Stay With Me (2023)

Like all BL fans, who loved ”Addicted”, the last Chinese BL series before the government banned the genre, I was skeptical when a new adaptation of the first book of the novel ”Are you addicted?” was announced, especially as it was again a Chinese production. ”It won't be BL, it'll be bromance at best,” was what everybody thought and wrote, and when the series was released, BL fans were discussing for weeks whether this series was BL or not.

Honestly, I don't care what people call it. If you think that a BL series needs NC scenes or at least passionate kisses, then this may not be a BL series. But if yearning and loving glances, mutual unconditional trust, and some hints that the boys may have done more than just hug is sufficient for a movie or a series to be ”Boys Love”, then this series is BL. Plus – ”Stay with me” has a lot of allusions to LGBTQ+ symbols, and so I guess it is as far BL as Chinese censorship lets pass.

Anyway, it took me a couple of weeks until I stopped comparing ”Addicted” and ”Stay with me”. I love both series, and ”Stay with me” isn't just a remake, but a work of art of its own right.

”Stay with me” tells the story of Su Yu (Zhang Jiong Min), a very good student, who lives with his poor father after his mother left them when he was little, and Wu Bi (Xu Bin), the son of a rich father, who happens to have married Su Yu's mother, a fact which the boys only find out after some time. Su Yu and Wu Bi go from enemies to friends, back to enemies, and back to very good friends who share a flat. The ending is tragic, but as there is a second book, and as the director announced that there would be a second season, there is hope to see Su Yu and Wu Bi together again.

Zhang Jiong Min and Xu Bin are brilliant actors, and they have an amazing chemistry. For all the support roles, very good and experienced actors have been cast, and little Phoebe, who plays Duo Duo, is a natural for sure and steals many scenes.

It will be interesting to see the Thai adaptation of the book. The release of the series ”Addicted Heroin” has been announced for 2024.