Duang with You

Dominic Kebre

It has taken a while until I felt ready to write this review, and the reason is that I loved this series so much that I would have been carried away if I had written it right after the series ended. So I decided to rewatch it, and here I am, still loving it. Actually, my own “Duang love story“ had a bumpy start, because after the first episodes I asked myself what I would do if a guy like Duang were stalking me – a real life Duang might have ended up with a black eye. But after a couple of weeks I just couldn’t help fall for this good-hearted, jolly boy. In the beginning, “Duang With You“ looked like another silly, generic Thai BL series set in college with a typical “opposites attract“ plot. Extrovert (to put it mildly – noisy and childish sounds more appropriate) arts student Duang experiences his moment of love at first sight hearing Qin sing, and from this moment on he starts trying to get close to him. Qin, however, an introvert (to put it mildly – grumpy and distant sounds more like it) musical student, rejects him at first. After some time, Duang’s persistence pays off, and as Duang becomes more cautious and Qin kind of encourages him to try his luck, the ice starts melting. Later in the series Qin admits that Duang already attracted his attention in high school, although it is not completely clear whether he only noticed the weird boy or already had a crush on him. Anyway, Duang and Qin gradually become friends, and - as Qin opens up little by little - lovers. Both Duang and Qin are being supported by their closest friends. After the first episodes, which come across as quite silly, if not shallow comedy, there is a change of tone in the later parts of the series. Duang and Qin’s relationship grows from one-sided admiration to mutual, real friendship, and it becomes obvious that both of them are products of their respective families. Duang’s parents and elder brother are all extrovert comedians, who love each other unconditionally, whereas Qin’s parents were never there for him, and the disgusting behaviour of his nanny caused a trauma, which his parents didn’t notice or refused to see, and which is the reason why he is so distanced. Life didn’t get easier for Qin when his first love left him, just like his parents had more or less abandoned him earlier. It needed a reasonable, more mature guy like Qin to take Duang’s feet back to the ground, e.g. when Qin refuses to accept Duang’s gift of an expensive camera. On the other hand, it needed a positive, open, good-hearted boy like Duang to help Qin learn to trust someone and allow him to get close to him. During a visit to the house of Qin’s family – his parents once again disappear after a short encounter – Duang and Qin finally gather all their courage and ask each other to be boyfriends. Duang later organizes a meeting of Qin and his parents, and Qin accuses them of being responsible for his miserable childhood and youth. The family reconciles, and Duang and Qin travel to Japan for their honeymoon. The series ends like it started with a concert, but this time Qin sings a song he has written for Duang. The writing of this series is better than most Thai BLs. All elements contribute to the plot, even if the significance of some scenes is only revealed at a later stage of the story. The supporting characters are not mere add-ons, but help drive the relationship of the lead couple. I appreciate that the writers avoided dragging misunderstandings or arguments over several episodes, but instead make the boys talk about any issues and thus resolve them, and this applies to the lead couple as well as the two groups of friends. Fortunately, the writers did not add any unimportant side characters, and especially not any evil female exes, as seen in too many Thai series. Even Qin’s male ex is easily dealt with by Duang shooing him off, and when he approaches Qin in a bar again, Duang and Qin settle their misunderstanding the same night. There are some points that I did not like, though. First of all, Duang’s character is too childish and over the top in some scenes. I understand that the writers tried to underline the opposite characters of the leads, but Duang later proves that he is a lot more mature than the writers allow him to be. The second thing I actually hated was Qin buying a dog – again, I do understand that writers targeted especially young viewers here, who love pets, but this is completely unnecessary and does not add anything to the story at all. I also find it stupid to have Duang act and sometimes sound like a dog, and the love of Thai BL producers for “funny“ sounds keeps getting on my nerves. My most important criticism, however, is the way Qin’s trauma is dealt with. A serious childhood trauma cannot be “healed“ by the love of a boyfriend, but needs to be treated professionally. Which brings me to the point that I really hated. Qin’s parents are selfish, disrespectful, and the opposite of caring parents, and I firmly do not think they should be forgiven as easily as the writers put it. Accordingly, responsible parents would have sued the nanny, who deserved to be in jail, and they would have to have their son treated by a psychiatrist. These are examples of lazy and rushed writing, which all in all are rather rare in this series. Nevertheless, I really love the series as a whole, and one of the main reasons are the actors. TeeTee Wanpichit and Por Suppakarn personify their characters credibly from beginning to end, and their most moving scenes are the serious conversations when they are about to be boyfriends. When TeeTee as Duang tells Por as Qin to “put all his fears and worries on him“, this says more about Duang than many of his silly actions, and the way both young men act in scenes like this are highlights of the series, as they reveal the amazing chemistry and the huge acting potential both lead actors have. TeeTee and Por also appear to be very comfortable around each other, because they could not have acted so beautifully and naturally in their NC scenes as they did. Kudos to these two actors who, despite their young age and limited acting experience, succeed in carrying a series of about 14 hours runtime. And then there are Jamie (North Chatchapon) and Marvis (Otto Sorranan), the second couple that have given me a serious fit of “second couple syndrome“ (SCS). Producers of Thai BL series often introduce a second couple in order to test viewers’ reactions on a new ship. I remember my first time to experience SCS was watching my very first BL series, “Until We Meet Again“, which made me fall for BounPrem. North and Otto were breathtaking in some scenes – the amazing way they flirt and display mutual sexual attraction is unmatched, and it is the more impressive if compared to Duang’s clumsy, childish, OTT way of flirting. It’s the curse of second couples to get only little screentime, but as many viewers expressed their request to see more of them, I hope we’ll get a series with North and Otto as leads one day. To sum up, “Duang With You“ has been a pleasure to watch, and it has made me smile for twelve Saturdays. It has been good entertainment, which is more than many Thai BL series achieve, and which makes it my favorite Thai BL series of 2026 so far. Country: Thailand Episodes: 12 à ca. 70 mins. Director: Kla Nathawat Piyanonpong Cast: TeeTee Wanpichit, Por Suppakarn, North Chatchapon, Otto Sorranan et al.

This is about a freshman in college who sees another freshman singing on stage and is instantly attracted to him and decides to start stalking him, along with some help from his friends, until he gets up the courage to actually talk to the singer. This begins a year-long courtship that leads to a very happy ending. The main guy is a bit over-the-top and acts a little squirrely, but not without his own charm. The singer if very cold and detached, but we learn later that he is dealing with childhood trauma, but somehow they work and grow together and in time their two friend groups combine and help them as well. This is really a very grounded relationship and you get sense of realism to it as you see them grow and change together and how that relationship influences, and is influenced, by their family and friends. There is also quite a bit of natural humor that flows gently through the story, mostly coming from the guy's friends. Very much worth watching!