, I felt like I reconnected with myself, like being hugged by '15-year-old Omkit,' to the point where I cried uncontrollably, like in 'Ugly Crying.'

Rereading letters written in childhood can make us, as adults, reflect on many things.

The first point is about 'prioritizing the people in your life.' In the letter, Ohm listed the important people in his life: his parents, sister, grandmother, and two cats. He also told his future self, "I hope I'll remember them." He's very fortunate that all the important people in his life are still with him now.

Furthermore, rereading childhood letters teaches us that everything that has happened is beautiful in its own way, and it leaves us with wonderful memories. Even if we lose some people from our lives, at least those memories are real, and we truly shared a part of life together.

The last thing I learned from reading this letter was about 'fear.' It made me realize that 'fear' is very normal. Fifteen-year-old Ohm wrote in the letter, "Will I have a job by then? Will I have a stable life? Will I be able to do what I want to do?" Because at that time, we were just children who didn't know what the future held. But ultimately, fear is very normal and commonplace. So, it's perfectly okay to be afraid. If we can't stop ourselves from being afraid, we just have to accept it and have faith that everything in the future will turn out well. Life will give us gifts in the end.

And actually, fear helps us understand what we value in life, because if we didn't see the importance of those things, we wouldn't be afraid in the first place. We still have fears now, but that will be a more difficult issue to overcome in the future, especially as we get older, such as setting more distant career goals.

Do you think you've changed a lot from the past?

Ohm still has a bit of his 15-year-old self hidden away, and he thinks it's good that he hasn't changed that much. Because looking back, Ohm feels that he was a very independent, free-spirited person who wasn't bound by norms, and he doesn't want to lose that version of himself. He wants this side of himself to stay with him forever.

If you ask how we maintain that freedom, we must first be true to our feelings. We must not deceive ourselves, but choose what our hearts truly tell us. Because we wore masks as children, we don't want to wear masks as adults anymore. I want to be the person I want to be, so that everyone can see the real me.

Growing up in a family that accepted him for who he was, how did it allow 'Ohmkit' to be himself and be happier with his life?

Ohm is very fortunate to have grown up in a family that truly loved and supported him for who he is, without trying to change him. Not being judged by his parents is truly wonderful. Therefore, Ohm wants all parents to support their children in becoming who they want to be. If Ohm has children one day, he will do the same.

The family is the first institution where a child grows up and learns many things. Love from the family is therefore extremely important, as it is a crucial factor in ensuring a child grows up to be a well-rounded individual.

Since Ohmkit is close to his mother, he was curious to know what aspects of his life he inherited from her.

One aspect Ohm inherited from his mother is 'empathy.' Ohm feels that empathy is something that can inspire others. Since childhood, he has always seen his mother empathize with others, putting herself in other people's shoes to the point of almost being a people-pleaser. This changed Ohm's perspective on the world, encouraging him to see the good in others, because everyone has their own unique qualities. Ohm doesn't want to judge people without knowing them for sure.

But at the same time, Om sets clear boundaries. We can make others happy, but we must not suffer ourselves. Because if we love others too much, or give to others until we have nothing left, it's not healthy for ourselves either.

What are your thoughts on the issue of "effeminate" characters, where some people feel that actors in BL (Boys' Love) series shouldn't be too effeminate, or sometimes they speculate that the effeminate behavior isn't genuine?

The issue of "BL (Boys' Love) actors shouldn't be too effeminate" is very controversial, especially in the past month. I think the BL industry has now moved beyond certain limitations. Previously, BL series only presented the love between two masculine men, like the line, "I don't like men, but you're my exception."

But modern BL series can represent a wider spectrum of diversity, which Ohm believes is very good to see femininity in media. In the future, we might even see lead actors who are both very feminine, because there are many couples like that in real life. We've come this far, and Ohm doesn't want us to go back to where we started.

Regarding the issue of "not being genuinely effeminate," Ohm thinks many people aren't questioning the "effeminate" aspect itself, but rather the "authenticity" of the actor. For example, "Why does this person seem so unlike themselves?" But we need to reconsider: Do we really know them better than they really do? Can we really judge someone based on their true self? Even if they don't know themselves that well, at least let them have the right to express their true selves. If it's genuine, people will eventually accept it.

