News Feature: Upcoming Taiwanese BL Dramas (2020-21)

Taiwanese BL has always been daringly ahead of their times. The intimacy and sensual scenes in the “History” series were worlds apart. From HIStory: My Hero to the current trailblazer HIStory3: Make Our Days Count, the Taiwanese never shy away from portraying hot, passionate, and sensual intimacy between their BL leads. The fact that same-sex marriage is now legal in Taiwan might be one of the main reasons for this striking attitude. But you need to respect the fact that Taiwanese production houses are really good at packaging a whole lot of fiery goodness in their dramas, which has raised the bar on quality production.

—Edited by TheFNGee

When we hear about upcoming Taiwanese dramas, the anticipation is high. It’s relatable because we can always expect an explosive chemistry between the main leads as well as the support couples pumped up by a fabulous storyline. Here’s a list of upcoming Taiwanese Boys Love with compelling characters and arduous relationships.

Innocent 無邪(2020)

***I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I can be in front of you***

With an interesting tagline like this, Innocent The Series 無邪 focuses on the life and romantic entanglements of the main lead Yu Shi who suffers from Split Personality Disorder. Because of an accident when he was five years old, Yu Shi ended up with a second personality named Noah. Noah is a silent person without any emotions or desires. The sole reason for his existence is to protect the fragile and innocent Yu Shi. Their peaceful world faces turmoil when Yu Shi falls for Wu Sheng, whom Noah doesn’t trust. Although Wu Sheng is affectionate towards Yu Shi, his girlfriend Shaojie keeps creating problems for Yu Shi. As a straight man with traditional male chauvinism, will Wu Zheng break through the constraints of the world and face his own persona bravely?

Helmed by Soul’Chill 夏花藝術, with a formidable cast like Chang Blake and AT 蟻大點, the show’s teaser was pretty promising. The chemistry between the two main leads is convincing enough, and I’m looking forward to watching the dynamics between them. Handling a person who suffers from a split personality isn’t an easy job, especially when you love that person. The show’s main focus will be on how Wu Sheng earns Noah’s trust and overcomes his own fears and insecurities. The anticipated drama will premiere on September 19th,2020, on Soul’Chill 夏花藝術YouTube Channel as well as the online streaming portal GagaOOLala.

The official trailer is below:

Craving You 饞上你 (2020)

Craving You (饞上你) is an upcoming BL drama produced by Acro Growth Entertainment. The storyline focuses on the blossoming relationship between “Kent,” a chef, and “Kane,” a famous internet singer. The drama is helmed by a formidable star cast and directed by Jiang Bingchen.

Fan Cheng 范成章portrays the role of Kane. Kane is a singer-songwriter, and surprisingly Fan Cheng himself will sing the songs helmed by his character. This series is his first acting experience, yet he is confident of delivering the performance perfectly.

David Chui (邱昊奇Qiu Haoqi) portrays the character of Kent, a pastry chef. He has a very strict personality and demands perfection. It will be interesting to watch how a pastry Chef falls for Singer because they are from different walks of life. David was surely blushing when he accepted that the show would play off their affections for each other in a dreamy atmosphere.

Alan 宋亞倫 (also known as Song Yalun) plays the character of Soda, a music producer. Soda and Kane are high school sweethearts, but they had an inevitable break up. Years later, when they meet again, their romance is rekindled, which results in a love triangle between the three main leads.

Stan Chen 陳希騰 will portray the role of Noah, who is paired opposite Soda. Stan describes his character as an introvert but is very affectionate towards the one he loves. He emphasized that the contrast between their natures would make for an interesting watch.

The cast and crew had their opening ceremony in Taipei on August 17th, 2020, to pray for a successful transition of their filming. Although the premiere date hasn’t been confirmed yet, the drama will have an international premiere on GagaOOLala.

The show’s introductory video can be viewed on their official account:

Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)

The first gay movie from Taiwanese territory, Your Name Engraved Herein, symbolizes the freedom earned by the citizens of the only country in the Asian subcontinent, where same-sex marriage has been legalized.

The movie depicts the love story between two Taiwanese school students, A Han and Birdy, in 1987. One tries to confess his sexuality to Father Olivier and receives no blessings. The other eventually decides to hide his sexuality and marries a woman. The story then jump-starts 20 years later, where the characters have grown old, and their true feelings are revealed when they eventually meet in Canada.

“After three decades of fight and struggle for same-sex marriage, the LGBT community in Taiwan is finally catching a glimpse of hope,” said the film’s executive producer Chu Yu-ning and director Patrick Liu (aka Liu Kuang Hui). “This symbolic film invites those in the dark to come out and those already in the sunshine to celebrate this loud revolution.” (Source-below)

https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/taiwan-your-name-engraved-herein-moves-with-changing-times-1203250871/amp/

The anticipated movie has a formidable star cast with Edward Chen & Leon Dai playing the younger and adult version of A Han, while Tseng Jing Hua and Jason Wang plays the young and adult versions of Birdy. The movie is set to premiere in major theaters throughout Taiwan on September 30th, 2020.