BL series or Boys’ love romance has been taking our social media feeds for months now, and we can’t get enough of it!

Being stuck in quarantine, the growing number of BL fans in the Philippines has been evidently spiking since the popularity of some of Thailand’s famous and top-rated dramas have reached our very own shores.

Well, thanks to the popularity of ‘2gether: The Series’, the most-watched series to date which garnered millions of views on YouTube. The story of Sarawat and Tine captured the hearts of Pinoy viewers and paved the way for Filipino writers and filmmakers to create original Pinoy BL series.

(Read: Thai BL Series On Top: Here’s Why ‘2gether: The Series’ Won The Hearts of Filipino Fans)

The never-ending debate with regards to this type of genre in a Catholic nation in Asia is really hard to justify from the prejudices and cultural standards we imbibed as a major set-up in our society.

The long battle of LGBTQIA+ community for acceptance is really far from reality, and admit it, many are just tolerating this so-called preferences as our nature but hesitant to fight for the acceptance—a sad reality.

But, thanks to those brave humans who have courageously stood on the frontline and created a wonderfully-written BL series that might open more eyes to see the undeniable brightness of a rainbow.  

Some Filipino writers and directors have partnered and responded to this emerging trend of the newly-found phenomenon, and here’s a list of trending BL series in the Philippines:

GAMEBOYS

It is considered as one of the most successful BL series ever-created this quarantine period.

Gameboys follows a story of popular streamer Cairo Lazaro (Elijah Canlas) and the flirtatious Gavreel Alarcon ( Kokoy de Santos) where they developed their online friendship into something deeper, with the help of Gavreel’s best friend, the energetic and supportive Pearl Gatdula (Adrianna So).

The series debuted last May 22, 2020, on The IdeaFirst Company‘s YouTube channel which gained praise and positive feedbacks from the viewers and press.

In an interview, Direk Ivan Andrew Payawal said that the young boys cast as the characters in this series worked hard despite the difficulties they have experienced while filming it, a testament of professional and passionate artists. Since they were shooting from their homes, it was a challenge that both embraced.

SAKRISTAN

Sakristan, inspired by Thai’s BL series, is one of the most controversial BL series screened this pandemic. Creator Darryl Yap has challenged the viewers in the series breaking some of the conservative norms of social media.

He received backlash and a campaign to halt the series, one of which was a petition filed by certain religious groups branding Sakristan as a serious offense to the teachings of the CBCP and a film that promotes “homosexuality.”

Darryl refused to be thwarted by all the negative and malicious allegations and finished his series.

With Yap’s provocative and unconventional style of storytelling, the fans have gone curious about it and even trended on the internet.

Debuted last May 31, Sakristan took us on a journey of two young altar servers who will make us question our notions of sacrifice, faith, and the limitless power of the heart.

For those who want to see the whole 8 episodes of Sakristan, it is posted on VinCentiments official YouTube accounts

HELLO STRANGER

Black Sheep's first digital series ‘Hello Stranger’ is one of the most applauded and loved BL series this quarantine period for its spontaneity and light theme starred by Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara.

The series was shot, written, produced, and set during the lockdown which tackles love and friendship between two Filipino college boys named Mico (Alcantara), a nerdy college student who is forced to be partnered with the star basketball player, Xavier (Labrusca), for a school project, and formed a pure friendship from being the worst of enemies and the bond goes beyond it.

Hello, Stranger aired its pilot last June 24, 2020, and all episodes are posted on Black Sheep's Facebook (fb.com/BlackSheepABSCBN) and YouTube (youtube.com/Black_SheepPH) accounts.

QUARANTHINGS

With excellent performances of Fuccbois star Royce Cabrera and Vlogger Kyo Quijano, no doubt, “Quaranthings” has been making its way to claim its place on the roster of successful BL series this quarantine period.

Produced by Ride or Die studios, the series revolves around Judah (Quijano) and Rocky (Cabrera) who stuck together under one roof amid the pandemic and ended up supporting and depending on each other to get through their personal issues; their friendship unexpectedly blossoms into romance.

Quaranthings is currently in its 4th episode which airs every Friday on Ride or Die official YouTube channel.

Let’s all wait if Judah and Rocky will end up together!

GAYA SA PELIKULA

One of the much-anticipated BL series this year has finally come to conquer our screens, and I mean, the support and wonderful feedbacks are just overwhelming.

Gaya sa Pelikula, written by spoken-word artist and actor Juan Miguel Severo and directed by JP Habac under Globe studios, is all set to complete our kiligs this quarantine period. The story follows a 19-year-old film buff and architecture student Karl (Paolo Pangilinan) and a rebellious schoolmate, Vlad (Ian Pangilinan), who is on the run from his own family.

Gaya sa Pelikula’s pilot episode was just posted last week and believe it or not, it has been continuously making waves on the internet as a top-tier BL series.

Its episode airs every Friday, so let’s all watch the series to follow what’s going to happen next.

With all these BL series on the go to make way for possible acceptance, one thing is true for sure, they all want to show us the true power of love.

Oh there you go, if you want to discover new series and genre, try these ones and you’ll never regret it!