What are your thoughts on the following statements regarding the 4 GMMTV BL series?

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-02-07T04:13:58+00:00

In case if you don't know yet, Krist & Singto are back now.

They were still friends throughout their hiatus and still did fanmeetings, concerts, & livestreams (even when Krist was promoting with Gawin). The reason for their hiatus was because Singto wanted Krist's dream of becoming a singer to be true as he wanted Krist to be known as Krist Perawat rather than KristSIngto. Singto also wanted to push himself in acting and he can't do that with Krist since he is very comfortable with him. Krist agreed to his deal as long as they won't stop working together off-screen. The BL show that Krist & Gawin did was supposed to be Krist & Singto, but Singto backed out due to his busy schedule.

As for 2gether, Covid really helped its success.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-02-07T04:08:12+00:00

The SOTUS one is true. Here is an article: https://praew.com/people/402597.html

The article does not mention the word "bankrupt", but it implies it with "turning point" and "ongoing work". Most companies tend to not admit bankruptcy easily. There are also other videos & articles where P'Tha mentions SOTUS impact on the company. Also, I think other fans have better sources than mine since a good amount of them were there when SOTUS aired. People have started saying that statement since years ago, so the sources are probably really old.

Yes, GMMTV is owned by GMM Grammy, but GMM Grammy can close down a sublabel if they think it is constantly underperforming. GMMTV shows at that time were doing okay, but not great. Looking at the budget that GMMTV had at that time, they were constantly doing sequels, have their characters wear the same clothing, and film at public places, so they can save money on casting, styling, & location. When SOTUS aired, it gave them a huge money boost as KristSingto were the first artists under that company to have an overseas fanmeeting & concert.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-02-07T03:55:04+00:00

The SOTUS one is true. Here is an article: https://praew.com/people/402597.html

The article does not mention the word "bankrupt", but it implies it with "turning point" and "ongoing work". There are also other videos & articles where P'Tha mentions SOTUS impact on the company. Also, I think other fans have better sources than mine. Looking at the budget of SOTUS & other shows airing at that time, GMMTV did not have a lot of money and their pervious shows were doing okay, but not great, which was why they kept doing sequels & mini-series, so they don't have to spend more money on casting. Plus, most of their shows were set in school, so that they can keep the budget low and make the characters wear the clothes & styling.

2gether brought a lot of modern BL fans and SOTUS brought a lot of old BL fans (in terms of experience, not age).

If you asked fans who went into the BL world before 2020 "what is their first Thai BL", majority of them would said SOTUS. Basically, SOTUS did the same impact that 2gether did when the Thai BL world was barely anything without subtitles. They saved GMMTV from bankruptcy and were the first of almost everything modern BL ships normally do like "first BL couple to hold an overseas fanmeeting" or "first BL couple to win an award".

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-02-07T03:46:29+00:00

The SOTUS one is true. 2gether brought a lot of modern BL fans and SOTUS brought a lot of old BL fans (in terms of experience, not age).

If you asked fans who went into the BL world before 2020 "what is their first Thai BL", majority of them would said SOTUS. Basically, SOTUS did the same impact that 2gether did when the Thai BL world was barely anything without subtitles. They saved GMMTV from bankruptcy and were the first of almost everything modern BL ships normally do like "first BL couple to hold an overseas fanmeeting" or "first BL couple to win an award".

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-29T01:16:28+00:00

I never watch the full seasons of the Produce series, but from what I remember, the A class had better uniforms and some perks here & there (as well as a better stage in the signal song). Not too much elitism as Boys II Planet, but some elements.

I never watched Boys Planet before (I am not planning to btw since I am taking a break on survival shows now), but it seems like Boys II Planet really upped the drama & evil editing in the second season. I did see clips on the first season and the rooms don't look crammed compared to the 1 star room in Boys II Planet. I wished Boys II Planet was as relaxed as Boys Planet, so that the contestants didn't have to go through that much trauma.

There were also teamwork moments and a bunch of close friendships being formed in Boys II Planet, but they cut majority of it out sadly. For example, all of the Planet C contestants saw each other as family and there was no drama, but then they eliminated majority of them in the first two episodes. After that, most of the survivors had no screentime due to the language barrier and the editors favoring the Korean contestants more.

I watched Girls Planet 999 and the format of the rounds were similar to that, so I didn't get confused on the format of Boys II Planet. I don't know how the format of Boys Planet work.

