''Bad Buddy'' (; , "Just a Friend, Friend") is a 2021 Thai romantic BL

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series starring

Korapat Kirdpan Korapat Kirdpan (, ; born 18 December 2000), also known as Nanon (), is a Thai actor, singer and model. He began his career as a child actor and has appeared in numerous television dramas and series. Korapat is known for his roles in productions ...

(Nanon) and Pawat Chittsawangdee (Ohm). Based on the novel ''Behind The Scenes'' by Afterday and -West-, it tells the story of two boys who came from warring, neighboring families and found themselves competing for almost everything, but developed romantic feelings for each other along the way. Directed by Noppharnach Chaiwimol (Aof) and produced by

GMMTV GMMTV () is a television production and talent agent subsidiary to the Thai entertainment conglomerate GMM Grammy, under The One Enterprise, which produces television shows, songs, and music videos. It was founded on August 3, 1995. Sataporn Pan ...

, this series is one of 16 television series of GMMTV for 2021 during their "GMMTV 2021: The New Decade Begins" event on 3 December 2020. It premiered on

GMM25 Channel GMM 25 (simply GMM 25) is a Thai digital terrestrial television channel owned by GMM Grammy (via GMM Dightai Holding and GMM25 Interactive) and operated by The One Enterprise. The network offers a variety of content such as drama, music, ...

on 29 October 2021, airing on every Friday at 20:30 ICT (8:30 pm), while its full uncut version aired at 22:30 ICT (10:30 pm) on WeTV. It replaced the Friday slot of the ''

Fish upon the Sky ''Fish upon the Sky'' (; , also known as ''"Fish from the Sky, Fish upon the Sky"'') is a 2021 Thai boys' love television series starring Phuwin Tangsakyuen, Naravit Lertratkosum (Pond), Trai Nimtawat (Neo) and Thanawin Teeraphosukarn (Louis). Th ...

'' rerun on GMM25. It was featured on ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'''s best BL dramas of 2022 list.

Synopsis

The rivalry of Pat ( Pawat Chittsawangdee), a cheeky and impulsive guy, and Pran (

), a neat and tidy perfectionist has been passed down from a previous generation. They were destined to be mutual enemies even before they were born. Their families run competing hardware businesses side by side, and their parents hate each other to the core. For this reason, the boys have become rivals in any kind of competition. When an incident happens at the age of 12, their hatred begins to dissolve: Pat's little sister, Pa (Pattranite Limpatiyakorn), starts drowning in a pond. While Pat is still in a state of shock and fear, Pran immediately rushes into the water and saves Pa from drowning. Their relationship has changed since then. On the surface, they still appear to be enemies, but they no longer truly detest each other. In the tenth grade, they are assigned to be in the same music band and become closer. Pran's family finds out, and he is sent away to a boarding school. Two years later, they are brought together once again. Pat is chosen to be the freshman class president of the Faculty of Engineering while Pran is the class president of the Faculty of Architecture, two faculties that have a historic rivalry as well. Pa quickly finds out and asks Pat not to do Pran any harm because he was the one who saved her life. Pat and Pran's friends have a series of physical fights, and are told they will suffer consequences if they fight again. Pat and Pran, the leaders of their friend groups, decide to coordinate to keep their friends from running into each other. As they coordinate, they become closer, and eventually fall in love. They begin dating, hiding it from all of their friends and family until they are caught and must deal with the consequences.

Cast and characters

Main

(Nanon) as Pran * Pawat Chittsawangdee (Ohm) as Pat

Supporting

Pattranite Limpatiyakorn Pattranite Limpatiyakorn (; ; ; born 23 May 2000), nicknamed Love (), is a Thai actress. Pattranite became an actress under GMMTV after passing an audition in 2018. Her first work is ''He's Coming to Me'' (2019). The work which gave her wider re ...

(Love) as Pa *

Pansa Vosbein Pansa Vosbein (; born 31 July 1996), nicknamed Milk (), is a Thai actress under GMMTV. She gained recognition from her sapphic role in the series '' Bad Buddy'' (2021). Life Pansa was born on 31 July 1996. She is of Chinese, Danish, Mon, and ...

