This was a nice surprise. The script is intelligent and crisp, written by a mostly female writing team.. The plot device of two college men being forced (so we're led to believe) to work together is refreshingly different. They coy banter between the leads is painfully realistic for any guy who's had a crush on another and was afraid to confess it. The character arcs are well drawn, particularly for Xavier (Tony Labrusca) who is presented as a stereotypical jock but who turns out to be quite vulnerable. Mico's character (JC Alcantara) is pretty well defined in the beginning for the audience, but his journey is one of self-discovery. The story lines of the supporting cast are also well-drawn and fully resolved by the conclusion. It pains me to say "Hello, Stranger" didn't quite rise to the level of "Like in the Movies" or "Boys' Lockdown" because I really enjoyed this drama. But this series was 2 episodes too long and never got us to a kiss, so this isn't really a BL drama in my book. More of a Bromance story. Arguably it's even more interesting as a straight bromance because it raises a lot of issues about how difficult it is for guys to express any kind of non-sexual affection of each other in our world. To be a true bromance Mico would have needed a girlfriend, though.