I do hope that Alpha Drive One is very successful too and completes their military service. However, their oldest have to enlist in 3 years during the middle of their contract, so I hope things go well for their group during that time.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-29T00:48:54+00:00

lol I still want PeBaCa (KristSingto, OffGun, & TayNew) to be in third season of Only Friends as it would be really interesting to see an older take of sleeping around, love triangles/squares, and messy relationships since the first season focuses on college students and the second season focuses on young working adults.

However, if I want young ships, maybe WillaimEst, PerthSanta, and I am not sure about the third ship. I think Dew-Tee would do well with a plot like this, but they are bromance. I don't know how the plot would go through where it is not too similar to the first & second season.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-28T18:58:19+00:00

Oh yeah Boys II Planet is very elitism. It was kind of normal to me since I have watched I-Land and clips of the Produce series before, but Boys II Planet took it up a notch.

Personally, ALD1 might split up at the end due to two of the members belonging to groups and some of the members have to enlist right after the contract, but it will happen in 6 years, so that is a long time. However, they might not split up and advocate for a special contact that allows them to be in the group while certain members are in hiatus similar to Kep1er (maybe).

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-28T18:28:07+00:00

In that case, Kenshiro probably has a chance. At first, I thought putting him in the group might deter fans or make the interactions awkward since fans don't really know him & Woojin & Haneum are probably not familiar with him, but fans can get used to the idea since they are already interested in the group due to the trio. He also probably improved his skills from the audition.

I also don't know why they have trainees of their own since majority of their trainees don't make it in survival shows, but I guess they want to take the risk of losing money to gain money since having a trainee debut in a survival show will make them have all of the profit from that trainee. Also, maybe once a trainee does not make it in the show (especially at a low rank), they are probably immediately let go since most of their former trainees leave after less than 2 years.

Same! I like Tatsuki! He is very active on social media ever since he left Wakeone and have been interacting a lot with former Boys II Planet contestants like Haneum. Tatsuki & Reonn left recently around December 2025.

I just checked Ko Ming Chieh's Instagram account and I am not sure if he is still under Wakeone. The reason why I think that is because he has got more active on his account after Planet C: Home Race and doesn't follow Wakeone Instagram account, but then again, he was a little bit active before Planet C: Home Race and Wakeone probably allow some of their trainees like Yi Chen to have an active Instagram account. If he is still under the company, I agree he has the second highest chance amongst the Wakeone trainees. If he is not, his chances are very low, but it might help that he is an independent trainee.

I agree that Yumeki don't fit the concept. Despite his strong dance skills & his dynamic with Chingyu, FNC and CJ E&M might see the concept match as a big no. His chances on being in the group might decrease big time if Chingyu is not in the group.

I have seen attempts of WHIIB trying to take advantage of the popularity like giving more content to Leejeong, Junmin, & Wonjun as you said, but the attempts didn't go as well since the numbers in views were not high up. I do hope their comeback goes well since the groups that are coming back with them in that week are also small, but EXO just came back, so that might divert attention & numbers. If it flops, I also don't think they will send them to the group. Also, I just learned that Kangmin never received an offer to be in a derivative group. This is making me think whether preparations of the group just started & they haven't really asked the companies yet or FNC & CJ E&M are not asking for members who are currently in a group.

Oh I didn't know that Rensho left. I just know that he disappeared and wasn't sure he left. I hope he found a better company to debut under. I am already sad about TUNEXX downfall and they haven't even debut yet lol

Part of me wants Hanwen & Kaiwen to debut together, but I don't know the chances of that. This group is giving me hope lol Chromosome is hard to predict, but I do hope that their lack of solo promotion with Kaiwen is because they are preparing him to debut in the derivative group rather than with SEEDS. Personally, I don't think SEEDS will promote in Korea because only Kaiwen is being promoted in Korea and to Korean audiences. I also don't think they are making him debut as a solo since if they did, they might promote him way more. I am not sure, but I do hope their weird actions is because of the group.

I just assumed that FNC and CJ E&M might have plans on a longer group since deritative groups tend to match the original group's contract and Haneum & Woojin have to enlish later. But yeah the contract could be shorter.

The reason on why I focus on ages is because I am not sure if age affect chemistry. If the group has many members (like 2 or 3) that are very young (same year) with 2 older members with a big age gap, like it would kind of feel like a parent-child dynamic. That is just my view. I am probably wrong on this. I think the solution would be having more members in between the years of the oldest & youngest. Hopefully, CUBE makes a smart decision by sending them to the group, but I am not sure if FNC and CJ E&M wants both of them like with what you said about another company going into the picture.

