A BL drama is a television series, web series or film built around a romantic relationship between two men. BL stands for boys’ love. The label comes from Japanese manga publishing, and it now covers live-action productions from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Vietnam. On this site there are 173 BL entries and 28 GL entries, the latter being the girls’ love counterpart.
What makes a series BL
The test is simple: the central romance is between two male characters, and the story is told as a romance first. Everything else varies. BL can be a school comedy, an office story, a crime thriller, a period drama or a fantasy, and the romance can be a slow build or a first episode kiss. That range is why two people can both say they watch BL and be describing entirely different shows. Cherry Magic is a gentle workplace comedy. KinnPorsche is a crime drama about a mafia family. Both are BL.
Where BL comes from
BL grew out of Japanese manga and novels, and Japan still produces many of the source stories. Thailand turned the genre into a television industry, and the Thai series on this site now outnumber every other country’s. Our Thai BL dramas list has 49 of them. Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong each came to live-action BL later and in different ways, which is why we keep a separate list for the Korean, Japanese and Chinese shelves.
BL, GL and Yaoi
GL is girls’ love, the same idea with two female leads. You can browse it in the GL dramas list. Yaoi is a Japanese term mostly used for manga and anime with a more explicit tone, and it is a separate tag on this site. If you are unsure about the content level of a series, the age ratings guide explains how we mark it.
The tropes you will see
BL has a recognisable vocabulary, and the tags on this site show which ones are common. Slow Burn appears on 51 titles, Enemies-to-Lovers on 22, Friends-to-Lovers on 13, Second Chance on 11 and Fake Relationship on 7. If one of those phrases appeals to you, the title pages let you follow it to similar series. Terms such as seme, uke and Omegaverse are defined in the terms guide and the Omegaverse explainer.
How BL is released
Most series are short by Western standards, usually 6 to 16 episodes. Thai series often air weekly on a television channel and then appear in an extended edition on a streaming service, while Japanese and Korean titles are often shorter. Many series are adaptations: a novel, manga or manhwa comes first, and the series follows. The adaptations guide maps which drama came from which book.
Where to watch BL
iQIYI, WeTV, Viu, GagaOOLala and Rakuten Viki carry most of it, and many GMMTV series stream free on official YouTube channels. Netflix has a few. The platform guide explains what each service is good for.
What a title page tells you
Every series page on this site gives the synopsis, the cast and the couples, the number of episodes, the content rating, where it streams and an editor review by Renkaze. Use it to decide before you commit to a 12 episode run.
Where to start
Pick the kind of story you like and start there. For crime, KinnPorsche. For comedy and romance, Cherry Magic. For two couples in one story, The Heart Killers. For GL, The Secret of Us. The where to start guide sorts starting points by runtime and by how recently they finished.
More guides
Keep going with the Thai BL dramas list, Japanese BL dramas list, Korean BL dramas list, Chinese BL dramas list, GL dramas list, BL and GL terms explained, where to start with BL and GL.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does BL mean?
BL stands for boys’ love. It describes stories, in manga, novels and television, whose central romance is between two male characters.
What is the difference between BL and GL?
BL has two male leads and GL has two female leads. GL stands for girls’ love.
Where did BL dramas start?
BL began in Japanese manga and novels. Thailand built the largest live-action industry, and Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have all produced BL series.
Do BL dramas have a happy ending?
Many do, but not all. Read the title page and the editor review before you start if the ending matters to you.
What should I watch first?
KinnPorsche for a crime drama, Cherry Magic for a light romance and The Heart Killers for two couples in one story.
Are BL dramas suitable for everyone?
Content levels differ. The age ratings guide explains how each series is marked, and every title page shows its rating.
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