(Milk) as Ink * Jitaraphol Potiwihok (Jimmy) as Wai *

Sattabut Laedeke Sattabut Laedeke (, born 1 October 2000), nicknamed Drake, is a Thai-American actor. He gained recognition for his roles as Mork in '' 'Cause You're My Boy'' (2018), Title in ''Blacklist'' (2019), and Mil in '' 2gether: The Series'' (2020). Ear ...

(Drake) as Korn * Pahun Jiyacharoen (Marc) as Louis * Teepakron Kwanboon (Prom) as Mo * Thakorn Promsatitkul (Lotte) as Safe *

Pakin Kuna-anuvit Pakin Kunaanuwit (; born 2 June 1998), nicknamed Mark (), is a Thai actor signed under GMMTV and a former badminton player. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in '' My School President'' (2022) and '' Only Friends'' (2023). Early life ...

(Mark) as Chang * Puttipong Sriwat (Leo Putt) as Ming (Pat's father) * Pattamawan Kaomulkadee (Yui) as Pat's mother * Passin Ruangvuth (A) as Pran's father * Paradee Vongsawad (Ple) as Dissaya (Pran's mother) * Thanavate Siriwattanakul (Gap) as Chai *

Kongkiat Khomsiri Kongkiat "Kome" Komesiri (, born 2 June 1975, in Thailand) is a Thai film director and screenwriter. Film career Kongkiat graduated from the Faculty of Mass Communications at Bangkok University and started his career as a crew member on ''Mysteri ...

(Kome) as Tong

Guest

* Natachai Boonprasert (Dunk) Pat & Pran's school bandmate * Passatorn Koolkang (Captain) Pat & Pran's school classmate * Kittiphop Sereevichayasawat (Satang) as Pat & Pran's school bandmate * Napat Patcharachavalit (Aun) as Pat & Pran's school classmate *

Norawit Titicharoenrak Norawit Titicharoenrak (; born 13 June 2004), known as Gemini (), is a Thai actor under GMMTV and a singer under Riser Music. He first gained attention through the reality television program ''Thailand School Star'' and rose to prominence for hi ...

(Gemini) as Pat & Pran's school junior * Arun Asawasuebsakul (Ford) as Pat & Pran's school junior *

Nattawat Jirochtikul Nattawat Jirochtikul (; born 18 October 2004), also known as Fourth (), is a Thai actor under GMMTV and a singer signed to Riser Music. He began his career after winning the talent competition ''Thailand School Star 2019''. In 2021, he made his a ...

(Fourth) as Pat & Pran's school junior * Achita Panyamang (Kim) as Young Pat * Tanapatch Chanthasorn (Zen) as Young Pran * Nichamon Ladapornpipat (Nene) as Young Pa * Chertsak Pratumsrisakhon (Chert) as Professor Pichai * Suphasawatt Purnaveja (Watt) as Professor of Architecture * Yaowalak Mekkulwiroj as Professor / Lecturer * Kusuma Teppharak (Pong) as Ms. Payao * Chayanee Chaladthanyakij (Meen) as Ms. Sunee *

Thitisan Goodburn Thitisan Goodburn (; born 30 June 1999), nicknamed Kim, is a Thai actor, model, and male pageant titleholder who was crowned Mister International 2023. Thitisan began his career in 2018, as a contestant on season two of the Thai male modeling c ...

(Kim) as Ham * Passakorn Chaithep (Cnine) as Junior * Amata Piyavanich (Jum) as Junior's mother * Pradit Prasartthong (Tou) as Yod * Thanadon Meewongtham (Au) * Kornprom Niyomsil (Au) as Toto * Wisit Chantaraparb (Plug) as Chart * Poom Kaewfacharoen as Kwan (Architecture stageplay actor)

Reception

Thailand television ratings

*In the table below, represents the lowest ratings and represents the highest ratings. : Based on the average audience share per episode.

