My Grandpa Is a BL Writer

When writing a BL novel changes the family

Before anything else, let me point out that this is NOT a BL.
This drama's focus is on a journey through a time of growth -- in this case, it's the grandfather and the grandson, along with their family members, who try to save their orphanage; it just happens to have a few gay characters (and one confused character).
Along the way, the series picks up a few topics that are currently discussed in Thai society -- That there is some romance is more coincidental than central.

So, those who are interested ONLY in BL romance series should give this one a miss.
However, if you're willing to follow the story of a family of multiple generations through troubled times, who push through by doing things they would have not done normally, and who learn and grow because of it, then I fully recommend this drama.

The script is written extremely well -- the plot flows smoothly from one point to the next. Problems are -- although enhanced for tension -- never too "out there", and characters don't react dramatically, but rather like *people*. The characters are well-defined from the get-go, and the following character development makes sense.

The titular characters, their relationship with each other and their own journey -- both grandfather and grandson are mentioned in the Thai title -- get, of course, the most screen time and the most character development. Grandfather Sak starts out as the typical (Thai) traditional patriarch, who might care for his family but thinks he has to be strong and flawless as well as strict with his sons at all times, and learns to let his family take on part of the responsibility, learns to show weakness and, most importantly, learns to accept his sons the way they are. Grandson Save's story is a more common coming-of-age story; with a light twist in that he doesn't just grow up to be a responsible adult family member but also that he learns things about himself that he had never thought of before.
The development is gentle, but by intention not smooth: It has fits and starts, stalls occasionally -- just as it happens in real life.

The family dynamics are introduced step by step -- at first they just seem like an ordinary family of four generations that share a house, and then slowly we get to know and love their kindness, their flaws, their struggles, and their love for each other. Which is why when the reason for the uneasiness that occasionally pops up in early episodes gets revealed later, it hits much harder.

What is a bit unfortunate is that the children and the great-grandmother get only a minuscule bit of plot for themselves. I do understand the need for a focus on few sub plots but I would have loved to know more about the kids and about great-grandmother's own story. Maybe we can get a spin-off?

The plot is, for the lack of a better word, a slice-of-life, that refuses to collapse into soap opera, even though some plot points would make a weaker writer yield to temptation. Instead, in these moments, it gentles the tension -- by having a character accepting the inevitable, or neatly side-stepping the huge fallout by giving into the big emotions.

The actors as well as the directors follow the understated way of dealing with these big emotions -- they get as much room as they need to, but no more than that.
All of these elements combined make for a drama that feels very grounded, even as the emotions hit hard at the same time, especially in episodes 8 to 10. And by this I mean that Yes, it made me cry. More than once.

In all of this, as well as in its overall style, it is a very typical Thai PBS production.
Which means it comes as no surprise that it also touches on contemporary issues like scams, health issues in age, gender roles, to name a few, as well as a call for mutual respect between generations.
The most prominent issue is the acceptance of gay men and of gender non-conforming people by their family members -- how what we are taught in childhood still influences what we believe in adulthood, but also that there's a chance of changing your beliefs.
Another point, one that I found very interesting and think would deserve its own series, is how BL (dramas and novels) are still considered "lesser" than other, more traditional genres. And I find it quite fascinating that it's specifically compared to adventure novels here, which don't have the best reputation for quality themselves (at least here in Germany they don't).

Overall, this is an excellent production in terms of writing, directing, editing and acting. Done in the typical Thai PBS style, it's made to appeal to an audience of different ages with a goal to educate Thai viewers for the 21st century.
There are a few things to nitpick (like the fact that all children at the orphanage are all of approximately the same age), but in the greater context, these become insignificant.
The drama has a clear vision of what it wanted to achieve, and in my view, it did.

I have no reservation at all to recommend this to anyone who is willing to follow a story about a family with flawed characters, who struggle through a time of confusion.

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Would it be too much to ask for age appropriate actors?

In the month of crap Thai BLs, we got this. This is a mixture of a lot of crap and some good to make it just an average show, because the crap is overwhelming. First the actors are 26 and 30 and play 18 year olds... They don't look old but they also don't look super young. Which is a shame. Grandpa was never shaved correctly, with some exceptions, having hanging out a white hair from his face most of the time which was annoying... did nobody see that?

Then we have the classic cliché a so called "hetero" is confessed by a gay guy. Of course the hetero rejects him. That is before grandpa is forced to write a BL to bail himself out... And then "of course" he tries ... and falls in love - crap.

On the other hand we have a lot of cute kids in the orphanage which are the cause of grandpas debt. Running a orphanage without goverment support is a chore and expensive. So grandpa the seasoned writer is forced to adopt to times, because "normal" literatur is hard to sell. At least he is learning and opening his mind while writing a BL novel. There is of course also a medical condition because grandpa has troubles with his eyesight and only an operation can save it and when you don't have public heathcare, it costs money...

Between all this crap there also tidbits of wisdom. Production quality was good. The show does not prioritize the BL couple, they have a little kiss but no nc-scenes. Overall it's ok to watch, but nothing I will revisit again.

