F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers
For fans of the Chinese Meteor Garden (Netflix) or South Korean Boys Over Flowers (Netflix, Viki, Tubi, Hulu), there’s now a new version of the classic story coming to streaming channels straight from Thailand.
If you’ve watched Meteor Garden 2018 (see mini-review here) early indications show F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers to have a similarly modern vibe attached to the classic manga story of the Japanese Hana Yori Dango (translation: Boys Over Flowers) and anime (Crunchyroll) plus live action drama of the same name.
The story of F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, centres around a school for the elite reigned by four guys with an overabundance of privilege, money and good looks. So much so that they’re both feared and revered by those around them.
A girl who isn’t from within upsets their applecart, clueless about the rules and not interested in knowing them. She’s just there to go to school. Until she clashes with the leader of F4 which begins a series of battles that eventually shows glimmers of romance.
Directed by Patha Thongpan for Thailand’s GMMTV, he’s noted an interest in honouring the classic storyline, adding a ‘now’ freshness and displaying a unique Thai aesthetic that meets the original.
What does that mean for us? Thai drama is known for its way-over-the-top ‘da-da-da!’ portrayal of stories but has more recently, particularly at GMM, gotten closer to a familiar highly dramatized reality in contemporary series like The Gifted or Kiss the Series. It’s delivered in a more believable, less day-time-TV fashion that’s way more watchable than some of the old-skool offerings.
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Cast
If you watch Thai TV, you may have spotted the same faces cropping up regularly on the same channel. Many actors are signed directly to a station with long-lasting contracts. Notably, GMM, which has a dedicated BL (Boys Love) drama following, has previously paired two of the F4 leads in BL series 2gether. So, it will be interesting to see how they fare in a drama where chemistry is crucial to live up to the brand.
Vachirawit ‘Bright’ Chivaaree plays lead character Thyme (Tsukasa Domyoji/Joon Pyo/Dao Ming Si). His counterpart in 2gether, Metawin ‘Win’ Opas-iamkajorn is the playboy Kavin (Sojiro Nishikado/Yi-jung/Ximen). Is it a miss that they’re not after the same girl?
It’s actually newcomer Jirawat ‘Dew’ Sutivanichsak, who plays Ren (Rui Hanazawa/Ji-hoo/Huaze Lei) in the love triangle. But content to date seems to throw more emphasis on the Kavin character than Ren, indicating a slightly different balance in the storyline.
Hirunkit ‘Nani’ Changkham as MJ (Akira Mimasaka/Woo-bin/Meizuo) rounds out the Flower Boys, but in this version he’s both playful and a fighter. And Tontawan ‘Tu’ Tantivejakul plays ordinary but forthright girl turned love interest, Gorya (Tsukushi Makino/Jan-di/Shancai).
According to the director, all of these actors exude their characters – so, let’s wait and see!
Where Can I Watch F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers?
This new series is set to air on GMM 25 on Saturdays for 16 episodes. It will simultaneously stream internationally through GMMTV’s official YouTube channel and on streaming platform Viu.
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 1 Release Date
Episode 1 of F4 Thailand will release on Saturday, December 18th at approximately 8.30pm (Bangkok Time) which is 8.30am (ET) and 1.30pm (GMT). The international release on YouTube will come ready with English subtitles. (Yay!)
Is There A Trailer?
There is indeed! You can find a trailer for F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers below:
In addition to the trailer, the team have released a song from their official soundtrack featuring the main cast. It’s certainly channeling the vibe and seems to be right on target to deliver everything Director Thongpan has promised.
We’ll be covering the series episode-by-episode, so watch along with us and tell us what you think. Any ideas based on the trailer or the song? Jot ‘em below – we’d love to hear it.