Cutie Pie: The new Thai BL smash hit
Zee Pruk Panich won our hearts and burst onto our screens in 2020 in the popular Thai BL series Why R U? Well, he is back with another Thai BL, Cutie Pie, that seems to be breaking through some of the genre’s stereotypes. If you’re a consumer of BL, it’s likely you’re familiar with the constraints Thai BL seems to operate in.
They’re typically low-budget, college-coming-out stories that are shrouded in pain and all kinds of homophobia. While not totally shedding itself off the college environment, Cutie Pie does take a much more adult approach to their storytelling.
Hia Lian (Zee Pruk Panich) is not a college student. He’s a successful business mogul that oozes power and control. He is in an arranged engagement with Kuea Keerati (New Chawarin Perdpiriyawong). Kuea is still in college, and yes, he is taking classes in the Engineering department – as all the gays do in these Thai BL shows. Despite the fact that their union is an arranged one, Kuea does seem completely and totally besotted with Hia. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as if Hia returns his affections.
We watched the first episode of Cutie Pie with bated breath. The formulaic approach to BL from Thailand isn’t always our cup of tea, but we are rather partial to Zee, so we decided to give it a go. Here’s what we thought.
The first episode
Hia Lian and Kuea Keerati are the heirs to two different, highly successful families. Hia is already working for the family business, and Kuea is finishing up his studies at university before he joins his own family business. They’ve known each other since birth, and it’s Kuea’s dying grandfather’s wish that Hia and Kuea marry.
Hia Lian agrees to the union out of obligation, but Kuea is thrilled about the engagement because the kid is actually head over heels in love with the man. As episode one of Cutie Pie opens, their differing feelings are revealed to viewers immediately and Kuea suggests breaking off the engagement because his affection for his fiance is not returned.
The first episode of Cutie Pie deals mostly with this. Viewers are given the back story about how these two young men came to be engaged in the first place and it does an outstanding job of conveying the realities of the romantic situation between them. Hia is cold, closed off, and everything you would expect from a businessman like him. Kuea is emotional, kind, and warm and allows his youthful emotions to rule his world.
Adult themes
The simple fact that Hia Lian is not a college student already gives this drama a whole different vibe to other Thai BL productions. He is a grown man, with a successful career (albeit inherited) and he carries himself as such. The first episode definitely feels free of the raging adolescent emotions that are ever present in Thai BL productions.
While Kuea is clearly in love with his fiance, it’s pretty clear that Hia Lian is going along with the arranged marriage out of obligation. Kuea definitely has no issue with the fact that he is in love with a man, but we’re not sure if Hia Lian is even gay at this point. Agreeing to a same-sex arranged marriage does not a gay man make. It’s unclear at this point, but we’re definitely watching to see how this plays out.
If Hia Lian is in fact gay, it seems that Cutie Pie has decided to spare viewers from the awkward pit of self-loathing characters in Thai BL dramas seem to fall into once they realize they’re in love with someone of the same sex. And we are definitely here for this.
Although we’re only one episode in, Cutie Pie seems completely free of homophobia, which is something relatively unique to Thai BL productions. It’s incredibly refreshing to see two people of the same sex be in an open relationship and have it be utterly and completely normal. Sigh. More of this, please.
The LGBTQ factor
The fact that the main couple in this show is in a same-sex arranged marriage definitely caught our attention. Despite public pressure, Thailand recently denied the LGBTQ community in Thailand access to marriage equality, again. For a television show to center a queer relationship that is intended for marriage, like Cutie Pie does, sends a very clear and powerful message to the Thai government.
We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going away.
The normalization of the union in Cutie Pie is so humbling, and a breath of fresh air for the Thai queer community. We can’t help but wonder what other barriers Cutie Pie will attempt to break through for the community.
Cutie Pie starts off strong. Zee and New have excellent chemistry and we’re very excited to see where this goes. Will Kuea be able to woo his man into actually loving him for real? We sure as hell hope so.
Cutie Pie is released weekly on Saturday’s and can be watched on Youtube. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
