2gether The Series, consécration asiatique de l’adaptation du genre BL (Boys Love) à la télévision thaïlandaise

Abstract

In 2020, the Thai TV series 2gether The Series managed to become one of the most popular Thai programs in East Asia. Its success was related in the regional press and social networks around the world. This success can be explained. 2gether is both a series that suits the expectations of its foreign consumers, while remaining a Thai series. The series presents Thailand as sharing a common temporality with the developed countries of its region and consuming the same popular culture, thus becoming part of regional cultural flows. 2gether indeed requires little knowledge about Thailand to be understood, and yet it familiarizes its audience with Thai culture. 2gether The Series is also a BL or “Boys Love” series, a genre originating from Japan that is now consumed in all East Asian countries, and which Thailand has popularized through television fictions since 2014, thus becoming the regional ambassador of the genre. 2gether is the adaptation of a BL novel with the same name, but the series offers a new representation of BL culture, in which the stereotypes linked to this genre are less apparent. The success of the series was also supported by the initiatives of various Thai and Japanese individuals, who not only participated in the promotion of the series even after its broadcast, but also used the universe of 2gether and BL culture more widely as a vector for Thai culture.

Keywords

• Thailand
• East Asia
• cultural flows
• Boys Love (BL)