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So Much More Than its Title

When I first heard of this show, I thought it would be a gimmicky show with no depth or value. It ended up becoming one of my favorite queer Thai dramas of all time.

THE GOOD
- This show has some of the best character writing EVER from Thailand. Every single character (even those you think won't) get a developed and interesting storyline. Even though the plot of the show was already interesting on its own, the addition of such realistic and deep side characters made this show so special to me.
- The relationships in this show are brilliant. The grandpa and his grandson, the estranged dad and his gay brother, all the kids at the orphanage's friendship... This feels like such a full & realistic show thanks to those varied relationships.
- This show has so many deep lessons. Even going as far as building a backstory of the grandpa having his own homo-erotic friendship back in the day but never acting on it or even realizing it fully... Save's growth about his feelings for Guy... The gay uncle finally being accepted by his family... I was invested in all of them, and I feel like this show added so much to my life by watching it, which is very rare!
- The first few episodes of the show are so freaking hilarious, I never thought I'd see a grandpa reading omega verse yaoi, I was deceased lmao!
- This show was very satisfying and wrapped every single storyline very neatly, which is more than most Thai dramas can do! Again for the overall execution, it truly stood out so much to me!!!

THE BAD
- Not a huge problem for me but the chemistry between Guy and Save is giving BL from 6 years ago instead of a 2026 one. They're cute but compared to other pairings' chemistry, theirs felt a bit hesitant. However imo this show is much less a BL than a queer story so I don't think you should even watch it for the fanservice and shippey moments.
- This is a PBS show. Sometimes the scenes linger a bit too long or are paced slightly too slow, however I'd say the show managed to keep my interest throughout them all anyway.

THE UGLY
N/A

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hidden gem

Overall: this might be my favorite multi-generational family drama. Note that it is not a BL series; however, there is a cute BL couple in this. 10 episodes about 55 minutes each. Aired on Viu with a vpn set to Thailand.

Content Warnings: manipulation, manhandling, non con recording/sharing, death

What I Liked
- that the whole family tried to help
- almost 5 generations (great grandmother, grandfather, parents and the uncle, Save, his younger sister/the orphans)
- character growth (I cried a few times)
- sweet/caring moments
- the ending

Room For Improvement
- some aspects were a bit heavy handed
- a couple nonsense things like what happened with the computer
- how the grandfather suddenly gave up in episode 5, based on his past actions

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Intergenerational story about love in all its forms

This isn't a stereotypical BL, but some of the best queer stories aren't... and I love that we are getting broader diversity in storytelling that incorporates love in all its forms.

We have an orphanage in financial difficulty, a grandpa who is a writer learning to move with the times out of desperation, a family divided by past wounds and insecurities, best friends with conflicted feelings, and a bittersweet backstory from grandpa's youth to work with... and the story manages to deliver on eveything in a meaningful way.

This show is very healing, even though it shows sad moments and difficult conflicts. Everything feels very human and the ability of the characters to overcome their difficulties is in large part due to the love that they have for one another - even when they haven't always expressed it, or have made mistakes and missteps along the way.

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Others might say it's too blunt or whatever but not for me

As a bl writer I know the struggle of writing one. And to see a story like this was so good and interesting for me and in my opinion like let be personally realistic here. His grandpa was an ex military man so him ending up as a writer of a bl story for him its new its hard its not appealing but he did try he did a change of mindset and honestly in the latest scene ep 10 where it was reveal that the 2nd son was a gay that's even more the interest was peak of I even cried when the son look at that gay kid in their orphanage house as if seeing himself and letting go of a long mis understanding that he wasn't accepted by his dad when in fact his dad just want him to focus on studying and not be ridicule by other kids and that his dad kept his panieta in thought someday his kid will understand but instead he distant himself to them because he thought that the our grandpa was embarrassed of having a gay son not asking if he really was but then it wasn't like that thou grandpa didn't clarify it because he felt embarrassed about it too. Not until Save turn the page and make them ammend on the long mis understanding and Save's father I get it let's be realistic here in reality not all father's are good not all father's can be a father too nor can admit they need help that easy so the character of his dad I find it good reflection too of most common straight dads and the scene of save asking about his real identity as a part of LGBT and his dad's reaction it was true it was realistic for me so for those who ridiculous commenter think again...... This series doesn't said bl alone it's about family, coming out and dreams.... Accepting one self and understanding LGBT culture too so watch it. And I hope this 2 remaining episodes will be good too and not going to have a disappointing ending... Also if it would have a 2nd season maybe it would be about save and his boyfriend and his drastic life change ls moments and maybe how he and his grandpa was after the novel was released to really written by his grandfather and not him.