On the other hand, Ohm believes that people aren't one-dimensional. Some days he wants to be feminine, other days he wants to be masculine. It's about sexual expression; we can be anything we want to be in this world. We're not confined by boundaries because we're not characters in The Sims who have to stay the same forever. People can change all the time, and change is a good thing.

Would you like Ohm to talk about his own femininity?

Ohm's femininity is evident in her everyday expressions, starting with her speech. She often uses the pronoun "I" (or "me") to refer to herself because she feels men can use it too. Similarly, in fashion, men can wear women's clothing, and women can wear men's clothing. Ohm has even tried wearing a skirt before, believing that everything in the world is unisex. Labeling genders on how they should dress is too restrictive. Furthermore, Ohm loves being complimented on her beauty because it's a positive term.

What are your thoughts on self-admiration?

Even though Thai society teaches us humility, Ohm believes that 'self-appreciation' isn't a bad thing because it boosts our confidence. We can be confident and humble at the same time. We don't think we're better than others, more talented, or more beautiful than others; instead, we're confident in our own worth and ready to exchange positive energy with others. 

How did the character 'Paytai' in the series 'The Next Prince' help Ohmkit understand the feelings of victims of violence?

We often hear the saying, "Why don't the oppressed fight back?" But in reality, it's not that simple. Sometimes, the oppressed may be suppressed by power dynamics or simply don't have enough power to do something. For example, the series 'Crossing the Sky to Beside You' clearly reflects the class system, where the character 'Phetthai' represents the 'victim' who lacks the same rights and voice as others, even though in truth, we are all equal.

What kind of character is 'Doctor Song' in the series 'Your Third'? The character 'Doctor Song' is a doctor who is a bit of a smartass and has a short temper. This character teaches Ohm to stand up for himself, to be brave enough to stand his ground, and to be more courageous in defending himself. Meanwhile, the character 'Phetay' teaches Ohm to think before he speaks and to be careful with his words.

Ohm thinks that the person we should really respect the most is 'ourselves', right? Yes, if we don't respect ourselves, how can we respect others? If we don't love ourselves, how can we love others? A writer I admire greatly, Rupi Kaur, said, "How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you." This is a quote that deeply resonates with me. Loving and respecting ourselves is like teaching others to love us in the same way. The way we love ourselves, the way others will love us.

Furthermore, Rupi Kaur wrote, “You must want to spend the rest of your life with yourself first.” I believe that self-love is the first step in love. If we love ourselves enough, we will be able to love others more correctly.

Another perspective on self-love that Ohm has always believed in is a quote from Vex King, which explains, "Self-love is the balance between accepting yourself as you are while knowing you deserve better, and then working towards it." Self-love is about balancing accepting yourself as you are with knowing that you deserve better things every day.

Before, Ohm wasn't really into 'philosophy of life,' but as he grew older, he went through a period of self-loss, like he'd lost himself. It was the philosophy and insights from books that helped him get back on track. Since then, he's always been interested in philosophy.

What does their favorite artist, Beyoncé, mean to Omkit?

Beyoncé is more than just a singer; she is Ohm's inspiration in life. Beyoncé taught Ohm how to thrive in the entertainment industry without losing his true self. When Beyoncé faces hate trends, he usually chooses to remain silent, not responding and letting her work speak for itself.

For example, in her song 'Formation,' Beyoncé mentions this, saying, "Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper." I really like that line in the lyrics, so much so that I even wrote it in a letter to myself 10 years from now.

How has performing on stage and singing "Crazy In Love" fulfilled you?

Actually, I've been a fan of Beyoncé for 12-13 years, and I even performed 'Crazy in Love' during high school. Back then, I felt a bit self-conscious because I was young and not a very good dancer. But now that I'm older and have the opportunity to carry on this legacy, I wanted to try creating a better version of 'Crazy in Love'.

This show allowed us to reconnect with our past selves, because it felt like 'Ohmkit' on stage was performing for Ohmkit from 10 years ago, watching it again.

