City of Stars

Good message lost in slow and light story-telling

I had started to watch this drama back when it aired in 2024 but dropped it relatively quickly because I didn't feel that there was much story. I now picked it up again and watched a few minutes here and there -- and once I got into the second half, I even enjoyed the series.

The first six or so episodes tells us how a star and a normal guy get together -- and the second half deals with the consequences. Where the first part is extremely predictable, the latter part had potential to become much more interesting, but it didn't: It still remained mostly light and soft, and because of that, it felt a bit superficial.

I do have to commend the writer for their dedication to their vision: None of the conflicts lasted long, the relationship between the two main characters was extremely stable and notable for their good communication.
Unfortunately, combined with the length of twelve episodes à one hour, that means that the whole thing starts to feel quite slow and even a bit boring. What's more, the incredibly important message gets lost in between the sweetness of the main couple.
Because this drama picks up a topic that I think fans in our modern world should be aware of: How social media blur the lines between the public persona of a celebrity and them as a private person even more. How fans think a celebrity is a commodity they can "play with" instead of a human being with feelings. How celebrities are dependent on their fans' goodwill. How "ships" and the heteronormativity of society impacts celebrities' lives and livelihoods.
And also, for the second couple, the topic of (internalized) transphobia, with a trans woman who, for once, is shown as a human being instead of as a comedy plot point (and she's played by a trans woman too!)

These themes are all there in the plot -- they just could have been used for more emotional impact. Since the main couple's relationship is so stable, the external problems could have made for an exciting contrast: Let the problems spiral for much longer, let the stakes rise higher -- so that the sweetness of the couple has something to balance out. And would that not have made the win in the end much more satisfying?

Alas, the writer had other ideas, and if they don't align with mine, then that's that. However, even so, there are a few aspects that did not help.
For one, the first five or six episodes were too slow in story telling, especially as it's mostly set-up for the actual plot. Also, some scenes don't have any impact for the later story (e.g. when a character repeatedly shows up in the "wrong" clothes for his internship), some scenes just went on slightly too long.
I also don't think the directing was particularly inspired. While most of the actors were showing a slightly-above average for newbies in a Thai BL, they obviously needed more and better directing -- often I found myself thinking "This is too static." or "Why are they just standing around?" More movement, more interesting camera angles, different placements of characters, even more interesting lighting would have helped a lot. As soon as the actors get something to do, their performance becomes much better, and the scenes much livelier and much more engaging.

And as a last point, I need to talk about Krommatha's characterization because that was the one point where the drama dropped the ball. The screenplay tries to tell us that Krommatha and Fueang don't follow the usual heteronormative seme/uke dynamics. They even talk about who will top and who will bottom during sex -- a scene that quite a few viewers loved.
But from the very first minute we meet Krommatha, it's obvious that *he* is the bottom/uke. From his pastel and wide-cut clothing and his softer haircut to his teenaged-girl behaviour when he talks about his crush with his friends, he is the stereotypical BL bottom. Dear writers and producers, if you're not going to commit, don't give me lip-service.
What I did love about Fueang and Krommatha was that the screenplay showed us how much a new couple (both of them, not just the top!) in their honeymoon phase is obsessed with getting it on and generally being all over each other, even if it's just sitting closely together in a more public setting. I missed that in some other soft-and-gentle Thai BLs.


Was it good?
It had a good story to tell, but was hindered by slow story-telling, static scenes and the writer obviously committing to the "soft and light" style instead of tightening the pace and heightening the potential external conflicts.

Did I like it?
Not really. It was okay, but I like its potential more than the actual drama.

Who would I recommend it to?
Maybe to those who want light and "green flag" stories?

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Too much of this, too little of that

Well, this must be a first. I usually complain about needing more eps for the story to be properly told, but in this case I could have done with (far) less eps. 12 (and a half) was just too much!

Reason for this was mostly the copious amount of fille scenes. The supermarket scenes were mostly uninterestin and unimportant, The scenes in the "USA" (where nobody seems to speak proper English) could have been anecdotal instead of literal. A lot of small scenes could have been shorter. All of this would have benefited the story and the pacing.

The lead couple (New actors foer me) did a decent job. The characters were a little too flat, all mischief came from the best friend Kor, played by Kimmon. His part was interesting, and he did very well. I liked tha fact that he has a relationship with a trans woman. I would have liked this relationship to be less vanilla though, but that's me.

Overall this was really cute. The NC scenes were aplenty (maybe even a little too much) but very well done. Tastefull and loving.

Due to the flaws as described, this does not exceed a mediocre rating for me. Could have been better, but certainly not bad.

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Two fluffy green forest leading males to enjoy!

Despite a shaky start with naïve and wooden acting, I found myself smiling at the gentle plot as the drama progressed. And I could definitely see the improvement all around by the 7th episode.
"City of Stars" isn't groundbreaking, and its plot is extremely familiar, but... It addressed some highly sensitive subjects, which I found remarkably impressive.

