Chair54

This drama is 23 episodes at Viki.

Yea, I was surprised to see preview for Ep. 11 today. How may episodes are there to this drama?

I agree with you.

I agree. It is sad that LGBT content continues to be banned in China. Hopefully, we will see change someday in the future. The censorship is not limited to TV/Web. As another poster pointed out, the books and authors for BL are also being targeted. It is terrible to see these authors prosecuted and some even sent to prison just for writing danmei stories.
https://www.the-independent.com/asia/china/gay-erotica-china-danmei-writers-arrested-b2779488.html

Homosexuality is banned in Chinese TV/Web Dramas. Any production that airs banned content will be taken off the air and production companies and other individuals involved face possible charges. In the past, some BL IP were able to get around the censorship by changing the parts of the story to be not a love relationship, but friendship. Example: The Untamed, Word of Honor). So, yes, you are correct that most of the BL genre stories are heavily edited and censored and the homosexual elements removed in order to air the shows. That said, it just got ever more difficult to air any homosexual series in China. The National Radio and Television Administration, which oversees the industry in China, just met to revise their rules/guidelines, including changes for homosexual content. In short, the restrictions are now even tighter than before. The 2 biggest changes are a ban on BL airing on International platforms (already banned of course domestically) and any Chinese actor who appears in a BL series is banned from appearing in any other Chinese project (other dramas, variety shows, etc.) From what I've read, Chinese actors in currently airing BLs are exempt from the ban. It will affect any Chinese actors who are in a BL production that begins broadcast after the date the new regulations go into effect. So the actors for Desire should be okay. Going forward, we probably will not see Mainland China BL productions at all, and the vast majority of Chinese actors will not be involved in any BL productions no matter the country of origin as it would be career suicide. https://koalasplayground.com/2025/08/20/china-to-restrcit-bl-c-dramas-further-with-prohibition-on-international-platform-airing-and-ban-on-actors-starring-in-them-from-appearing-in-other-projects/

This drama coming to Viki on August 22, 2025. There will be subs in multiple languages soon.
https://www.viki.com/tv/41046c-the-twin-gambit

It's coming to Viki Aug. 22, 2025. So there will be subs in multiple languages soon.

Wow! I did not realize all of the real-life drama surrounding this production. To have two of your actors arrested and jailed for fraud, one of which is your Female Lead , while the drama is airing is crazy. I admire the head of Channel One31 for letting the series continue to air and not cancelling or postponing it. So many shows from other Asian countries get cancelled if there is any scandals with actors.
Anyway, glad to see that both actors were not prosecuted and later released from jail.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2935617/prosecutors-indict-17-in-icon-fraud-case-release-2-celebrities
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40044959
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_iCon_Group_case

This drama now available at Viki. There will be subs in multiple languages available soon.
https://www.viki.com/tv/41052c-past-life-present-love

Yes. he has a child with Moon Ga Bi. It was reported in November 2024. According to news article, he was in relationship with Moon Ga Bi in 2022-2023. Then in November 2024, Moon Ga Bi announce she have a baby boy, but no information about who is the father. I think Dispatch later claim JWS is the father and then JWS acknowledge he is the father through his agency, and he say he will take responsibility for the child, but he will not marry Moon Ga Bi.
It seems his 10 year girlfriend-now-wife a forgiving person, since it look like he was cheating on her with Moon Ga Bi.

Thanks for your insights. Much appreciated.

From first episode, I feel one needs to have an understanding of the history of Thailand in the time period of the drama to fully appreciate the series. That said, the production values are top notch and I did find it interesting. It is very nice to see a BL series that is pushing the boundaries of plot and theme. I feel this is more like a regular drama with gay characters, which is a refreshing change. I hope we can see more of these type of shows.

Yes. It's really unfortunate that the industry operates that way. I feel in would be so much better for everyone, both actors and fans, if they didn't do a lot of the "fan service" stuff.

Yeah, I really wish the industry would change and stop forcing the actors to do that stuff. It just causes a lot of craziness, in my opinion. Plus, I don't like the emotional manipulation of the audience by the entertainment industry in order to get $$$ from audience and fans that is the key for "fan service" culture. So exploitative. Anyway, for "Desire," I'd much rather have 2 episodes a week and no extras than the 1 ep. a week with all the filler.

So true. I tried to stay with watching each week as it airs, but the snail's pace is making me lose interest. The plot is dragging hard, and the one episode a week schedule just makes things worse. I'm not interested in the "fan service" filler either. TBH, I find the "fan service" culture a huge turn off for me. I'll still check the boards to see fan reaction and updates, but I'm going to just wait until October to binge the drama.

I believe it is a Taiwan production, but many of the people involved are Chinese. From what I understand, the production company, Durian Culture, is registered in Taiwan, and the show was filmed mostly in Taiwan. Because the production company is Taiwan, the show is not under the control of China censors.

What a cute show! I'm loving all the characters. It's so hard to wait for the new episodes. I really wish Netflix release all the episodes at once. The struggle is real, LOL!

Yes, I agree. It would have been so nice if Gao Tu had chosen to be with someone who truly accepted him for who he was and treated him right. I really hate the tropes of characters who are mentally/emotionally abused by the so-called male lead but they just take it and come back for more. I find that story trope very frustrating.

It would have been very nice to see a character making choices prioritizing his mental health and finding happiness as a result. I can definitely support your alternate storyline for Gao Tu. Unfortunately, this is not that drama. We will see instead the toxic tropes.

Here is drama calendar
https://kisskh.at/photos/nORkR2_3