Does changing 'partners' affect how we feel?

Actually, changing 'partners' did have an emotional impact, because we've worked together for so long. But ultimately, Ohm came to the conclusion that everything that happens has a reason. Some people or some stories may only be with us for a certain period of our lives, but when we look back, we still feel happy and grateful for those memories.

In the workplace, there are many 'external factors' that are difficult to control. We cannot control everything to go exactly as we want, just like the saying, "Let go of what you can't control." Even if the outcome isn't what we wanted, at least we tried our best.

How does 'Ohmkit' heal himself when he's feeling sad?

Om allows himself to be sad. We don't need to force ourselves to be happy or move on immediately when we're not ready. Om sees crying as very normal, and at the same time, it really helps us feel better.

Are you proud that Ohmkit has achieved many of his dreams today?

From the list of dreams I wrote down in my letter, I've now tried my hand at being an actor, a model, and an artist. I'm proud that in this lifetime, I've been able to try the things I wanted to do, to learn from my mistakes, and to try new things. Life doesn't stop here; I'm sure I'll be able to do many more things. I'm excited to see what I'll be in the future! (laughs)

Conversely, when faced with disappointment, how does Omkit cope while still maintaining his self-worth?

Ohm will reflect on what determines our self-worth. Is it based on our achievements, success, or self-acceptance? Perhaps our self-worth isn't measured by the amount of money in our bank account, but by the joy of waking up today as ourselves and living the life we ​​want.

What is Omkit's dream for the future?

In the future, I'd like to try being an entrepreneur and starting my own business. Maybe a flower shop, a fashion clothing brand, a fragrance brand, or something related to my passion. I'll probably know the answer in 10 years (laughs). But for now, I'm focusing on my work in the entertainment industry. Another dream of mine is to build a new house for my parents.

What message would you like to give to yourself 10 years from now?

What I want to tell 'Ohmkit at 35 years old' is that I don't know what I'll be going through then, whether I'll still be in the industry or have a different career. But I want to use this space to encourage myself in 10 years. I hope that Ohmkit at that time won't have lost his true self, just as he wrote 10 years ago. Looking back at past memories, I can see that we've tried so many things, experienced success and failure. Everything has been a wonderful part of life. Finally, I want to say that Ohmkit at 15 and Ohmkit at 25 didn't give up. Ohmkit at 35 shouldn't give up either.

So I previously wrote about the origins and early history of Thai BL, so I won't go into much detail there. But I'll use this periodization approach when talking about the genre's evolution:

The early period (2000s to 2016) spans the origination and early development of what would become known as BL or series Y. This ranges from the first appearances of sympathetic gay stories in film and TV (especially with The Love of Siam in 2007) to the watershed phenomenon that was Love Sick in 2014-15. This is covered in my previous post.

The formative period (2016 to 2020) is marked by the entry of major studios into the field, most notably GMMTV with SOTUS, which significantly raised the bar and budget for BL productions. Some smaller studios ramped up their production values and caught up (mostly thanks to Chinese funding), while others went in another direction and continued to create works with lower production quality, becoming the subgenre termed "pulp" BL by Absolute BL on Tumblr.

The explosive period (2020 onwards) features an explosion in both quantity of works produced and quality at the higher end, fuelled by the surge in popularity of the genre thanks to the success of 2gether during global lockdown. While pandemic restrictions led to an initial lull in output, production quickly ramped up, and old big names as well as new faces with big budgets both joined the field, leading to a barrage of heavy hitters especially in 2022.

But let's take a look at the chart. Where should we begin? We could work our way chronologically from top to bottom, but that'd be a bit unfocused. Let's take a look at some specific areas instead. And where better to start than the BL that started it all, Love Sick, right near the middle of 2014?

The Love Sick family

Love Sick was directed by Andy Rachyd Kusolkulsiri and produced by his company, Mr. Big Picture. Before Love Sick, Andy (previously known as Anuchyd Muanprom) had directed the movie Virgin Am I (2012), which featured a proto-BL-ish storyline (boy crushing on his straight best friend) with some shippable scenes. He also has work at the other end of the genre spectrum, the erotic gay film Me, My Familiar People.

