AFTER the success of the Thai “boys love” (BL) series 2gether the Series and the Philippines’ own web series Gameboys, it seems that shows featuring same-sex love stories are getting more popular and online streaming platform iflix is banking on that trend with the introduction of My Gear Your Gown.

The show, which premiered last week, tells the story of Pai (Win Pawin Kulkaranyawich) and Itt (Marc Pahun Jiyacharoen), two schoolmates who cross paths and fall in love, but personal motivations and crises threaten to pull each other apart. The film was shot in Thailand.

The teaser and first episode were shown during the press preview on Sept. 14, and it was apparent that the show was targeted towards people who are looking for a wholesome love story between young people. Based on the first episode, the story follows the hallmarks of a cute love story: the main characters, a goody-two-shoes and a bad boy, meet in unlikely circumstances. The pacing was a bit slow but since the story will follow a timeskip (according to the teaser), one can expect the pace to pick up in the next episodes.

BL as an entertainment genre, though niche, was first introduced in Japan and was typically created by women for women, although it has also found popularity among LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) groups for its portrayal of same-sex love stories.

“People need to see characters that reflect their struggles, their experiences, their wins, their achievements. People should feel that their stories are being told,” Ivan Andrew Payawal, writer for the Gameboys web series, told BusinessWorld in July. He noted that series like these underscore the importance of representation in entertainment and media.

My Gear Your Gown is iflix’s first series produced by WeTV, Tencent’s own streaming platform. Tencent is a Chinese technology company which owns messaging apps such as WeChat and the world’s largest video game vendor. Tencent acquired the Malaysia-based streaming service, iflix, in June this year.

My Gear Your Gown drops episodes every Monday and can be viewed on both iflix and WeTV for free, although VIP subscribers of the platforms can watch a second new episode every week. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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