Online ratings

As of 15 November 2021, the series has reached the No. 1 position on WeTV Thailand's most popular BL series rankings. It further become the most-streamed Thai television series and drama on 23 November 2021 and the most-watched title on the platform on 13 December 2021 after the release of Episode 7. Likewise, the series also made it to the Weekly Top 10 Most Watched Series of

iWantTFC iWantTFC (formerly known as iWant TV and iWant) is a Filipino over-the-top media service and production company owned and operated by ABS-CBN Digital Media, a division of ABS-CBN Corporation. It was formed in 2020 through the merger of two st ...

despite its exclusive availability in the Philippines. On the first rank release on 3 November 2021, the series' English-subtitled version reached Top 9. It consistently remained in the Top 10 throughout the weeks and as of 14 December 2021, few days after the release of Episode 7, the English-subtitled version reached Top 8 and the Filipino-dubbed version achieved Top 9.

Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

– The series is one of the newest five

television series alongside ''" Baker Boys"'', ''" Not Me"'', ''"

Enchanté ''Enchanté'' () is a Belgian-built barge of the Péniche (barge), ''spits'' category, originally named ''Maria'', converted into a hotel barge. She is one of around 50 hotel barges operating on the French waterways. History ''Enchanté'' was ...

"'', and ''" F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers"'' (a Thai adaptation of Meteor Garden, which had different versions in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, which was aired before on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

) that was acquired by

ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino Media conglomerate, media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment television and film production, Broadcast syndication, progra ...

, after its successful acquisition of eight previous series under GMMTV. It was announced by

Dreamscape Entertainment Dreamscape Entertainment is a Philippine television production and entertainment company of ABS-CBN Studios, a division of ABS-CBN Corporation, that supplies telenovelas for its namesake television network ABS-CBN, and sister channels and onlin ...

on 28 June 2021. All episodes with English subtitles was made available for streaming via

starting on 29 October 2021, simulcast with its Thailand broadcast. The platform likewise released the series as dubbed in Filipino starting with the first episode on 4 November 2021. *

– The series is acquired by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

and au to be released in Japan for the first time on the streaming platform Telasa. The first episode premiered with Japanese subtitles on 11 November 2021 and the succeeding episodes has been available sequentially every Thursday.

Spin-off

Stories about Ink and Pa, a ''

yuri Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

'' couple in the series, have been made into an episode called "Zero Photography" of the miniseries ''Magic of Zero'', released on 11 August 2022, with

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

and

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

reprising their roles of Ink and Pa.

Legacy

''Bad Buddy'' was included in the roster for the second part of their series, ''

Our Skyy ''Our Skyy'' (; ''Our Skyy –'' ) (translated as ''Our Skyy - I Want To See The Sky Like That Day'') is a Thai anthology BL television series that expands on different concluded BL series. In the first season which aired in 2018, it was compo ...

'' (entitled ''Our Skyy 2'').

Ohm Ohm (symbol Ω) is a unit of electrical resistance named after Georg Ohm. Ohm or OHM may also refer to: People * Georg Ohm (1789–1854), German physicist and namesake of the term ''ohm'' * Germán Ohm (born 1936), Mexican boxer * Jörg Ohm (1 ...

and Nanon reprised their roles as Pat and Pran respectively.

Critical response

Jasmine Floretta, writing in Magdalene, called Bad Buddy "a Boys Love (BL) version of Romeo and Juliet" that "that transcends its own genre, combining brilliant acting and well written storyline."

References

External links

''Bad Buddy''
on

GMM 25 Channel GMM 25 (simply GMM 25) is a Thai digital terrestrial television channel owned by GMM Grammy (via GMM Dightai Holding and GMM25 Interactive) and operated by The One Enterprise. The network offers a variety of content such as drama, music, ...

website
''Bad Buddy''
on WeTV
''Bad Buddy''
o
GMMTV OFFICIAL YouTube Channel
*
GMMTV
{{GMMTV television series, state=expanded 2020s LGBTQ-related comedy television series 2020s LGBTQ-related drama television series 2021 Thai television dramas Television series by GMMTV Thai boys' love television series Thai romantic comedy television series Thai-language television dramas