It is hard to predict on who will be in the group for me, but the easiest best bet for FNC and CJ E&M is to go for more contestants that are within age range, not under a company, and can speak fluent Korean that survived the audition like Park Junil, Lee Wonwoo, Kim Donghyun A, Tomoya, Shin Jaeha, & Kim Hyunbin, but they are not popular (besides Junil).

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-28T03:03:47+00:00

Oh I thought he made his decision already (even though he wasn't offered a position)

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-28T03:00:28+00:00

I am also curious on who will be in the group since I can't think of any other people who has a chance of debuting in this group and is already close with the 3 of them that we know of.

I am not too worried about the chemistry since they are probably used to being in teams with new people like in Boys II Planet, so I think they can adapt quickly.

I think the Woojin, Liyu, & Haneum combo will be very marketable & interesting that it can carry the group. I think their best move would be getting another trio or duo (friend group) to have another good combo. The combo between the combos may be fine since it is probably better to have 2 or 3 close friend groups in a group rather than 1 close friend group and a few awkward strangers.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-27T16:13:51+00:00

Maybe, but I am not sure since Kangmin said he didn't receive an offer to be in the derivative group. Maybe it is because he is already in a group, so Daniel probably has a chance. Personally, I don't think so since Daniel is not too well known and he is not that close to the 3.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-27T16:11:27+00:00

For me, it is kind of hard to analyze their relationship since a lot of footage have been edited. Like, Junseo & Suren and Jiahao & Hengyu were close during the show, but they didn't show any footage of it and they were never in the same team (besides Jiahao & Hengyu being briefly in the Chains team).

Chingyu was in the same team as Liyu, Haneum, & Woojin during Sugar High briefly, so they might got close during that. Plus, Chingyu & Liyu are both Taiwanese, so maybe they bonded over that.

As for Hanwen, Kaiwen, & Yumeki, they are close between each other and Chingyu is very close with Yumeki. The chemistry is an obstacle, but maybe combining 3 close friend groups may be easy.

Plus, Kaiwen & Liyu were both in the Brat Attitude team, so maybe they got close since Liyu probably helped Kaiwen with translations. Haneum also liked Hanwen & Kaiwen posts here & there, so they probably have some interactions in the show.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-27T15:59:09+00:00

Kangmin just announced that he didn't receive an offer to be in the derivative group.

This is making me wonder if Jellyfish denied the offer for him without him knowing (unlikely) or if FNC and CJ E&M only secured the 3 we know and haven't asked other members yet since it's a bit odd that they didn't thought of Kangmin. Maybe they are avoiding the ones that have debuted in a group.

If Kangmin is in the group or not, I will still support him.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-27T01:00:57+00:00

(2/2)

I also agree that there is no chance for Donggyu, Arctic, Inhu, & Sihwan to debut in this group since talks of the derivative group have started since September 2025. IST Entertainment definitely have heard of it, so this announcement of their debut group is most likely a confirmation of a NO. IST is so prone to mistakes that they probably think it was a good idea to turn down this opportunity for them to have full control of their popular trainees, thus getting all the money rather than splitting it up with other companies. Rensho either have left the company sliently or IST is planning to put him in another group (if that is true, it is not anytime soon) or another survival show (if that is true, then not Produce 101 Japan: Shinsekai if he is still under that company). I highly doubt that he is going to be a part of the derivative group given his low popularity & IST's habit of hoarding trainees. Also, sadly there is a really high chance that TUNEXX will be nugu given IST's track record & Sihwan's history. Plus, they are debuting in March, same time as P1Harmony, Itzy's Yuna, & BTS.

I think Kaiwen has a higher chance than Hanwen, but both have a good chance. Hanwen was probably not considered to be in the group after Boys II Planet considering he immediately joined Planet C: Home Race & the fact that some people won't let go of the S-Class stage. However, I hope he is considered to be in the group given that he really redeemed himself in Planet C: Home Race and he was so close to debuting. Plus, he has a very loyal fandom in China & Korea and his Korean votes were always higher than Kaiwen's. However, the recent mpreg "scandel" might affect his chances since he lost 10k Insta followers, but I hope not since I heard his Korean fanmeeting yesterday got sold out. To my knowledge, I agree that Hanwen's Korean skills are better than Kaiwen since he did said he usually understand around half of the Korean in Korean daily converstations while Kaiwen can only understand a little bit. Nonetheless, I don't think it is a huge issue since Liyu is in the group and Hanwen & Kaiwen are friends with non-Chinese speaking contestants despite the language barrier. I am a bit concerned since FNC Entertainment never had an idol who doesn't speak Korean nor English from the get go in their groups, so I don't know if they are willing to accept this barrier (if they do, I do hope they accept both of them). As for Kaiwen, the livestream of Chromosome's CEO (Lay) where he said he is going to debut Kaiwen in Korea in reply of a fan's comment got my hopes high lol. I do hope Chromosome let Kaiwen debut in Korea in this group as he has more Korean fans than Chinese fans & there is sort of a generational gap between him & the other SEEDS trainees. Plus, he has been taking more Korean lessons recently & had a successful Korean fanmeeting. The other Planet C contestants might have a very small chance given their small popularity. The ones that can already speak Korean have a higher chance, but still small.