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My Grandpa Is a BL Writer (2026)

My Grandpa Is a BL Writer (2026) เป็นซีรีส์ที่เล่าเรื่องราวของ "คุณปู่สมศักดิ์" นักเขียนนิยายที่กำลังเผชิญกับปัญหาทางการเงิน และต้องการหาเงินอย่างเร่งด่วนเพื่อรักษามูลนิธิเด็กกำพร้าที่ตนเองผูกพันเอาไว้

ด้วยอาชีพนักเขียน คุณปู่จึงมองหาหนทางในการสร้างรายได้จากการเขียนนิยายอีกครั้ง แต่ในสถานการณ์ปัจจุบัน แนวที่ได้รับความนิยมอย่างมากกลับเป็น "นิยายวาย" ซึ่งแตกต่างจากสิ่งที่คุณปู่เคยเขียนมาโดยตลอด ทำให้เขาต้องก้าวออกจากกรอบความคุ้นเคยของตัวเองและเรียนรู้โลกใบใหม่

ระหว่างนั้น "เซฟ" หลานชายของคุณปู่ได้เข้ามาช่วยเป็นที่ปรึกษา และเพื่อให้คุณปู่เข้าใจความสัมพันธ์ในนิยายวายมากขึ้น เซฟจึงเริ่มทดลองคบหากับเพื่อนของเขาอย่าง "กาย" เพื่อเป็นแรงบันดาลใจในการเขียน เรื่องราวทั้งหมดจึงกลายเป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของทั้งการสร้างสรรค์นิยาย การเรียนรู้ระหว่างคนต่างวัย และความสัมพันธ์ที่ค่อย ๆ เปลี่ยนแปลงไปเกินกว่าที่ทุกคนคาดคิด

สามารถรับชมได้ทาง Viu

สำหรับผม นี่เป็นซีรีส์ที่ชอบมากเรื่องหนึ่ง เพราะตัวเรื่องค่อย ๆ เล่าเรื่องอย่างเป็นธรรมชาติ มีเป้าหมายและปัญหาที่ชัดเจนให้ตัวละครต้องเผชิญ ทำให้ผู้ชมรู้สึกลุ้นและเอาใจช่วยอยู่ตลอดว่าเรื่องราวจะคลี่คลายไปในทิศทางใด

สิ่งที่ผมชอบมากคือการนำเสนอความแตกต่างระหว่างคนสองยุคสองวัย ระหว่างคุณปู่ที่เติบโตมากับแนวคิดแบบดั้งเดิม และคนรุ่นใหม่ที่มีมุมมองต่อโลกและความรักแตกต่างออกไป การเรียนรู้และปรับตัวเข้าหากันของตัวละครทำออกมาได้น่ารัก อบอุ่น และดูเป็นธรรมชาติ

นอกจากนี้ ซีรีส์ยังเล่าเรื่องความสัมพันธ์ของตัวละครได้อย่างน่าสนใจ จากจุดเริ่มต้นที่ดูเหมือนเป็นเพียงการช่วยเหลือกันเพื่อประโยชน์บางอย่าง ค่อย ๆ พัฒนาไปเป็นความผูกพันและความรู้สึกที่ลึกซึ้งมากขึ้น ซึ่งทำให้ผู้ชมสามารถอินไปกับความสัมพันธ์ของตัวละครได้ไม่ยาก

อีกสิ่งหนึ่งที่ผมประทับใจคือ ในหลาย ๆ ตอนของซีรีส์ยังสอดแทรกข้อคิดและมุมมองเกี่ยวกับชีวิต ความเข้าใจผู้อื่น และการยอมรับความแตกต่างเอาไว้ด้วย ทำให้เรื่องนี้ไม่ได้มีเพียงความโรแมนติกเท่านั้น แต่ยังมีเนื้อหาที่อบอุ่นและชวนให้คิดตาม

สำหรับการแสดง ผมขอชื่นชมนักแสดงทุกคน เพราะแต่ละคนสามารถถ่ายทอดบทบาทของตนเองออกมาได้อย่างยอดเยี่ยม ผมรู้สึกอินไปกับตัวละครตลอดทั้งเรื่อง ไม่ว่าจะเป็นฉากที่มีความสุข ฉากโรแมนติก หรือฉากที่เต็มไปด้วยความเศร้า ทุกอารมณ์ถูกส่งต่อมายังผู้ชมได้อย่างชัดเจน

ในด้านโปรดักชันก็ทำออกมาได้ดี ทั้งมุมกล้อง การถ่ายทำ และเพลงประกอบที่ช่วยเสริมบรรยากาศของเรื่องได้อย่างลงตัว ทำให้การรับชมเป็นไปอย่างเพลิดเพลินตลอดทั้งซีรีส์

โดยรวมแล้ว My Grandpa Is a BL Writer (2026) เป็นซีรีส์ที่สร้างความประทับใจให้กับผมอย่างมาก เป็นเรื่องที่เต็มไปด้วยความฟิน ความน่ารัก ความอบอุ่น และข้อคิดดี ๆ หลายอย่าง ทุกครั้งที่ได้ดูผมรู้สึกยิ้มตามและมีความสุขไปกับเรื่องราวของตัวละคร จึงเป็นอีกหนึ่งซีรีส์ที่ผมอยากแนะนำให้ทุกคนได้ลองรับชม

⭐ คะแนนรวม : 10/10

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