Best Classic BL Dramas (Pre-2020)

One of the best BLs ever, out of any country.

It's a bit iffy/cheesy here and there in the spirit of two other classics, Love Sick and Make It Right, but much like those series, CTL's huge heart and strong supporting cast make it a joy to watch.
Fandy Fan is soooooo Fine.  He's a fine actor too, as is his opposite, the team mgr.
I applaud both actors' commitment to their characters and the plot line, especially in delivering some of the hottest, most sincere BL makeout scenes ever. No dead fish or mannequins in sight; no boy-band idols slumming it for the gays and fujoshis; refusing to deliver believable, impassioned physicality where it's needed.

So many cuties here:
The (step) brothers, especially the older one. (When's someone going to step up and do a BL about a pair of real, blood brothers?)
The team captain
The tall twins on the other team (the subtle, hilarious bit of implied homoeroticism between them was a nice touch.)

At a total of about three and a half hours, this is a great binge-watch. For me, it's the Fandy Fan show, but it's oh so much more as well.

As for a lot of other people, the penultimate, unspeakable tragedy portrayed in this series, is the only reason it sits four places on this list below where it otherwise would have. It's not about WHAT happened, it's about HOW it was done, and perhaps why too.

Horrible, soul-destroying tragedies happen in real life every day; I accept that. They happen in live-action storytelling too. But this tragedy came out of nowhere and nothing relating to what had gone before. It was brought down upon the audience like a bloody sledgehammer with zero finesse, reason, or style. The show-makers inflicted this abomination upon its viewers because they COULD, and I can't help but speculate, for a cheap thrill, reveling in the outrage they knew their choice would generate.

So...a somewhat unique story, a totally unique combination of lead actors, acting at a level far above that of your average BL across the board from all its performers, writing that moved me to my bones until that last act of cruelty, chemistry flying in all directions between and among characters from the lead couple to the show's group of best friends, and much more.

BL cut only

The first season is worthy too, but the sequel is better.

There are a couple of delightfully transgressive plot occurrences that blew up BL World at first airing. I enjoy shows that push envelopes and blow up BL World. :D