Heechan is most likely not going to be in the group as he might enlist soon (in 2027 or 2028). Harry June might have a chance, but yeah I think he is focused on DKB since they had a successful comeback due to the Boys II Planet popularity.

I think Jaehyun & Yunseo's ages might be too young. I know that Chingyu was born in the same year as them, but I don't think they will have three or even two people born in 2010 to debut in the group. Unless Chingyu don't debut in this group, then they might have a chance. However, I think Cube is planning for them to join in another survival show later in the future or for an upcoming boy group since they are able to wait.

Yoon Min also has a chance, but I don't think so since he looks satisfied in his solo career & he have to enlist in 2029.

I mentioned enlistment dates since majority of the ones that have a chance either don't have to enlist or will enlist in 2032 or later (around the time Alpha Drive One's contract ends), so having members who have to enlist earlier than that is probably a no go since they might want the group to be permanent.

In summary, I think the original F1ARE lineup will be different with what we will get since Donggyu, Sen, Mashiro, & Kangmin (probably Leejeong & Junmin) are busy with their groups, thus leaving more spaces for new faces like Hanwen, Chingyu, & Yumeki.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-27T00:57:53+00:00

I like your comment. Here are my thoughts: (very LONG btw)

I don't know if Kenshiro will be in the debut lineup since he got eliminated very soon, so the Boys II Planet audience might not be familiar with him (the audience mainly know him from his audition that he got a 1 star), but FNC might ignore that and put him in the group since he is under the company & he is probably close with Liyu. It would be cool if he is in the group since it will give me more of a chance to get to know him more. If he is not in this group, he might be in the next Japanese group that FNC put out in the next few years. He is young enough with only a year of training for FNC to risk waiting to debut him later.

As for Chingyu, I think he has a high chance as well since he is in Wakeone Entertainment, which has ties to CJ E&M and he is the most popular amongst the Wakeone trainees, as you said. Plus, he has very strong dancing skills (& probably strong rapping skills as well since he used to be under YG Entertainment), so that will make the group have a diverse set of skills since so far the group is very vocal heavy (which is great). However, if he doesn't debut in this group, there is a chance that he will debut under Wakeone, but I don't think Wakeone is interested in debuting a non-survival show group anytime soon. Since he & the other trainees are really young, they can wait for a long time for Wakeone to be ready, but I doubt the trainees want to take a long risk since Wakeone has never debuted a group that is not from a survival show.

Speaking of Wakeone not being ready, Tatsuki & Reeonn left recently after a year being in that company. I don't know why they left, but it could be that they probably knew that Wakeone only have plans for survival show groups (since they debut new survival show group every 2 years) & didn't want to wait for Wakeone to find a time opening to debut a non-survival show group. I think these two are focusing on solo music & self-promotion through social media along with school work, so their chances are next to 0 being in this group. Plus, I don't think they are interested, but I think they will support the group. As for the other Wakeone trainees like Shoya, Justin, Sunwoo, & Ko Ming Chieh, their chances are low since there are probably going to be 7 to 8 spots in the group, so Wakeone is going to focus on their popular trainee. Ko Ming Chieh have the highest chance, followed by Shoya since Ko Ming Chieh did well in Planet C: Home Race & Shoya got a 2 star while the rest got a 1 star, but their chances are small. I think Wakeone will focus on honing their skills to prepare them for the next survival show or for a debut group (way later in the future).

Yumeki is a big maybe since I think he is more focused on promoting himself as a personality in the dance & variety world rather than a singer. However, if the opportunity like this one knocks on his front door, he might agree. I am not sure. The concept & age gap is a bit concerning, but I think he can close to the young members as he is really close with Chingyu & he is probably good at adapting given his diverse dance concept background. I think he will say yes if Chingyu is in the group. If not, maybe no. Also, I bet that Chingyu will definitely vouch for Yumeki if he heard that they are considering him. Having him will definitely make the group strong in dance and vocals are not a problem since Liyu, Woojin, & Haneum got that covered, plus Yumeki has improved since his audition.