Love Sick's second season (2015) was handed over to Yuan Tin Tun Danop (aka Somsak Sonphaeng and Danop Taninsiraprapar - these guys have so many names) of Jinloe Media Work, who had worked with Andy on MMFP as producer. Andy had also produced Yuan's TomGay - they were part of a low-budget indie film producing group called Club Queer.

After Love Sick, Andy went on to make Water Boyy (the 2015 movie) under his new company Cosocomo. Following him was New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul, who was then working as editor. The following year, Andy and New re-joined teams with Yuan and Cheewin Thanamin Wongsakulpach (who was production coordinator on both Love Sick seasons) to direct Make It Right, which was jointly produced by Cosocomo, Cheewin's company Copy A Bangkok, and Jinloe. That year, Cheewin also joined Yuan in directing The Right Man, a collection of short films produced by Jinloe for the gay dating app Blued.

Andy, New and Cheewin returned for Make It Right 2 (2017), which had only Cosocomo as the producing credit, while Jinloe did post-production. (Practically, though, during this early period it wasn't always clear what was being handled by whose company, and if you look at the credits it's mostly the same crew shared among them.) The three of them also directed the series remake of Water Boyy for GMMTV the same year, and 'Cause You're My Boy (also for GMMTV, by Cosocomo) in 2018.

After this, their paths diverge more clearly. New would found his company Studio Wabi Sabi and direct Love by Chance (2018), which was well-produced enough to give GMMTV a run for their money. With Until We Meet Again (2019), New now had two hits under his belt and a firm footing going forward, Studio Wabi Sabi becoming recognized as one of the big names in Thai BL despite lacklustre performances from My Gear Your Gown (for GMMTV) and the doomed LBC sequel A Chance to Love (see a summery of the drama in this FAQ). His following works have been somewhat regarded as mixed bag. There's 7 Project from 2021, and Star & Sky (for GMMTV), My Only 12%, and Between Us from 2022. Absolute BL has a post analyzing directors' works and styles, and New's is described as very workmanlike. I tend to think that his (and Wabi Sabi's) works tend to be very conservative "classic BL" in style and tone.

Also working with Studio Wabi Sabi is Niink Karnpicha Sinlertpattana, long-time assistant director since UWMA. Niink directed EN of Love (2020, with Ko Nantalit Tampacha), as well as What Zabb Man! (2022, for Star Hunter) and What If (2022, also with Ko). Studio Wabi Sabi also began outsourcing productions in 2022, with Dear Doctor and Even Sun.

More on EN of Love, though. The project was initiated by Rookie Thailand for its actors, executive produced by Aunz Patchara Kongsaming and Bank Anan Thunyarat (though Rookie Thailand isn't named in the series credits). Both of them began as actor managers, Bank being the company head. Aunz would also executive produce the 2022 Love Mechanics remake, which was released after he left the company. Rookie's other miniseries The Best Story (2021) and 21 Days Theory (2022) are contracted out to independent production houses.

Another company that has worked with Studio Wabi Sabi is Mchoice (aka Millennials Choice), which partnered to produce A Chance to Love as well as the LBC follow-up special miniseries Reminders (which was also a sequel to Love Sick) and 2 Wish (2019). It's celebrity hair stylist Kong Grit Jirakiertivadhana's branching out into the artist management and events business (he's the owner of Hive salon and also of Mint magazine). Mchoice's meta/side BL series Why You… Y Me? (2022) was co-written by the writers of Love Sick.

Now, back to Cheewin and Copy A Bangkok. He followed up MIR2 with Make It Live: On the Beach (2019, co-directed by New), and from there he's done a lot of stuff that's, well, all over the place, ranging from whacky to cringefest to self-serious and everywhere in between. Under his own company, there's YYY and You Never Eat Alone (2020), Y-Destiny (2021), and War of Y (2022). He also directed Why R U? (2020) for Mandee Work, Secret Crush on You (2022) for Saint Suppapong's Idol Factory, and That's My Candy (2022) for Vibie / Star Thai production.

