BL Drama Lovers Club

Laalaa17930228:

Tiffany:

So I did something a bit weird ! 😂 I was thinking about how Bank from Fool in Love thought he was too old to be in a BL, so I started wondering about the ages of the actors I'm watching every day.

I think Bank did hit a nail in the fact that entertainment industry in general including BL is very ageist. A lot of the series also have university/high school or youth based plots, which kind of directs picking actors that are in terms age considered suitable for the roles. As a millennial fan I have been just waiting when we would start getting BLs with more mature actors, and plots focusing more on adult life after your twenties. I when I got into BL, yes the uni plots were very much relatable. Being 30+ give me something else.

I think I read somewhere that NuNew who is one of the most famous actors in the industry was worried fans would abandon him because he turned 25 o_O I think that with Bank's statement sums up quite well where the industry has to improve in.

You're right ! I really hope we get to see more and more BLs with mature actors. 😊 I also found it pretty sad that it's making the actors feel insecure about their age. 😔

https://www.reddit.com/r/GMMTV/s/LhnzUNv5Z5 - poor Kay I hope he feels better soon 🥺😔💖🤒

Tiffany:

Italophilia:

Tiffany:

I'm only 15 minutes into episode 10 of Mr. Fanboy, and I think I'm going to get dehydrated.

Thanks for the warning!

You're welcome ! But maybe it was just me. I also cried a lot during episode 9. I cry a lot when I'm really invested in a story. 😂

Oh, I cried a lot too!

Tiffany:

So I did something a bit weird ! 😂 I was thinking about how Bank from Fool in Love thought he was too old to be in a BL, so I started wondering about the ages of the actors I'm watching every day.

I made a list of every BL I've watched this year or am currently watching, with the actors' ages when the series started airing. Then I calculated the average age of the actors for each drama to sort them into age ranges.

I've watched 90 BLs so far this year !

Average age of main actors	Number of dramas	Percentage
Under 20	4	4.4%
20-24	31	34.4%
25-29	47	52.2%
30-35	8	8.9%
Total	90	100%

Among the BLs I've watched, Ordinary Love has the oldest actor, Furukawa Yuki (39). It's also the BL with the biggest age gap, at 16 years.

LoveSick 2024 has the youngest actor on my list, with Progress being only 15 at the time ! 😮

LoveSick 2024 has the lowest average age, at 16, while Burnout Syndrome has the highest, at 33 ! 😁

I could share the whole list, but that would make for a pretty long post. 😂

Very interesting. I think we are starting to see more BLs with adult characters and adult themes. The question is whether companies will actually cast actors 30+. Both The Journey to Killing You and When It Rains, It Pours come to mind. These stories could be told with older actors.

I know it’s not on many people’s radar, but Lovers & Gangsters just started. It’s GMMTV’s first BL where all the MLs are around 30. (OffGun in Burnout Syndrome are even older, but Dew is younger.) Not only are both couples around 30, but GMMTV is introducing GreatBright as a new lead couple, not a support couple like newer adult couples such as PodPapang. I think this is a good sign. OffGun and ForceBook already have loyal followings, so it makes sense to give them lead roles, but to introduce a new adult couple means GMMTV believes there is a market for it. I hope this is a promising development and gives other actors more confidence that they can continue to work in BLs in their 30s. I don’t expect this show to be a huge hit, but nonetheless it’s nice to see it being made.

Also of note: In Teach Me, Touch Me, Gear (James Pongsapak) has gay grandpas!

Another note: with the enormous success of Fool in Love and a new massive fan following for Bank Artit, maybe the future BL landscape will include more 30+ actors.

dora:

I know it’s not on many people’s radar, but Lovers & Gangsters just started.

I would really love to give this a go, but I have titled GMMTV as the Disney of BL industry here before, so my concern is that is it a watered down like a lot of the shows end up being with this company. 😅

marver:

Hello to all!

I decided to finally have myself to write more instead of leaving hearts on your post.

I love cdrama and that is what landed me here, but... My real love is bl, and I read mostly bl on ao3.

I don't play so much favorites, even if I can have my weaknesses.

Soooo, thanks for having me!

M

Hello and welcome!

Tiffany:

I'm only 15 minutes into episode 10 of Mr. Fanboy, and I think I'm going to get dehydrated.

you did well by watching it while it's airing. Waiting for another week is much too long (says the girl who is counting the hours until it's finally Thursday and ep9 of Fool in Love is airing).

Tiffany:

So I did something a bit weird ! 😂 I was thinking about how Bank from Fool in Love thought he was too old to be in a BL, so I started wondering about the ages of the actors I'm watching every day.

I made a list of every BL I've watched this year or am currently watching, with the actors' ages when the series started airing. Then I calculated the average age of the actors for each drama to sort them into age ranges.

I've watched 90 BLs so far this year !

Average age of main actors	Number of dramas	Percentage
Under 20	4	4.4%
20-24	31	34.4%
25-29	47	52.2%
30-35	8	8.9%
Total	90	100%

Among the BLs I've watched, Ordinary Love has the oldest actor, Furukawa Yuki (39). It's also the BL with the biggest age gap, at 16 years.

LoveSick 2024 has the youngest actor on my list, with Progress being only 15 at the time ! 😮

LoveSick 2024 has the lowest average age, at 16, while Burnout Syndrome has the highest, at 33 ! 😁

I could share the whole list, but that would make for a pretty long post. 😂

That's super interesting! But I see why Bank felt he was too old to play in BL. First a large amount of the BL stories are around high schoolers, students, young workers - simply said "young adults", and most of the time their age in the drama is between 16 and 23/25. You have a couple of more mature dramas (this year I can think of a few J-Dramas like Duty First, Kiss Later, Fake Fact Lips or Love Is Better the Second Time Around Season 2) but in thai drama, BL actors above 30 are pretty rare. Bank is 36 (even if he looks 25) but still, he's an exception. Other than him as BL thai actors over 30 and still actively playing I can only think about KristSingto, Boom Raveewit (TopForm) and Max Kornthas (Your Third, Payback).

Laalaa17930228:

I think I read somewhere that NuNew who is one of the most famous actors in the industry was worried fans would abandon him because he turned 25 o_O I think that with Bank's statement sums up quite well where the industry has to improve in.

+1

Tiffany:

I'm really fighting the urge to start this one ! The wait would be way too hard, and I've managed to wait so far because there's already so much to watch. I just need to stay away from spoilers and Bank ! 😂

aha especially since it's a 20 eps series, you'll have to wait until mid December if you want to binge watch it. Wait! Mid December? I'll have mummified by then 💀Great job staying away from spoilers and all the fantastic pictures of sexy/handsome/fire Bank for so long! 😅

Tiffany:

and Zee in mind

For me Zee was below 30 but I checked and yes, he's 34. They all look so young!