Thailand brings “boys’ love” back to Japan with homegrown dramas

Once an importer of “boys’ love” (BL) media from Japan, Thailand has now brought the genre full circle with its growing range of dramas themed on romances between impossibly beautiful young men.

Known locally as “Y series” — a reference to the Japanese term “yaoi” that refers to works featuring homoerotic relationships between male characters — these homegrown dramas have been on the rise following the success of the 2016 Thai BL series “Sotus”.

But it wasn’t until the release of “2gether”, a 13-episode series about two handsome college boys who go from being in a fake relationship to falling in love, that the flame for a boom in Japan was well and truly ignited.

The show, produced by…