What I enjoyed:
The main men. Just green forests everywhere. And the third act didn't have a pointless split! Hallelujah! You know how it goes, especially when one character has to move away for X amount of time, they usually have to break up because you know, phone calls and video chats can’t be maintained… Fueang and Krom were very grown up when they had to go long distance. I was deeply affected by Feuang's crying in their parting scene. Great acting by Job!
And can I just mention Job’s dreamy eyes? That man knows how to smize!

I have to also mention Kor – he was a brilliant sidekick to Fueang. His loyalty as a ride-or-die friend and the development of his second male lead storyline were excellent.

Fueang's manager was someone I really liked. She's a dragon you'd want in your corner. She always had Fueang’s back. Also, fabulous outfits!

"City of Stars" offers a super fun cast and a plot that's not too heavy but still gets the serious points across. It's packed with kissing, and I'm not kidding! The actors were clearly committed to those kissing scenes, and as a fan, I'm grateful that one of the leads didn't give a poor performance with fish kisses. I also liked that the affection wasn't one-sided, with one male lead giving it all and the other constantly avoiding it. Fueang and Krom gave great hugs!

Overall, a pleasant watch.

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textbook romcom BL

In fact it starts out as a textbook romcom BL, does throw in a bit more dept.
I was wondering how Kimmon would be without his Copter. The scenario for him was good and respectful with a transwoman, an honest kiss would have been the cherry on the cake, but didn’t show. Also good to see Flluqe in the manager role evolving a lot from her Gen Y presence. That makes 2 transpersons put at play gracefully.

Back to the mains, Job plays a villain in movies, would have been good if we got to see that in some clips, what we saw was more of a nice character when playing movies. 10 points for working out a nice chest like he’s showing. Porche is probably the sweetest actor in BL I’ve seen. He has most of the times good chemistry with Job. At first I found the kissing good, but looking further , it came down to a bit of “lip hopping”, no tongue involved (not expecting it in a vulgar way but gentle as Job says at the very end, but nope). Nevertheless their cute time was well spread around the 12+1 episodes.
The coming out from and artist and the consequences was well done and it’s only the second time this trope is used after Love Stage!! in 2022. I must admit, it was a bit more convincing then as here it seems to come across not to damage too much the straight image of the actors (hope this make sense). In a BL the “being gay” is always a tough one, but if played subtle by the right actors it can be convincing.

I say a maybe to a rewatch value or give the actors a chance to play in another BL.

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Better the I thought.

I never heard anything about this one, till I saw it in a youtube video, if I remember right the vid was one about unknown BLs to watch, basically not much hype on them, but still gems and should be watched.

When I looked up about this one, I wasn't sure if I would like it, not sure what it was that made me think that, but I still gave it a shot and started watching it. At first I didn't think much of it, but after a few eps and some laughs I started getting into it. The over all feel was something that you need to watch in order to know what I nean really.

The charaters were really well played, there where a few downs in the acting, but over all everyone did a great job. I loved how Krom had really great friends. Talk about ones who would be there for you no matter what. True friends are not easy to get, but he had a few of them.

I liked how there was alot of communication in this, unlike some series where the lack it, though there were a few times where there could a been a bit more, but not to bad.

Fueang was so sweet with how he alway showed his feelings to Krom.

There were some more, but this is getting longer then I planned and I gotta get to bed. Before I go, if you read this, and still not sure, I say get it a go, you won't be disappointed, I wasn't.

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Suprisingly Boring

Based on the premise, I really was expecting something with a decent amount of plot, but somehow, no matter what happens in an episode, it still feels like nothing happened? Its almost impressive because each ep is nearly an hour long but devoid of....anything.

The acting leaves something to be desired, the sound effects are overdone/overused but dealwithable, but the primary issue is just the lack of any stand out moments. Krom supposedly hated Fueng but that cleared up so fast I forgot it was a plot point at all. The fans hated Krom (for.....no reason? Like no reason even for mob mentality fans) and got over it in seconds. All conflicts/obstacles are solved before they even dream of building tension. I wanted to wait to review until episode three as the first two episodes can be rough in any BL, but I'm still extremely underwhelmed. I'm not sold on the romance or the comedy.

Even now, I'm trying to figure out what I've liked about this show so far, and I'm blanking. There's nothing hateable either (though there definitely are unlikeabke parts) it's all very mild? It's boring. A literal bomb goes off and it's still boring. I'm happy to see Kimmon again, so thats a plus. The humor in this one didn't really land for me even one time or, if it did, it wasnt memorable. I think I'll give it another two episodes and then decide whether to keep or drop, but I'm thinking this might just not be my type of Rom-Com.

EDIT: One episode of two down. Epispde 4 is easily the most interesting of the released eps so far
A lot of manufactured bullshit, but things occur...kind of? I stand by my decision to decide on dropping next week if only to see if the new dynamic makes the story better or not.

