The first broadcast was on November 19, 2022 while the last chapter has been recently broadcast on February 19 of this year. Its protagonists, Mon and Sam, are played by 20-year-old Becky Armstrong and 24-year-old Freen Sarocha respectively.
What is it about?
Mon has just graduated from college and is preparing for her first day at her dream job at Lady Sam’s company, a successful socialite businesswoman Mon has admired since she was little.
In the past, young Sam had saved Mon from a dangerous situation and had been kind and gentle. Over the years, her youngest continued to admire her deeply and took her as a role model.
The plot takes a turn when, unlike the idealized image he had of his idol, Mon discovers that the reality is totally different. At work, Lady Sam is feared by all and known for being coldly ruthless. This leads to a great disappointment for the minor who discovers that everything he had read about her was false.
However, the Sam begins to demonstrate a different attitude when it comes to Mon. Suddenly, Sam is leaving her implacable countenance to her side, showing (in her own way) to her that she really cares about her new employee.
GAP The Series is a very complete series in terms of the plot and the topics covered. Issues such as discrimination, family mandates, tradition and the discovery of sexuality are treated with exceptional realism that we can attribute to the great work of both the actresses and the director.
The current situation in Thailand is also addressed, where marriage between people of the same gender is not legal and retrograde thinking is constantly questioned where “love is only a right reserved for heterosexuals”.
Some things you might not know
The director, Nuttapong Wongkaveepairoj, is characterized by having given various liberties to the actresses within the scenes, giving them simple instructions such as “make it something beautiful” and letting their characters flow.
The protagonists had previously acted together in the series “Secret Crush On You” in 2022, where the director was able to see the chemistry between the two and decided to make them part of this new project.
Although Thailand is globally recognized for its BL (Boy’s Love) series, this is the first GL series produced in Thailand. It is also the first LGBT story broadcast on open TV in the country. This risky decision by the producer has caused it to lose several sponsors, leading it to a high risk of bankruptcy.
However, the success has been resounding, achieving massive popularity in Thailand and other countries worldwide such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico and Peru, among others. . It is no coincidence that the success of this series occurs in a context of a rise in Human Rights for LGBT identities around the world.
That say the protagonists?
In an interview, both Sarocha and Armstrong have told with joy that their closest circle has been enthusiastic about the project and has given them unconditional support. “Everyone is so supportive of me, for example my father, my mother and my brother. Every Saturday we would sit by the sofa and say: ‘Let’s watch GAP The Series together.’ In some scenes I am a little embarrassed. But I am I’m so glad everyone supports me and always comes to any event or anything,” Becky said.
They also had the opportunity to express their opinion on homosexuality and their vision on a social level. Armstrong believes that “love is love. Love should have no barriers, no matter what gender, age, or race. Whoever you want to love, you should be able to. Just like when you’re with that person, you feel, ‘She’s so cute. ‘, ‘I want to see you again.’ I think it’s time for everyone to open their hearts and say, ‘Yes, accept that love is love.'”
As for how homosexuality is perceived in Thailand, Freen said, “There are more and more open-minded people and everyone accepts that there are people who love each other even if they are of the same sex. I hope that in the future there will be a law that allows to be together with a couple like that”.
It can be any gender and I want everyone to see that love is love and that there are different kinds of love in this world.
“In Thailand, everyone is very open-minded about it and many seminars are organized to educate people on this topic. The only barrier is that same-sex marriage is still not approved by law, which we hope will happens in the future. Like I said, love should have no barriers,” Armstrong also said.
The importance of GAP The Series in Thailand
This project is a necessary trigger for debate within Thai society and around the world. Visibility is key when it comes to the fight for rights and this series has had such an impact that it has undoubtedly made the LGBT community in Thailand visible.
He was born in 2002 in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is currently a Literature student at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He participated in two editions of the Writing World Cup in Buenos Aires.
