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Yes, he was sick for a few months during the filming of the series and only got better before the last few scenes. According to his interviews, he implied his mental health was not so good so he moved in with Mix. Their fans clearly noticed this change too even though he didn't take his shirt off, so we really admire him for playing a comedy role so well despite his health not being okay.

Even most professional actors always say comedy is the hardest genre of all. Earth and Mix are the few GMMTV actors who have proven they can pull off both goofy comedy and heavy angst. Also, Shakrit is a top-tier professional actor and it's not easy for him to act in a series with young actors. Many Thais in their 40s started watching this series on TV because of him only. We should say Earthmix are ​​super lucky to have worked with him. No worries, this is definitely not a waste of their talent and potential at all.

But if you like to see more heavy angst from Earthmix, the second half of this year they will star in Only Friends Dream On. It's a dark romance, which seem to be their heaviest roles.

After rewatching this episode, I want to applaud the production team's dedication in covering up all of Earth's tattoos. Those who don't follow him might not be able to tell he actually has a large raven tattoo on his back shoulder and other tattoos on his back, from neck to his hip, around V-line, flank, waist, upper arm, forearm, thighs and even calves.

This episode is sooooooooo Thai. Like typical Thai sitcoms. I am so happy there’s finally a remake/adaptation that I feel is truly based on Thainess, not just adapting an original script and translating it to a target language and that's it.

Actor Shakrit (the boss) is one of the biggest veteran actors who always plays a protagonist in many successful shows and his rate is relatively high, so if the role wasn’t prominent, GMMTV would have hired any mid-tier actor instead. Also, this is not even his first gay role, so Boss Kongdech should be prominent enough, but maybe in a different way, like a conflict with his daughter?? There are still ten episodes left to see how the boss’ character was written in this version.

Tbh, GMMTV’s current viewer base, whether Thai or inter fans, hardly consumes straight couples and in Thailand we already have hundreds of stories about pretty women in their forties cheated on and divorced. Some get revenge, some move on, and some endure, so I don't think this plot is anything new to Thai audience. Also with a straight couple to steal a spotlight? It would be hard. Even the biggest TV channels that used to produce famous Thai Lakorns have been struggling with the viewership plummeting and the new generation of Lakorn actors not being as popular as in the past, so they started producing BLs/GLs to just like GMMTV when they realized Thai public TV variety shows and brand events are now full of BL/GL actors and that makes a lot of money.

Maybe. Then, it would turn out to be a story about a middle-age woman who was cheated on by an old man who just found out he was gay. And with this plot, the boss, Haruta, and Maki could be completely removed from the entire show.

Anyway, it depends on the scriptwriters. Most of gmmtv producers and directors are openly gay and each production team works independently. For example, Pluto’s crew are full of women. They may be concerned with their own work, no certain standard for this company.

Got your point, but the problem is the boss is a cheater portrayed as an adorable gay man and many viewers even want him to end up with Haruta. Thai audience pointed out this issue since the beginning because in Thailand, a storyline of a gay man marrying a woman has been remade countless times to the point we got bored and tired of seeing a female character portrayed this way in a man’s life. In other words, the point of removing this part is not to raise gender inequality issues but move on from useless cliché. It’s not only about afriad of getting backlashed, but also Thai audience are done with this storyline. It may be interesting for some but for us having seen queer/bl/gl shows on public TV channels for over two decades, it’s just a problematic old plot we’ve seen all the time. Also, having typical cismen like Haruta is nothing but disturbing (tbh everyhing about him is disturbing), so removing some of his problematic traits is the right thing as the crew knows we want to see his character develop in a different way in Thai version.

And in terms of comedy, I don’t think it’s always universal. As I said, Thais don't really find the original funny except for those who regularly consume Japanese media and cults. As a native Thai, I found the scriptwriters must have worked so hard to adapt it to match Thais' sense of humor, much harder than writing a whole new script. Anyway, at the end of the day, viewers’ perspectives are different and subjective and that’s why remakes are endlessly arguable.

Again, I respect your opinion and understand why you don’t really like this version but at least you gave it a try. Hope you find the following eps more enjoyable like many of us did.

You seem to miss my points. I'm Thai and always follow up Thais' public opinions. Many shows from GMMTV have received negative reviews among Thai fandoms themselves and international audience is not aware of it just due to huge language barrier. So far Ossan's Love Thailand is considered decent from non-GMM fans.

Also, Gen Y actors you talked about are under the biggest channels that reach over ten times more viewers than GMMTV and so many shows still flopped even with the most famous cast and it's very common.