One thing to note about Mandee Work is its unusual origins, coming out of Domundi, a YouTube channel themed around carefree macho guys doing prank videos and vlogs. After YRU, company head Aoftion Kittipat Champa took the reins directing Cutie Pie (2022).

After Love Sick 2 and The Right Man, Yuan and Jinloe made What the Duck (2018-19), but went rather quiet on the BL scene for a while as they worked on other stuff. Jinloe was involved in producing Puppy Love (2020), which was... a weird thing, and made a few Tiktok series in 2022 including In a Relationship.

As for Andy, since CYMB he's mostly directed pulps for small production houses: Thank God It's Friday (2019), Friend Forever (2020), and Physical Therapy (2022).

Apart from the four MIR directors, there are also lines of influence from producers coming out of Love Sick. Season 2 was executive produced by Art Phoomphat Thanachaiboonyapat (then named Karnlape Thanachaiboonyapat) of Wealthy Enterprise. After Love Sick, he went on to produce several series under Greatest Entertainment for Channel 9 MCOT, many of which have featured BL sides or crumbs. The more significant ones are My Bromance (2016), The Extra (2016), and Love Complex (2017 sitcom with a gay character, which got axed when MCOT wiped its programming schedule). He then disappeared for a few years due to financial difficulties, but returned with the company (now renamed GTE Great to Est.) and produced Brothers in 2021.

The other one is Oh Yot Kornherun, who was producer for Love Sick 2. He went on to executive produce 2 Moons, representing CCDM (Chachi Digital Media) in its partnership with Motive Village, but as the franchise was falling apart he left for his own company Star Hunter Entertainment. Star Hunter is focused on artist management and contracts out its productions, which include The Moment and The Moment Since (2020), Gen Y (2020) and Gen Y 2 (2021), Bad Roommate (Tiktok, 2021), My Mate Match (2021), What Zabb Man! (2022, by Studio Wabi Sabi's Niink), and Big Dragon (2022, by Satuboon Production).

All in all, the creators coming from Love Sick alone are responsible for almost a quarter of the entire chart, and are some of the most prolific directors dedicated to Thai BL. That's some huge influence for a single show, not to mention that it also practically kick-started the entire genre.

Now, moving on to the big name everyone knows about...

GMMTV

GMMTV was originally focused on producing teen variety shows for mainstream TV. In 2008, It operated a satellite/cable channel called Bang Channel, and one of its shows, introduced in 2012, was Rak Jing Ping Ker, a phone-in show where callers talked about their crushes and found out on-air whether the other party returned their feelings. Popular stories were adapted into scripted short films which aired as special episodes.

GMMTV's first foray into proto-BL territory came from here, in RJPK's Change (2013), directed by X Nuttapong Mongkolsawas, GMMTV's Senior Director of Content Production. Never Again (by X) and Secret Love (Aof) followed in 2014. This was before Love Sick solidified BL as a genre, so some of their aspects were more LGBT+ than BL.

As GMMTV was fully pivoting towards series production, it created Room Alone (by X, 2014-15), which featured an early BL-ish storyline among its ensemble cast. Following this (as well as Love Sick's success) they increasingly featured BL roles in their shows, from the small side couple in Kiss to Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey to their first full BL SOTUS, all from 2016. The roles were expanded in their 2017/18 sequels and the follow-up Our Skyy.

GMMTV has an in-house production crew, but the majority of their series are contracted to outside teams usually under the directors' companies. SOTUS was produced by Bear House Production (later to become BeBraveHub) and directed by Lit Phadung Samajarn (who would go on to direct My Engineer (2020), Meow Ears Up! (2022) and Love Mechanics (2022)). SOTUS S was co-directed by Jane Botta (aka Kitt Bottasri aka Pongpisit Bottasri, Oxygen (2020) and Nitiman (2021)). Puppy Honey was directed by Champ Weerachit Thongjila and his h8 (Housestories 8) team, who would make Kiss Me Again (2018) and 2gether (2020) for GMMTV before doing I Will Knock You in 2022. And Water Boyy and 'Cause You're My Boy were directed by Andy's team from Love Sick. There's also Slam Dance (2017) by Studio Commuan, and several others from 2020 onwards, which we'll get to eventually.

