Payback (2026) Thai BL series poster featuring Minlee Thanakorn Wichanukhor as Sun and TopTap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang as Jay

Payback

CompletedTV Series🇹🇭

What happens

Theemekha "Sun" Rungsapdee (Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor) collects debts for a loan shark, a job he keeps telling himself is temporary, until the night one of those debtors puts a knife in his younger brother. In the same stretch of days his boyfriend, Thanapat "Bank" Loetkraisorn (Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra), disappears with the money set aside for his mother's cancer treatment. Five years later Sun is delivering parcels for a living when he looks up at a billboard and finds Bank's face on it: the man who took everything from him is now a rising actor working under the name Sunny. Sun talks his way into the same entertainment agency, close enough to take it all back, and in doing so walks straight into the path of Athip "Jay" Wanitsakitphaisan (Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang), the company's unlisted managing director.

Moving around them are Sky (Shogun Paramee Thesdaroon), Kajorn (Khunnote Jirapat Uttamanan) and Songphon (Moo Klot Atthaseri), while Pavinee (Nook Suttida Kasemsant Na Ayutthaya) and Jo (Gandhi Wasuvitchayagit) fill in an industry where image is the only currency that counts. The closer Sun gets to the truth, the harder it becomes to tell his revenge apart from everything else he has started to want.

Directed by Woodie Pongchaiphat Sethanand for Raize Up Production, with A Plan International Group, Kidari Studio, Copus Japan and Fuji Television Network, the ten-episode series adapts the Korean BL webtoon Payback (페이백) by writer samK and artist Fujoking, serialised on Bomtoon and Lezhin Comics from 2 June 2021 and itself drawn from samK's web novel. It aired Saturdays at 22:30 on One 31 from 30 May to 1 August 2026, with an extended streaming edition arriving on iQIYI the same night. Carried by the ToptapMinlee pairing, it is a crime melodrama first and a romance second: grief, debt, betrayal, and the price a person pays for collecting on all three.

CONTENT DETAILS

Native Title
เพย์แบค เดอะซีรีส์
Original Title
PAYBACK The Series
Also Known As
เพย์แบค เดอะซีรีส์, PAYBACK The Series, Payback (TV ver.)
Adaptation
Adapted from the Korean BL webtoon Payback (페이백) by writer samk and artist Fujoking, serialised on Bomtoon and Lezhin Comics from 2 June 2021; the webtoon is itself based on samk's Korean web novel of the same name. Produced with Kidari Studio, the Korean studio behind the original.
Themes
Key Themes
RevengeEnemies to LoversEx-BoyfriendBetrayalEntertainment IndustryDebt CollectorSecond ChanceAngstSlow BurnWebtoon AdaptationGriefAge Gap
Country
Language
Thai
Screenwriter
Sammon
Original Author
samK
Seasons
1
Episodes
10
Duration
43 min
Aired Start
Aired End
Release Year
Content Rating
MA

Where to watch Payback

iQIYI (TV Version)iQIYI (Extended Streaming Edition)LINE TV Taiwan

Before You Watch

  • Payback (เพย์แบค เดอะซีรีส์) is a 10-episode Thai BL revenge thriller that aired on One 31 every Saturday at 22:30 ICT from 30 May to 1 August 2026, with an extended streaming edition released on iQIYI the same night.
  • It adapts the Korean BL webtoon Payback (페이백) by writer samK and artist Fujoking, itself based on samK’s web novel.
  • Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor plays Theemekha “Sun” Rungsapdee, a debt collector turned deliveryman; Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang plays Athip “Jay” Wanitsakitphaisan, the entertainment company’s unlisted managing director.
  • Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra plays Thanapat “Bank” Loetkraisorn, the ex-boyfriend who becomes the actor “Sunny”, the target of Sun’s revenge.
  • Directed by Woodie Pongchaiphat Sethanand and produced by Raize Up Production alongside Kidari Studio, the Korean studio that publishes the source webtoon.
  • Episodes run about 43 minutes. The series is complete at 10 episodes.

Reviewed by Renkaze

7.8/10

Payback is a Thai BL built as a crime melodrama. A debt collector's brother is stabbed by a debtor, his boyfriend disappears with the money meant for his mother's cancer treatment, and five years pass before any of it is answered.

The adaptation

samK's webtoon, drawn by Fujoking and serialised on Bomtoon and Lezhin Comics since 2021, is built on the idea that revenge costs the person taking it. Kidari Studio, the Korean studio behind the original, is among the producing companies on the Thai series, and the ten episodes keep that premise at the centre.

The relationship at the centre starts as a means to an end: Sun talks his way into the agency to get close to Bank, and Jay's position as its unlisted managing director puts him in Sun's path. Min Thanakorn plays Sun with the restraint of someone who has already decided what he is willing to lose; Toptap Jarukit gives Jay a stillness that reads as control. Fuaiz Thanawat's Bank is the betrayal that sets everything in motion.

Series or manhwa first?

Either order works. The series tells the story in ten episodes, and the source has its own page at Payback (Manhwa).

The verdict

Payback is a Thai BL with a webtoon source and a cast that commits to the darkness of it. It is built as a crime melodrama rather than comfort viewing.