EDIT 2: Just finished episode 5 annnnnd.... I'm dropping this. I added a star because I've watched much worse shows than this recently, so 2.5 seemed a toucb harsh, but we've returned to form since nothing really happened in this episode. There's a love confession that literally made me flinch backwards because, to the best of my knowledge, it's been days since they started talking. I really disliked the Krom's immediate willingness to distrust Fueng and trust Kor for....no reason?? They just got together and now he's happy to look for reasons to break up. It's also just brushed over as a cute lil thing, but it rubbed me the wrong way.

The kiss scene was cute or whatever, but I really don't think I needed 2 minutes of it? Or that many lip smacking foleys, but I digress. This feels like a specific class of BL that's "plot" is just scaffolding for kiss/love scenes to bring in fans. I'm bored. I'm bored to tears. Definitely wouldn't recommend this, but I also wouldn't advise someone not to watch. Idk, it's just meh.

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Sweet and Beautiful. This series is a 10 not a 7.4

My recommendation: Give this series a chance but this is my opinion regarding whether it will be a 10 or not for you.

If you are looking for a cute series, where MLs respect each other, there is communication, with just enough drama to hook you and not overwhelm you, this is your series. But if a stellar acting and a full-size production are important to you, then it won't be a 10. In my opinion, I would say that as the series went on, the chemistry increased and everything felt more fluid/natural between the MLs so there are things that can be ignored at the beginning of the series because the rest of the elements in the series make it beautiful from start to finish.

Now my review: I simply loved this series... it's one of those types of series that leaves you with such a beautiful feeling and makes you believe in love.

The chemistry of the MLs is very beautiful, Fueng and Krom are both a giant green flag... they always supported each other and got out of problems together, simply a very sincere love.

The secondary couple (Kor and Namson) also had a very cute and pure story with him being an actor and she being a transgender woman, such a pure love.

The supporting actors are funny and great friends. Showing not only what a good romantic relationship should be but also how a healthy friendship should be.

I think this series touched on many important topics like: 1. ships and how they play with the audience 2. How for actor/idols having a partner outside that world or even your past can ruin your career and 3. How harmful can social media be with stars and the suffering it brings to the actors and the people around them... but precisely how having the right people by your side is decisive in getting out of that dark place.

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It can be quite boring but it's full of positive energy

First of all it is absolutely true that not all will luke this series. It kind of boring. Many of us will also admit that it doesn't need to have 12 episodes. It can be concluded within 9 or 10 episodes.
But after completing this whole series for delaying nearly 1 month, I felt that this series is indeed a jewel in these days of social media hatred towards the actors.
This series has 12 episodes and I think it is very much needed as they literally showed the development of feelings between Fueang and Krom.
And say about positive energy, oh my god , this series is literally radiating the same.
I really love how the two characters supported each other till the last moment. And it is not your so called fantasy series where the main character's work field doesn't affect even after announcing he is gay. They literally showed how Fueang is not at the same level of stardom after announcing he is gay. Though he didn't regret his decision of coming out as a gay.
Many of us can think Krom didn't show much affection compared to Fuaeng. He literally showered Krom with love. And in some sense it is true. But if Fueang doesn't have any problems with it neither do we.
So in conclusion I can say only that if you want a slow and lovey dovey romance and you have a great patience to watch it without any drama or break up then give it a try.

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extremely well done with subtle flaws. "with some spoilers"

City of stars is a well-done interesting series featuring new leads to the industry that performed like they've done it before.

The story is about a Thai citizen who has been living in America working for a company that designed an app called Zendaya which is focused on positivity in the community, who meats a famous Thai actor when he vacations back home in Thailand.

The story was somewhat fresh, even knowing its trope was definitely not. They explored the rich wealthy famous guy getting with the common everyday guy in a way that differs from the norm. Instead of the common lifestyle character chasing after the man he adores as a celebrity, the celebrity is the one who has fallen in love at first sight. So, unlike the norm the roles are slightly reversed in this series. Which can be seen as refreshing.

Likes ~
The couple had chemistry
The story was cute at many points
Funny moments were great
The love
The story didn't follow the tropes norm
There was no dreaded break up around episode 10 and 11 that most BL's love to throw in
The love between the couples
The realism ~ unlike many BL's the way things went down and were handled were done in a realistic I can relate to that kind of way
The main couple COMMUNICATED

Dislikes ~
The story could have had a better flow to it as this series could have been a 50 minute long 6 to 10-episodes and done just as well on the couples while still being able to capture the audience on the lvl it did at many times.
The annoying sound effects thrown in at times where they didn't make sense (mainly first half of series)
Using voice overs to explain a part in the story (50/50 on this one some of the voiceover's were the characters inner thoughts which are acceptable to a point)
The series had moments where you couldn't tell if the character was dreaming or if it was their reality (mainly first half of series)
This last one is more of a personal one that being the next episode previews kind of worked too hard to make us think OMG BIG DRAMA NEXT EPISODE for it to be absolutely nothing like what was teased.

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