For their in-house works, X skips a few years before directing Theory of Love (2019), then again until Vice Versa (2022). But the foremost face of GMMTV's BLs today is probably Aof Noppharnach Chaiyahwimhon, who began with Secret Love and then co-wrote My Dear Loser: Edge of 17 (2017), directing InSun's part in Our Skyy as well as TeeMork's. He then directs He's Coming to Me (2019), Dark Blue Kiss (2019), Still 2gether (2020), A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021), and Bad Buddy (2021).

In many of these, you might notice the recurring names of writers Pongsate Lucksameepong, Pratchaya Thavornthummarat, and writer/assistant director Au Kornprom Niyomsil, who worked on TOL plus a few other series, and worked with Aof from Still 2gether to Bad Buddy. Au has since stepped up as director for My School President (2022). (They also worked on My Oxygen, and MDL attributes the credits for All Write Team to Pongsate and Pratchaya, though I haven't been able to verify this.) Another GMMTV director is Film Pawis Sowsrion, who's been assistant director for X and directed Our Skyy (PikRome and PeteKao) and Enchanté (2022).

Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong isn't under GMMTV, but he has a long-time working relationship with them, though his works lean more towards the LGBT+ genre than BL. He began co-writing Secret Love with Aof, and went on to create (with Aof co-writing) the gay lifestyle series Gay OK Bangkok (2016-17) for the HIV awareness programme testBKK. These were produced under Trasher Bangkok, Jojo's party organizer group from university. He then began working with GMMTV, directing Friend Zone (2018,20) and 3 Will Be Free (2019), before leaving Trasher to start his own company Hard Feeling Film in 2021, which produced his first actual BL Never Let Me Go (2022). (Trasher Bangkok is still active in series production though, having produced My Secret Love (2022) for Boyy Entertainment.)

Jojo was probably brought onto GMMTV's projects by Aof, who's also been Senior Director of Content Production since 2018. X and Aof act as GMMTV's head producers, and all of GMMTV's series will credit either one of them as the main producer, while executive producer credits go to CEO Sataporn Panichraksapong and his deputy Darapa Choeysanguan.

We haven't touched upon all of GMMTV's works, but for the rest, we'll need to go back a bit further in time to their directors' origins.

The road through Club Friday

If you look for the names from some of GMMTV's outsourced productions you'll find some at the very top of the chart: Golf Sakon Wongsinwises, Golf Tanwarin Sukkhapisit and Madeaw Chookiat Sakveerakul. They've done very different works, but what they do have in common is having worked on Club Friday: The Series, GMM25/Atime Media's relationship drama series based on the popular phone-in radio show. As the stories are taken from real life, they're often quite far from BL, but it's interesting to note that Once in Memory (2012) had one of the earliest instances of strongly proto-BL elements on TV.

A note on GMM25 and Atime: They were both under the leadership of Saithip Montrikul Na Ayudhaya until 2018, when she left to establish Change2561, which took over production of Club Friday after that. Atime also has a joint venture in Atime26 (Our Days, 2022).

The most prolific director from Club Friday, however, is Koo Ekkasit Trakulkasemsuk (with his companies Keng Kwang Kang and Keng Kwang Kang Wai Sai). In BL, he directed Tonhon Chonlatee (2020) for GMMTV and produced Fahlanruk (2022) for Safe studio.

Tanwarin has extensive film credits, but mostly came into the spotlight as a director when Insects in the Backyard was banned in 2010. Her other films were produced by Amfine Production, though her recent BL works (The Eclipse, 2022 for GMMTV; 609 Bedtime story) are done through Allthis Entertainment. Another of Amfine Production's partners is Thitipan Raksasat, who directed Love Next Door 2 (2015) and joined BL with Love Stage!! (2022).

Madeaw's The Love of Siam (2007) was a huge influence on Thai LGBT+ cinema and the subsequent development of BL. Home (2012) (produced through Studio Commuan) also featured BL-adjacent elements, and Grean House (2014) featured a BL side storyline, as was very much the trend at the time. He produced Slam Dance for GMMTV, and directed Dew (2019), Manner of Death (2020) and Triage (2022), the last two for TV Thunder and jointly with his long-time assistant director Aum Natthaphong Aroonnet. Studio Commuan also produced Self (2022).

