F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers
For fans of South Korean drama Boys Over Flowers (Netflix, Viki, Tubi, Hulu) or the Taiwanese Meteor Garden (Netflix) or indeed the original, Japanese Hana Yori Dango, there’s now a new version of the classic story on streaming channels straight from Thailand. If you’ve watched Meteor Garden 2018 (Netflix – see mini-review here) early indications show F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers to have a similarly modern vibe attached to the classic manga story. To get closer to the source material, you can catch the anime version of Japanese Hana Yori Dango (translation: Boys Over Flowers) on Crunchyroll. 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, possibly 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 please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Where Can I Watch F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers?
This new series airs on GMM 25 on Saturdays for 16 episodes. It will simultaneously stream internationally through GMMTV’s official YouTube channel and on streaming platform Viu.
Episode 11 Release Info
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers are in the swing of a regular weekly schedule, so we expect Episode 11 to open on Saturday, March 5th at 8.45pm (Bangkok Time) – 8.45am (ET) and 1.45pm (GMT). The simultaneous international release on YouTube will come ready with English subtitles, so you’ll be viewing right along with audiences in Thailand.
Episode 11 Preview
The continuation of the Secret Story of IRIS reveals MJ talking about an incident from the previous year when he’d felt bored with life. Pulled into a basketball game as a replacement for an injured player, he meets a mystery girl named – not Iris – but Aum. After they win, he has a random silly chat with her and is included in their KFC victory party as the star player. The F4 Thailand Preview reveals Kavin asking Thyme whether he’ll go to Gorya no matter what. Of course he will. How can he leave her to them? The guys figure out that Talay has a connection to Phupha who was bullied in Episode 1. Talay says he’ll let things finish as they’re meant to, an ending that is ultimately always the same. Thyme runs into what looks like a warehouse and that’s where we’re left until next week. Catch the official preview video here:
Watch Tips
If you happen to start watching a few moments late, be sure you’ve backed up to the beginning of each segment, so you don’t miss anything. YouTube automatically sticks you at the live moment, so you could be missing a scene or two. As we shift from one bit of story to the next, the link to the following chunk zips by super-fast. If you’re watching via YouTube, you can back it up a second to catch the link and save yourself the trouble of having to search for it. If you’ve got further tips, please add them in the comments section. Here’s to a smooth view for all😊.
Is There a Trailer for F4 Thailand?
If you haven’t caught it yet, there is a trailer for the series:
In addition to the trailer, the team have released an official soundtrack featuring the main cast. It’s certainly channelling the vibe and seems to be right on target to deliver everything Director Thongpan has promised: Opening song, Who Am I?
And the more energetic tune Shooting Star.
What Happened in Episode 10?
See the recap and review here: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 10 Recap & Review. Watch for recap and review stories each week after airing. Read More: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 9 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 8 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 7 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 6 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 5 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 4 Recap & Review. F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 3 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 2 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 1 Recap & Review
Episode 10 Random Thoughts: Stand Ins and Stand Outs
So… what does Ren think his role is now? He’s given his blessing; he’s handed over the girl and yet he’s still keeping pretty close tabs on her. In fact, he’s changed his habits quite a lot. He’s now interested in what’s happening around him, almost taking responsibility for Thyme and Gorya. Like his sentinel watch is more important than his previous dedication to art; he’s somehow, as a character, fallen in between the friend role of Rui (Hana Yori Dango) and the ‘I’ve still got a thing for you’ stance of Huaze Lei (Meteor Garden 2018). Of course, this version of the story lands slightly differently with its compact run. So let’s see how this plays out. Is there still an opportunity for him to confess? Gold stars for Nani Changkham as he once again makes the most of the smallest lead role as MJ. He brings the intensity whether he’s shrugging off girls or furiously typing on his computer and continues to stand out. For more stories from this writer on all sorts of content, see the link here: Kristen Lazur. We’ll continue to cover the series episode-by-episode, so watch along with us and tell us what you think. Any observations on the details that you’d like to share? Scribble ‘em below – we’d love to hear about it.