Understood. I would say if you really like the Japanese version, it's definitely hard for you to like the Thai version because Thai audience was never happy with the original version either to the point of wondering why GMMTV chose to remake this problematic show. But at least now we enjoy the Thai version more than we expected. We’re also happy they removed unnecessary/sexist jokes Thais young adults would never laugh at, especially Haruta’s personality, which Thais usually define as “real men" (a sarcastic word that refers to typical straight men who fall into male supremacy), which we deem unpleasant and disgusting.

Another thing you might not know is Thais had been secretly hoping the boss’s wife character would be cut out. Next week, the marriage equality law will be fully effective, so creating a female character married to a gay man and got cheated on by him and had to overcome this issue is not an idea those who support gender equality or feminists in Thailand accept. It is not the essence that should be kept and would just bring another controversy. Therefore, removing her is the best decision and reflects that the crew truly studied Thais' gender movements.

I understand why you don’t like it and respect your opinions as you may not understand about Thai localization with different perspectives, but I also want to point out why the certain parts had to be changed and this version has received better reviews by Thai audience than the original.

What I like in this episode is that Mo talked about the abuse of power in the workplace, because boss-employee relationships are often linked to power imbalance. I'm not sure if the Japanese version mentions this, but I like that the Thai version raises this issue not in a preachy way.

Again, I like how they tone down Heng's and Boss' characters, especially Heng. He isn't always silly and goofy, but we can see his serious side when trying to figure things out. Sometimes, even I find him likable and understand why Mo and Boss fall for him.

The show was also filmed in many locations, including mix’s hometown which is very far from Bangkok. And with Shakrit (boss), a top-tier veteran actor, as a main lead?? I agree it must have been well-funded.

Interesting. This might be the first time I've seen MDL with so many positive comments, but it's the opposite of a 7.0 rating. I mean even GMMTV shows with 7.5-8.0 rating are usually flooded with a lot of negative comments and low-rating reviews while I rarely see negative criticism here. Let's see if the ratings will go up or down after the following eps because those who have dropped it can't give a rating again. But I won't rate this show until it ends or until I drop it.

I also believe they enjoy it because it is subtitled. In Thailand, it’s much more concerning because in general Thais don’t say this word regardless of their age, only in low-grade porns and when they harshly swear. It also contradicts to these character. If they kept this line, it would kill Thai audience’s mood and ruin the whole show.

Ikr but there are still many ppl questioning about this change while we think it’s the right thing to remove it.

Never understand why many ppl want that iconic line in the original ver. International audience must be aware that Thai people won’t say the word “d**k/c**k” in their real life in normal situations, not even on erotic novels, films, and tv shows. It is considered a very rude swear word or said by porn accounts on x. It’s just about language localization. The line itself is also problemtic and criticized as objectifying women/misogynic. Removing this part is the best decision ever, at least for Thai audience.

These days young Thai audience won't accept any cheating behaviors even it's low-key on TV shows, so the boss cheating on his wife would make him a villain and he would be hated for sure. Also, recently Thai netizens have been discussing about the creation of a female character who has to accept that her husband/partner is gay while the gay man is not responsible for what she lost. It would be okay if the boss was portrayed as a bad person, but the fact that he did low-key cheating on his wife and cutely running after his subordinate would not be okay for Thai viewers.

Not sure if I explained it clearly, but it is safe to say that nowadays Thai audience are very serious about justifying cheating behaviors presented on TV shows, even giving grounds for micro-cheating can be seriously controversial. So in the comedy genre, producers have to be extra careful and as a Thai, I think the screenwriters did a good job of removing and adjusting this part even if those who like the original are not happy with it.

Right! ‘big boobs and big d***/c***???’. The director and their crew must have made a statement apogogizing Thai netizen if they made that part. And with a very big veteran actor like P’Chakrit, who is well-known by the whole country, they can’t risk anything that will create controversy or get backlashed by Thai audience.

Great opening for Thai ver. I’m Thai and most of Thai audience was worried about certain problematic parts in the original version, at least they contradict to Thai culture. I’m glad the director toned down Heng’s character (Haruta) and Boss’ character otherwise it would be so hard to watch. I’m also happy they created a love storyline to show why Mo (Maki) falls in love with this loser. And the boss’ wife died, not that he does micro-cheating or trying to justify his romantic feeling for his employee while having a wife. So far, I can say overall I’m so relieved and really waiting for ep2!

I wasn't interested in watching this show but I saw your question so I took a quick look.
That's a literary Thai language used only for translating Chinese historical novels. International viewers might be more familiar with this kind of language if there are more historical BL series.