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 in living 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 15 Release Info
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers is in the swing of a regular weekly schedule, so we expect to see Episode 15 on Saturday, April 2nd. Now with daylight saving time in the US, the start is an hour later. By next week, the UK will have changed clocks too. As Thailand does not have seasonal time changes, next week the series will air at about 8.45pm (Bangkok Time) – 9.45am (ET) and 2.45pm (GMT). If your area has seasonal clock changes, check start times via an online time converter and compare it to Thailand’s 8:45pm. The simultaneous international release on YouTube comes ready with English subtitles, so you’ll be viewing right along with audiences in Thailand.
Episode 15 Preview
On the ‘Secret Story of IRIS,’ Ren and MJ are talking business but MJ quickly ducks out when Aum calls. As the rest of the team hangs out, the guys they’d previously beaten on the court show up for a rematch. When MJ appears, he hears that the other team played dirty and Aum was injured. But they’re afraid to do anything as the other guy’s Dad is a bigwig. MJ issues a new challenge. The F4 Thailand Preview finds Gorya labouring with her family. Ren argues that if Gorya had actually taken Roselyn’s money, she wouldn’t be living as she is now. He reminds Thyme of their connection and all they’ve been through. While Roselyn is primed to keep the status quo, it looks like Thyme may be ready for action. Ren can be awfully convincing, can’t he? Catch the official preview video (without subs) 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. 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 box and save yourself the trouble of having to search for it. If you’ve got further tips, please add them in the comments section.
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 13?
See the recap and review here: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 14 Recap & Review. Watch for recap and review stories each week after airing where we share some thoughts and ideas about the story progress and what it means for our protagonists. Read More: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 13 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 12 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 11 Recap & Review F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 10 Recap & Review 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 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. For more stories from this writer on all sorts of content, see the link here: Kristen Lazur.
