Web Series Worth Watching
I've always found watching web series occasionally better than TV in terms of being able to binge watch a whole series in 2 days. Okay, so some of the series I've chosen may not be classed as a web series but it's just what I class them as. We know that over the years web series has been making waves over the last few years in terms of storytelling and content. Most of the web series I have chosen do have an LGBT theme running through and of course lovable characters. And if you ask me, I'd say all these a absolute gems. So lets dive into the lovely world of web series....
Together With Me
A series all the way from Thailand, the story takes place before the events of Bad Romance The Series. It is focused on Korn and Knock and how they met and all the obstacles they had to go through before they officially became a couple. I can't tell you how many times I've watched this, probably about 5-6 times shhh. The storyline of two best friends falling in love might sound a bit cliche but in this instance, it was shown in an enjoyable way that I think is also more realistic.
This is done extremely well as the writers tackle issues such as homophobia, family ties, ageism, monogamy, vanity, and promiscuity. Each of these issues are divided evenly (and sometimes shared) with most of the cast. I love the close friendship between Korn, Yiwha, and Knock. I love how much she cherished Korn and Knock. How much she supported them. How much she protected them. And reminded them that they need to be themselves and not care about what society thinks of them.
Though this series doesn't spend any time parsing identities, there are some characters who it appears would describe themselves comfortably as gay and bisexual. This feels like a step into the twenty-first century. BRING ON TOGETHER WITH ME THE NEXT CHAPTER
HIStory: Crossing The Line
A web series from Taiwan. This story is about school, youth, passion, sports, and romance. The story follows a team of volleyball players Crossing The Line is a series that develops around sport, specifically volleyball, history introduces us to Qiu Zi Xuan, an athlete who due to an injury had to withdraw from training and action on the court, but his love for the sport is more powerful and although it cannot participate in the games, it continues within the team helping others to train and improve. During the training, he meets a guy, Xia Yu Hao, with a really bad attitude who gets easily infuriated with people that make him angry, but he strives to acquire what he persistently wants to achieve. Zi Xuan thinks he's the one who can reach his dream instead of him. He hopes that Yu Hao can achieve what he couldn't in the past.
This is a very well written, well acted, well produced mini series I highly enjoyed.
The cast was very charming, their interactions felt natural, the chemistry was on point. I really liked how they included the volleyball theme. It's not only a series about cute boys falling in love, it's also about your dreams and not giving up and it also tells us a history of acceptance, but also of rejection, suffering, and self-knowledge. Throughout the 8 episodes that last the story, you can see the evolution of both characters and how they decide to find a solution to their current situation instead of continuing to see it as a problem. I loved every character whom were unique in their own way and the actors had good chemistry, my only annoyance is that the series is short, this is only because of how much i enjoyed the series and wanted more
The series is also given a very important role in friendship, sports, and dreams, where the protagonists experience failure and success. So it's not just a romance story between two guys, it's a story of overcoming and accepting. Most importantly Crossing The Line is not just a romantic story, but also one of acceptance and overcoming. And unlike other series I've seen, does not exploit the situation of both couples or try to make them go through absurd situations, on the contrary, focuses on love and give visibility and normalisation that really deserves the LGBTQIA + community. It's two souls in love and that's beautiful. A Taiwanese series brings us all the feels and they give us a sense that we should have to believe in love, no matter gender, age and what state of life we are.
SOTUS & SOTUS S:
This Thai series is one i happened to stumble across. SOTUS stands for Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit. Receiving this 'gear' shows that they have worked and earned their place in the engineering program. The gear pretty much symbolises their heart (a gear is like the heart of the machine. Without working gears, the machine doesn’t work; without a heart, you don’t work; and without the student body as the working gears of the program, obviously there would be no program, you get the gist).
Right from the start towards the end, I was amazed by how much the series made me feel. It was such a roller coaster ride of emotions. Yea, yea, we all know that the MCs will get together in the end and everything will be rainbows and unicorns. But the series never gave that away, instead focusing on telling the story, and in the process, making the audience get swept up in the story as well.
SOTUS is that it has a pretty simple plot, and interesting characters. The beauty of this is that, like many other shows with complicated plots, it does not get tangled up in its own plot, and leaves plenty of room to focus on its characters and the relationships between them, and how they evolve over time. Yet it does not fall prey to the common issue in many BL dramas; there is still a plot, a greater story to be told.
What a lovely series this is! From the story to the dialogue I enjoyed the music, like the opening song for this series, is catchy. Not just the romance side of it which are adorable yet so agonisingly frustrating, but the hazing dynamics of the story was amazing and really enjoyable too.
There will be tears shed. Some laughs shared. But most of all there will be LOVE!
My Mad Fat Diary
This series tells the story of Rae Earl, an overweight British teen who is trying to adapt a normal lifestyle after recovering from a suicide attempt. Throughout the show, Rae struggles with her weight, self-esteem, and intrusive thoughts. Rae is clever and witty but naive about the world. Throughout the show, Rae learns how to self-soothe and how to love herself. The show will have you laughing in one scene, cringing from second-hand embarrassment in the next and then crying in the following one. The show is funny, raw and honest about the everyday struggles of an individual who suffers from anxiety and depression.
Rae experiences panic attacks, fits of anger and scenes of her in therapy sessions. But not only does it show the harder side of mental health, it gives a positive message to the viewers: you CAN and WILL get through it. Rae stumbles and makes all different types of mistakes throughout the show, but by the show's finale, she takes on a completely different perspective on life. She goes from an insecure teenage girl to a young woman ready to take on the world. That is the message we need to send out to the mental health community. Instead of romanticising suicide and depression, we need to show those who are suffering that help is available and they are not alone in their struggles.
