Pinoy BL series is truly a gift during the pandemic. The production and even the cast are instrumental to keep the discussion on anti discrimination bill or SOGIE very relevant. Some can be technical about it but IMHO as long as you pair both men in a romantic story then it’s a Boys Love story. I’m an avid fan of some of these shows, particularly JC Alcantara since he is a very interesting personality that never reached my radar until Hello Stranger. It was also a blessing to Tony Labrusca to be back as finally a leading man!
Casting BL actors is a very tricky task, some shows had a good line up but there were missing ingredients to keep the audience rave about them. Some looked opportunitic or staged. Some just really had an awful story and execution.
Here are the most notable ones. Wag nyo kong awayin ha, this is my honest opinion #ThinkSmarter
1) Hello Stranger is the best product to come out with good production, music, props and very charismatic cast. With an ABS-CBN backing it up, it’s amazing! All cast are so good at ang ganda ng filming.
2)BenxJim is another powerhouse production from Regal Entertainment Inc. though sana wag na lang ipilit ang kissing scene kung fake lang din. Story, love it and the cast grabe Jerome Ponce is a birthday treat to Teejay Marquez .
3) Boys Lockdown by Ticket2Me made 2 cute boys instant celebrities. The production was wise to bank on fresh actors who can act and invest on amazing production, director and quality talaga ang labanan.
4) Gaya Sa Pelikula is a story inspired by various pop Pinoy movies and I was expecting more from Globe Studios when it comes to scenes and venue. I felt there were too many struggles that I find suffocating during the pandemic, so I would rather switch to something more entertaining. I suggest watching it when you have so much happiness to exhaust.
5) Gameboys has cemented Elijah Canlas as the best actor of his generation. Kokoy De Santos is brilliant and the rest of the cast deserves special acting awards. Eto yung itatapat ko sa prime time bida!
I also tried watching other BL series, and online I really wanted NOT to discredit their efforts, however, I saw that there were simply riding on the bandwagon of BL series popularity without committing to the idea of “inclusivity”. There were attempts to gather casts with huge online followers and I felt that the production failed miserably to empower them to execute good acting. I also noticed that the props and other technical requirements in making a good show was half-heartedly invested. I understand that these were “indie” film makers but they could have tapped good marketers or advertisers to support them.
The world has finally noticed our creativity amidst scarcity and some have done an impressive job but surprisingly, other BL series insisted on banking on scandalous or pornographic trash. This is why I appeal to the Movie and Television Regulatory and Classification Board to screen local producers who uses online platforms like YouTube.
Jeoff Solas 