Thai Boys Love (BL) show “2gether: The Series” captured the heart of Filipino fans on local Twitter when its Tagalized version premiered in the country through online streaming platform iWant on Sunday.
The adaptation of the 2019 Thai novel tells the story of Tine Teepakorn (played by Win Metawin) and Sarawat Guntithanon (played by Bright Vachirawit), two college boys who entered a fake relationship that eventually became a real one.
It started gaining social media popularity since its release in February. When the Tagalized version of the series became available for streaming, it immediately earned online buzz among local fans.
Twitter Philippines said that the hashtag #iWant2GetherPHEp1 landed on the fourth spot of the local trending list the same day its pilot episode was released by the ABS-CBN-owned platform.
Other hashtags related to the series likewise gained traction on the microblogging platform.
The voice dubbing of the actors was also welcomed by Filipino fans. They expressed their satisfaction with how the show was given a “local flavor” while they watch Tine and Sarawat converse in Filipino.
The tagalog version is just as cute and perfect! Good job talaga ABSCBN and everybody else behind this for bringing "2gether The Series" here 🥰@DreamscapePH #iWant2GetherPHEp2 pic.twitter.com/D7tTC7TYka
— JOY 🌻 (@ayagil) June 29, 2020
Ibang kilig ang nararamdaman ko sa nagtatagalog na Tine at Sarawat 😍 hahahaha #iWant2getherPHEp2
— JerWin Metawin (@rjgalabit) June 30, 2020
Prior to the launch of the series on iWant, the duo, known online as “BrightWin,” appeared in a Philippine media conference on June 26 and shared tidbits about themselves as actors.
Fans were encouraged to tweet the hashtag #AskBrightWin2gether during the event and five of the “best” tweets were selected and answered by the actors.
Carl Cheng, the head of entertainment partnerships in Southeast Asia and Greater China at Twitter, recognized that entertainment is a “key vertical” for the microblogging platform in the Philippines.
“We are glad that despite the pandemic, new shows and programs provide sources of entertainment for Filipinos. We expect that livestream and other video content on Twitter will further boost conversations on the platform and interaction among people as well,” he said in a release.
“2gether: The Series” is only one of the BL shows that made waves in the Philippines.
The others include Korea’s “Where Your Eyes Linger” as well as Filipino BL shows: Black Sheep’s “Hello Stranger” featuring Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara, The IdeaFirst Company’s “Gameboys” and Eduardo Roy’s “Oh, Mando!”
BL is formally called as “yaoi,” which originated in Japan.
CNN Philippines LIFE noted it is a “genre of fictionalized media that features homoerotic relationships between male characters.”