Best for: viewers who want crime, consequence and moral compromise in their BL.
Skip if: you are looking for a light, healing romance.

It opens strongly, and the middle has a patient rhythm that suits viewers who like a story to build.

The first stretch had me. It sets its hook early and the revenge is carried all the way through rather than being dropped once the romance gets going, which I respect. Further in, the pace becomes more deliberate and my attention moved at that pace, which suits viewers who like to sit with a story rather than be rushed through it.

Where it really lands is the lead. If the commanding, holds-all-the-cards kind of male lead is what you come to this genre for, this is one of the better ones you will find. That dynamic is the engine of the whole thing and the show knows it.

I kept seeing a second road the same material could have taken, which suits viewers who enjoy weighing how a strong idea might be told in different ways.

One small pleasure: you spot faces from elsewhere turning up in the pairings, and those appearances are lovely when they land.

Go in for the revenge and the lead, and settle into the measured middle on the way to the end, which suits viewers who like a patient build.

Themes

Payback keeps its English word in every language it has passed through: the Korean webtoon is 페이백 and the Thai series is เพย์แบค. The word resists translation because it does two jobs at once, revenge and repayment, and the story runs on the second meaning as much as the first. Sun's occupation before any of this starts is collecting what other people owe. What he then loses is also counted in money: a sum set aside for cancer treatment, and a brother killed by a debtor. When he goes after Bank he is not changing professions so much as changing ledgers.

The two men placed either side of him make the same point. One earns by being looked at, valued exactly as far as he is recognised. The other holds his authority by staying unlisted. Sun stands between the man who is all surface and the man who has taken himself off the books, and the question the series keeps putting to him is which of the two he is turning into.

Interesting facts

  • A premiere screening was held on 30 May 2026 at Major Cineplex Ratchayothin in Bangkok, with a cast performance and a question and answer session, on the same day the first episode went to air.

How it was made

The announcement came on 19 January 2026, with the blessing ceremony and the start of filming in the same month, which leaves roughly four months between the first day of the shoot and the 30 May premiere. Amnard Thangsomboon shares the screenplay credit with Isaree Siriwankulthon, who writes as Sammon. Nithiwath Samanlor and Peerawat Sangklang handled cinematography, and Rungrapee Kingkaew produced. The official trailer was released on 9 May 2026, three weeks ahead of the premiere.

LEAD & SIDE COUPLES

Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang official photo - Thai actor, star of Payback (2026) as Athip "Jay" Wanitsakitphaisan, the entertainment company's unlisted managing director
Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor (Minlee), Thai actor who plays Sun in the 2026 BL series Payback
Toptap Jarukit KaewmoonrueangToptapMinleeMin Thanakorn Wichanukhor
Since 2026● Current

View Couple

388

OFFICIAL TRAILER

OFFICIAL OST

Episode guide: Payback

10 / 10 episodes aired · Completed
EP 1
30 May 2026
Aired
EP 2
06 Jun 2026
Aired
EP 3
13 Jun 2026
Aired
EP 4
20 Jun 2026
Aired
EP 5
27 Jun 2026
Aired
EP 6
04 Jul 2026
Aired
EP 7
11 Jul 2026
Aired
EP 8
18 Jul 2026
Aired
EP 9
25 Jul 2026
Aired
EP 10
01 Aug 2026
Aired

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can Payback be watched?

iQIYI carries the TV version and a separate extended streaming edition, and LINE TV Taiwan also lists the series.

What is the chain of sources behind it?

Three links. samK wrote a Korean web novel, which became the webtoon Payback (페이백) drawn by Fujoking and serialised on Bomtoon and Lezhin Comics from 2 June 2021, which this Thai series then adapts. The manhwa and the novel are covered separately as Payback (Manhwa) and Payback (Novel).

Is a Korean company involved in the Thai production?

Yes, the one behind the original. Kidari Studio is among the producing companies, alongside Raize Up Production by Kiseki Creation, Aplan International Group, Copus Japan and Fuji Television Network.

Who plays Sun and Jay?

Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor plays Theemekha Rungsapdee, known as Sun, who collects debts for a loan shark, and Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang plays Jay. Shogun Paramee Thesdaroon appears as Sky, Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra as Sunny and Khunnote Jirapat Uttamanan as Kajorn. The leads are known together as ToptapMinlee.

Are there two different cuts?

Yes. iQIYI carries a TV version matching the One31 broadcast and a separate extended streaming edition, so the same episode exists in two lengths.

When did it run, and how is it rated?

Ten episodes at 22:30 from 30 May to 1 August 2026, weekly, at about 43 minutes each. Woodie Pongchaiphat Sethanand directed with a screenplay by Sammon. The classification is MA.

Where a title can be watched, and who is credited on it, may have changed since publication, as our disclaimer explains.

Images only: posters and portraits from TMDB, artist images from Spotify and book cover art from AniList. No factual content is taken from these services. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Factual data such as dates, credits and names is compiled from the sources recorded for each entry. All reviews, biographies and editorial commentary are written by BL & GL Flix. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. All posters, portraits, cover art, and promotional materials remain the property of their respective copyright holders and are shown solely to identify the works described. BLGLFLIX does not host or distribute any video content. See our DMCA / Copyright Policy.