The show mixes in the reality of depression with humour, valuable life lessons, amazing characters and a good soundtrack
Single By 30
explores what happens after the promises we make in our youth come back to help us. This friends-to-lovers tale follows Peter (Harry Shum, Jr.) and Joanna (Kina Grannis), besties from high school who drift apart after graduation. When life unexpectedly brings Joanna back home, the still-single and almost-30 friends reconnect. Determined to marry before they “age out,” the two assist one another in their relationship quests, with one condition: If they can’t find someone, they’ll fall back on their high school pact to marry each other. You can’t help but root for these characters. They’re all searching for happiness in their own unique ways.
It highlights that it’s okay to be 30 and single. It’s normal to not really find yourself, or continuing to find yourself, no matter what age you are. That’s what the show tells us. It shows us real things that people go through. It shows us the struggle of feeling like you have to do certain things or reach certain goals at a certain age in your life because that’s what society tells you that is normal and that’s what you should do.
Younger
If you are a Hilary Duff fan then you'll definitely want to watch this, the characters are bubbly, and the things they go through are fun. There is never a dull moment on the show. From what I've seen so far i'm enjoying it, there are a lot of relationships in Younger that provide a lot of drama. It’s not only romantic relationship, but also friendships.
It makes a point about how generations should be helping each other out rather than fighting for credibility over one another. "Younger" is such a refreshing dramedy. Watching Liza played by Sutton Foster pretend to be 26-years-old is extremely cringe-worthy but entertaining at the same time. The characters are relatable and sympathetic, even when they're doing insane things, and it's always hope inducing to watch someone try to begin their life again. Younger offers the sense that it's actually possible.
Did I mention, my all time girl crush Hilary Duff is also in this dramedy!?
The Bold Type
This is another series i'm somewhat a quarter way through and like Younger, i am enjoying so far. It's a chick flick-esque drama, but only in the best ways. You get all of the relationship drama and conflict that you would expect from a show of this nature, without any of the clichés. It's entertaining and fun, but has a surprising depth.
The female friendships alone are so important; they're not catty or trying to tear each other down, their friendship is all support and love while not sugarcoating anything. It demonstrates how much better the world is when women build each other up instead of tear each other down whilst smartly tackling a wide range of topics. It shows women taking ownership of their bodies, who are confident in who they are, and unapologetically go after what they want.
It covers complex topics, hard to talk about topics, and even in some ways controversial topics. It's female empowering, uplifting, and most of all, well-written. The writers' have also made the relationships realistic, which is very subtle at first, but the realistic way in which the main characters deal with issues within their group adds to the show in an unexpected way. And on top of it all, the characters are strong and independent, while still remaining feminine which is something not always found in the world of TV.
Romil and Jugal
This web series is a Indian take on Romeo and Juliet. The romance is different but soul stirring. It touches your heart, whether your gay, bisexual or straight, a boy or girl. It makes you realise that love is love. Love in many forms is beautiful. The show educates people about relationships, friendships, acceptance, tolerance.
Through powerful instances, it explains how homosexuality is normal and natural. It inspires to accept and embrace homosexuality and speak up against homophobia. It makes you realise how wrong and sinful it is to marginalise and oppress homosexuals. This series is very cute and will definitely add to spread a good message about homosexuality in India.
Romil and Jugal not only represents the reality and breaks various myths and stereotypes but it is also light hearted. Cheerful and romantic Jugal, deep and dashing Romil, flamboyant and smart Ramya. Everyone makes you smile in some way.
The good thing about the web series is that it normalises gay love in the sense that it is also about the feelings and emotions of the people in love and not just physical intimacy, it's a cute and unique love story that will make you smile.
Waterboyy The Series
Water Boyy is about Waii, a swimming club captain, who pretty much has it all. And when a newbie named Apo joins the swimming club and becomes his roommate, things take a turn and get even more thrilling! Boys + swimming... Has that grabbed your attention? Waii also has a difficult relationship with his father who is also the team’s coach.
The story focuses on important values in life, such as real friendship, forgiveness, patience, and perseverance. A quirky plot and a subtle romance, this series is a joy to watch with characters that are pretty likeable. I really can't pin point a character that i didn't like - each character had their individuality and quirkiness about them so more than others. I was amazed that they managed to write such a beautiful relationship in Waii and Apo's case with growth and still maintain a storyline outside their relationship that included them both.
The characters’ similarities fade as the series goes on as they are allowed to grow and change. New plays Apo with such cute innocence but with a strength and intelligence that is often removed from most characters of the same ilk. Waii is an extremely complex character and I believe Earth does an amazing job conveying all the interstices of the character. The romance between Waii and Apo is built up slowly and realistically. It is clear that Apo has feelings for Waii first, with Waii’s feelings shown much more subtly in the beginning.
Although with many other relationships following the main couple and occasionally it gets a little confusing but again enjoyable none the less, It’s actually nice because you get to follow different stories and most of them were pretty entertaining. The characters were pretty much okay, they are likeable. There were some that did not really stand out but there were also some that you will eventually fall for and follow along the way. Some of the drama may be a bit cliched or too far-fetched, but nevertheless, this is a pretty entertaining series from start to finish. The series is general is such a delight to the eyes. From it’s cinematography to it’s location, everything is on point. Also, there’s a lot of eye candy here as almost every episode so win win.
So there we have it, nine web series (or series) worth watching and ones I enjoy watching. I think it's a good selection of series with people of different backgrounds, race, gender, walks of life etc and are thoroughly enjoyable and a feels fest.These are most likely the ones I go back to time and time again when i need a little cheering up or just because. Web series are slowly but vastly changing the game and i can't wait!