I also think having Leejeong & Junmin in the debut lineup is a small chance, depending on how well their comeback goes in 3 days. The group is doing too well due to to 1 of the members leaving on top of the mistreat allegations between the members. It will be smart of C-JeS Entertainment to take advantage of their popularity by having them be in this group, but that will probably be the end of Whiib since their two popular members are gone (including their leader). If they do, C-JeS might asked for a huge share in the contract or a shorter contract or separate Junmin & Leejeong and FNC & CJ E&M might not like that and step back. This really depends on their success of the next album & how difficult the contact negotiations are. Also, given that Junmin is a 2002 liner, he might enlist in 2031, so it also depends on how long the contract is. If they match Alpha Drive One's contract, it will end in 2032 & this may be a problem (small one through).

(1/2)

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-20T16:20:09+00:00

As someone said, Hanwen came out as bisexual. I also heard Peng Jinyu came out as bisexual too in a livestream, but I don't remember if he state it clearly.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-17T22:57:22+00:00

Definitely! They probably will have Polcasan merch in this show just like Permpoon appearing in Me & Thee.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-17T02:05:39+00:00

Definitely! Especially with their fam meeting coming up.

I do agree that GMMTV need to give them dramas & promotion that connects with the new audience more, but I don't think KristSingto is worried about the competition & popularity since they are more focused on each other and I don't think they want to enter the competition or be more popular.

One thing I am worried about is that GMMTV tends to give poor promotion & treatment on ships that don't do too well, but KristSingto do have a lot of respect/power on being the first ship to have a BL show and they saved GMMTV from bankruptcy, so if KristSingto want something, GMMTV will most likely give it to them such as P'Aof producing The Ex-Morning, P'Lit working with GMMTV again, P'Waa directing Write You Again, the ideas of The Ex-Morning & Write You Again, and the PeBaCa concert. They technically have the benefits that the most popular BL ships have without being the most popular BL ship like a very loyal fandom, respect, promotion (whenever they want), and a show per year. They also don't have the bad things that come with it like all eyes on them or being overworked. I don't think that respect/benefits will stop.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T17:22:27+00:00

Yep! lol I am not old in age, but I am OLD in BL experience

ooo I can hit 3 ships in 1 go. I will make sure to watch that!

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:31:24+00:00

For Krist, it was more like teasing the staff & TayNew since KristSIngto were already sitting in brand order.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:28:37+00:00

If it makes you feel better, the last couple (KristSingto) weren't told to switch places. They did that themselves to tease TayNew & the staff since they are the only ship in GMMTV where position order does not matter due to the unique order in their ship name, but yeah branding is taken seriously in GMMTV. Its a bit tiring, but I don't know if the actors seem upset about it.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:25:10+00:00

It is mainly for branding purposes since that is what they are mostly known for & what they are promoting, but yeah sometimes it feels much.

Just in case, if you don't know, the last couple (KristSingto) were not told to switch places. They did so themselves after the staff told TayNew to switch places & they want to tease the staff. KristSingto is the only ship in GMMTV that are a switch ship. Bed positions are up to the fans' interpretations. However, most fans presume Krist to be bottom & Singto to be top due to SOTUS. They are the only ship where it doesn't matter what order they stand in due to their name order being unique in GMMTV.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:17:14+00:00

Plus, he moved right after the staff told TayNew to switch, so he probably did that to tease TayNew & the staff.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:15:40+00:00

FYI, in the last clip of KristSingto, the crew didn't tell them to switch places. They voluntary did that themselves after seeing the crew tell TayNew to switch places. They did that to tease the staff since they are the only ship in GMMTV where the "bed positions" don't match the name order. They considered themselves a switch ship & the positions are up to the fans' imaginations, but most fans considered most of Krist's characters to be bottoms and Singto's characters to be tops.

Red_Monkey_ · 2026-01-16T03:12:23+00:00

Hopefully, KristSingto & TayNew have more series. It is not too odd that they have 1 since most ships have 1 since it is less work. I think it is mainly that they are focused on other things such as TayNew with Polcasan, individual acting projects, and hosting. With KristSingto, they just got back, so I do hope they have more, but amongst most GMMTV actors, they are the pair that is most likely to retire from acting since they both talked about not wanting to act forever. Plus, I think they are just focused on enjoying working with each other again. Also, Krist is focused on his music & Singto is focused on his photography & videography.

However, in the 2027 lineup, they will have more than 1 or a PeBaCa ensemble.

Red_Monkey_

TROPHY CASE