Speaking of TV Thunder, they're another long-established media company, though their traditional focus is on gameshows. They introduced MaxTul to Thai BL as a side pair in Bad Romance (2016), then the spin-off sequels Together With Me (2017) and The Next Chapter (2018). They also produced Paint With Love (2021) and Nha Harn (2022), as well as the real-life based, very LGBT+-oriented Saneha Stories 4 (2022).

The rest of the GMM Grammy empire

GMM25 and GMMTV are separate companies under GMM Grammy. Another one that has links back to GMMTV is GTH (which became GDH 559 in 2016). With its partial subsidiary Nadao Bangkok, it famously revolutionized the teen series genre with its CEO Songyos Sugmakanan's Hormones (2013-15), which essentially created a market and paved the way for BL's oncoming wave, in addition to featuring BL-ish storylines itself.

GTH's ThirTEEN Terrors (2014) featured an episode edited from Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana's The Blue Hour (2015), produced by G Village Co-Creation Hub. Its sister company Gmo Film would produce several works for GMMTV, including Nuchy's Not Me (2021), 55:15 Never Too Late (2021), and Golf Sakon's Fish Upon the Sky (2021) and Cupid's Last Wish (2022).

In addition to Nadao, Parbdee Tawesuk was another of GTH's subsidiaries (until 2016). It produced the first season of the gay-themed comedy Diary of Tootsies (2016) before becoming independent, working with GMMTV on projects including The Shipper (2020). It also had a BL episode in its comedy anthology Club Sapan Fine 2 (2022).

After resisting the trend for several years, Nadao Bangkok dabbled in BL-adjacent territory with Great Men Academy (2019) and Boss Naruebet Kuno's My Ambulance (2019), before he went on to make the technically-not-a-BL-but-everyone-treats-it-like-one I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You the Moon (2020-21). Alas, the company has turned its back on the TV-production business.

GTH is directly under GMM Grammy, unlike GMMTV which is now under The One Enterprise, which covers most of its TV business, overseen by Boy Takonkiet Viravan. Boy's side of the business began as Exact, which made a lot of lakorns and series for the old analog TV channels, including Rak Paet Phan Kao (2004-05), which famously introduced the first shippable pairing just when Y (BL) culture was first spreading to Thailand, and Tomorrow I'll Still Love You (2009), the first proto-BL pair to generate a fervour on the small screen. It would be a long time before they revisited modern BL, in one of the genres they're best known for - sitcoms - and under their new guise as One31: first indirectly in Bang Rak Soi 9/1 (2016), then overtly with Rak Diao (2022). And then, they released To Sir, With Love (2022).

The other One Enterprise subsidiary remaining is GMM Bravo, headed by Ekachai Uekrongtham, which aims to create series with a modern, international appeal. They don't focus on BL, but have some adjacent storylines in Summer Buddies (2016), The Underwear (2017, produced for GMM Grammy's music label MBO) and Bangkok Love Stories 2: Innocence (2018).

Okay, now that's all of GMM Grammy. But are there other mega groups?

The other big names

Relatively speaking, GMMTV's market share in the entire media industry is tiny, though it had a significant early-mover advantage when it came to BL. Since the explosive phase, though other old-school big-name companies have joined the fray.

There's Channel 3, which has funded shows through its several partner production companies. Good Feeling and SMK / Dee Tuk Wan 2019 partnered with Dee Hup House (producer Boss Anuson Limprasert and director Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee) to make Lovely Writer (2021) and Something in My Room (2022), and with Panda House to make Golden Blood (2021). Jaew Yuthtana Lopanpaibul's Tanadlakorn created The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022), and Broadcast Thai Television commissioned I Will Knock You. Also earlier, its Mello streaming platform commissioned Love Lie Hide Fake (2018) and 2 Moons 2 (2019) for its original series line-up.

