Exactly what you expect from GMMTV (for better or for worse)
The Thai entertainment behemoth GMMTV is certainly adept at developing series that skate by on the charm and chemistry of their actors. The company's programs get by with wispy plots and ephemeral character arcs simply by satisfying periodic audience demand for cuddles, kisses, and hugs. GMMTV has learned that story, plot, and character are superfluous to requirements for commercial success, especially if you can cross-pollinate the live action "drama" with some banging OST tracks and merchandise whose sales will buttress the bottom line. The industry leader in BL production, GMMTV isn't mass producing art so much as mass producing opportunities to mass market. Good business for actors, for singers, for merchandisers. And they're pretty good at knowing how to wring the insatiable demand for more and better cuddles, kisses, and hugs for every last baht.
The latest entry in the company's ever increasing catalog of BL series that delight and charm despite their utter insubstantiality is Thame Po. The premise quite ingeniously accounts for the OST marketing opportunity by simply drafting an in-house boy band (Lyken) to play most of the lead characters as members of the fictious boy band Mars. Thame is the lead singer of Mars. He is portrayed by William, a singer from Lyken. Meanwhile, the casting geniuses chose handsome former swimmer Est to play Po. Despite each performer essaying his first lead role, the two manifest the chemistry necessary to fulfill the plot's slender requirements. Indeed, their effervescent charm keeps the whole project afloat.
Hired by the band's management label to create a video documentary, Po becomes entangled in the group's affairs.
How and why are mostly irrelevant. Suffice it to say, the various entanglements produce the requisite cuddles, kisses, and hugs at suitable intervals. Thame Po succeeds in part, because we do want to root for Thame and Po to overcome the obligatory obstacles in their path.
While the series demonstrated William and Est have good chemistry and ample charm, I am not certain we know whether they can act. William was essentially playing a variation of himself, and Est just wasn't tasked with any heavy lifting in the infrequent dramatic scenes.They can/should get another project, but my gut feeling is that their new characters will not vary much from Thame and Po. And so long as William can contribute a fresh OST, while the writers serve us the formulaic mix of cuddles, kisses, and hugs, it won't matter whether they can act or not. Because the end result will be insubstantial, yet delightful and charming.
One note of caution for hardcore BL fans who like to lean into a solid romance. Thame Po merits its title for all of two episodes. Thereafter, the story deviated into a study of the Thai entertainment industry. The series may as well have been dubbed "Thame Mars." Or, better yet, ""A Journey With Mars." Episode after episode concerned itself with the future of the boy band. The whole became a show about show business first, and a romance only when the writers remembered this audience demands periodic cuddles, kisses, and hugs.
That shift in plot emphasis away from the central couple and toward the band members' career options is precisely how the writers of this endeavor lost the plot. (Not a metaphor, for once!) Any Bl series needs dramatic obstacles to slow down the coupling of the main couple. Unfortunately, in this narrative, the only obstacles the writers choose to pursue are professional barriers. Rather than a romance between Thame and Po, the story chiefly becomes concerned with Po saving Mars. Unfortunately, this title character becomes more bland week by week. Ultimately, Po devolves into a pale imitation of one kind of ideal female archetype from the middle of the last century: the Loyal Wife. The Loyal Wife patterns her existence to conform to the shape of her man's public persona. Her devotion to him supersedes her own personality. Her support of his career supersedes any professional ambition she may harbor on her own behalf. Society values her chiefly as caretaker to the children (here, the band). The 1960s began a decades-long process by which the Loyal Wife archetype became unfashionable. Yet in 2025, here comes Po as a BL analog shaped in the mold of the Loyal Wife. The early episodes set up Po with a decent backstory, replete with emotional trauma and career goals. Sadly, the series squandered almost all of the potential in any such narrative. Po is less a leading man and more an accessory to the band by episode 4. Examples like this demonstrate exactly why many people fault GMMTV for an inability to sustain the quality of their series from beginning to end.
If a diet of charming and delightful cuddles, kisses, and hugs is all a viewer needs from a BL series, then Thame Po is a better than serviceable exemplar of the type. There was a glimmer of something more, but gmmtv had records to sell between cuddles. And, so, Thame Po degenerates as it progresses, like numerous other gmmtv series that got off to strong starts.
The latest entry in the company's ever increasing catalog of BL series that delight and charm despite their utter insubstantiality is Thame Po. The premise quite ingeniously accounts for the OST marketing opportunity by simply drafting an in-house boy band (Lyken) to play most of the lead characters as members of the fictious boy band Mars. Thame is the lead singer of Mars. He is portrayed by William, a singer from Lyken. Meanwhile, the casting geniuses chose handsome former swimmer Est to play Po. Despite each performer essaying his first lead role, the two manifest the chemistry necessary to fulfill the plot's slender requirements. Indeed, their effervescent charm keeps the whole project afloat.
Hired by the band's management label to create a video documentary, Po becomes entangled in the group's affairs.
How and why are mostly irrelevant. Suffice it to say, the various entanglements produce the requisite cuddles, kisses, and hugs at suitable intervals. Thame Po succeeds in part, because we do want to root for Thame and Po to overcome the obligatory obstacles in their path.
While the series demonstrated William and Est have good chemistry and ample charm, I am not certain we know whether they can act. William was essentially playing a variation of himself, and Est just wasn't tasked with any heavy lifting in the infrequent dramatic scenes.They can/should get another project, but my gut feeling is that their new characters will not vary much from Thame and Po. And so long as William can contribute a fresh OST, while the writers serve us the formulaic mix of cuddles, kisses, and hugs, it won't matter whether they can act or not. Because the end result will be insubstantial, yet delightful and charming.
One note of caution for hardcore BL fans who like to lean into a solid romance. Thame Po merits its title for all of two episodes. Thereafter, the story deviated into a study of the Thai entertainment industry. The series may as well have been dubbed "Thame Mars." Or, better yet, ""A Journey With Mars." Episode after episode concerned itself with the future of the boy band. The whole became a show about show business first, and a romance only when the writers remembered this audience demands periodic cuddles, kisses, and hugs.
That shift in plot emphasis away from the central couple and toward the band members' career options is precisely how the writers of this endeavor lost the plot. (Not a metaphor, for once!) Any Bl series needs dramatic obstacles to slow down the coupling of the main couple. Unfortunately, in this narrative, the only obstacles the writers choose to pursue are professional barriers. Rather than a romance between Thame and Po, the story chiefly becomes concerned with Po saving Mars. Unfortunately, this title character becomes more bland week by week. Ultimately, Po devolves into a pale imitation of one kind of ideal female archetype from the middle of the last century: the Loyal Wife. The Loyal Wife patterns her existence to conform to the shape of her man's public persona. Her devotion to him supersedes her own personality. Her support of his career supersedes any professional ambition she may harbor on her own behalf. Society values her chiefly as caretaker to the children (here, the band). The 1960s began a decades-long process by which the Loyal Wife archetype became unfashionable. Yet in 2025, here comes Po as a BL analog shaped in the mold of the Loyal Wife. The early episodes set up Po with a decent backstory, replete with emotional trauma and career goals. Sadly, the series squandered almost all of the potential in any such narrative. Po is less a leading man and more an accessory to the band by episode 4. Examples like this demonstrate exactly why many people fault GMMTV for an inability to sustain the quality of their series from beginning to end.
If a diet of charming and delightful cuddles, kisses, and hugs is all a viewer needs from a BL series, then Thame Po is a better than serviceable exemplar of the type. There was a glimmer of something more, but gmmtv had records to sell between cuddles. And, so, Thame Po degenerates as it progresses, like numerous other gmmtv series that got off to strong starts.
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