Another old-school big name is Kantana, which just celebrated its 70th anniversary. It has produced Hidden Love (2020) through its subsidiary Kantana Movie Town, and has a partnership with M Flow Entertainment via Good Drama, another associated company. This partnership has produced Nut Nutthachai Khrueasena's Second Chance (2021) and Coffee Melody (2022), and AiLongNhai (2022, which he produced). Kantana also has a partnership with Amarin TV where they've worked to finance What Zabb Man!, Love Stage, and Check Out.

That's the big names, but we still haven't covered some of the hugely popular BLs yet.

The other players

Making it this far without TharnType coming up kind of reveals how isolated Me Mind Y is, though there are connections we skipped over. Of course, its head Mame Orawan Vichayawannakul worked on Love by Chance, and also the Dee Hup team was responsible for the first season of TharnType (2019). Their subsequent works seem really isolated from the outside world though.

I also skipped mentioning Y.Entertainment, which co-produced YYY and also Unforgotten Night (2022), which is by Ong-art Singlumpong, with Newsinfinity Entertainment. He also directed Newsinfinity's Oh! My Sunshine Night (2022).

Be On Cloud is relatively a brand new company, having only made KinnPorsche (2022), so there isn't much to observe except maybe some shared writing credits and that Banchorn Vorasataree, one of its directors, was previously assistant director on Bad Buddy, Dark Blue Kiss, and Great Men Academy.

On the other hand, there are a few production houses who've been in the business very long, but are still relatively unknown. To the far right there's Nicchi Nitchapoom Chaianun's Wayufilm Production, which made one of the first BL movies My Bromance in 2014. He's still doing his stuff (which sometimes veers quite a bit from BL), but seems content to remain indie, relying mostly on direct donations from a small group of fans rather than big business models.

Further right is Commetive by Aam Anusorn Soisa-ngim, who also mostly sticks to his own thing, though he did direct 2 Moons 2 for Motive Village (with all its drama). Motive Village finally finished the three 2 Moons over a span of 6 years. Who knows what they'll do next.

MungMee Productions, also another early player with Love's Coming in 2014 and its 2015 sequel, is affiliated with Star Thai Production, as Star Thai's heads Chawthip Natcharern and Nitipas Chiamparnthong are friends with Mungmee's Vittavat Singlumpong, who supported them in establishing their own company. Star Thai is another name that tends to fly under the rader, as they mostly only take on contracted work and rarely produce stuff under their own name (except for The Best Twins, 2019). Their works include Gen Y 2, Even Sun, and That's My Candy.

The Best Twins was directed by Phadej Onlahoong, who also directed Love at 7-11 and Love Poison (2019) for gr8digit, Dear Doctor for Studio Wabi Sabi, and Work from Heart for DV8. DV8 is mainly a marketing service company, which is why Ingredients (2020) was so specific in its advertising. It was co-produced with Warper, who made He She It (2019), which also featured Jeff and Gameplay. As for gr8digit, it followed those works with Love Poison 2 and Siew Sum Noi (2021), which followed essentially the same concept. There's also a curious connection to Very Great (Physical Therapy), as Very Great's head Tidarat Laepeth is/was also marketing director at gr8digit.

Another director with a rather curious portfolio is Nob Sathanapong Limwongthong, who directed Sweet Boy (2016), Gen Y, Gen Y 2, La Cuisine (2022), and AiLongNhai.

And 9Naa production has also been around quite long, with I Am Your King (2017,19) and Check Out (2022).

I think that's most of them. The other producers are mostly smaller ones that do their own thing, like Mind Trio and DoubleM/28 MDP Studio, and ones that have only produced a single work.

Oh, I forgot to mention Ultimate Troop. They're primarily an artist management agency, and Nipitpon Muangsinun comes from such a background. He started directing with The Yearbook (2021), which was co-produced with director Benz Bancha Luangakkaratorn's company EyeCatcher and Mean Phiravich Attachitsataporn's, whose name is a joke that doesn't quite translate. Benz has worked with New and Cheewin as assistant director since Love Sick 2.

Oh dear, it seems I got carried away again. Sorry for the huge wall of text. I'll come see later if I can edit it down or somehow split it into more readable bits... I'm way tired out for now though.