1
This Is A Must Watch
Addicted (Heroin) is a must watch for serial BL-viewers not only for the story, which is okay, but for the history and context of BL in China in 2016.
For the story, there are a lot of tropes that other BLs have copied from Addicted. It's the story of enemies-to-lovers set in a Chinese high school, rich boy and poor boy, and family entanglement. There is a lot of one-sided and unwanted affection at the beginning, borderlining on toxicity. But just as we get consentual with our affection, the Chinese government and film production agencies slammed down on LGBTQ censorship with the final 3 episodes being lost for viewers.
In February of 2016, Addicted was the first series to experience the new Censorship rules that were enacted in December of 2015. The series was pulled from broadcasts and limited availability for international viewers. The lead actors were prohibited from appearing in media together. Even now, we are only able to watch 15 episodes of the series, which ends abruptly in the story, with no solid resolution for the characters.
Luckily for us, 9 years later, a spin off, "Love After Addiction" was made highlighting the love story for the secondary couple in Addicted. This brought back original secondary actors and was produced by a Tiwanese company to circumvent China's censorship. While the two main actors from Addicted can't appear in film together, there is a surprise wedding with unnamed "schoolmates" that give some of us a small bit of closure.
The chemistry between the two main actors is great, the relationships with their families is realistic, and its full of familiar tropes, inspiring hundreds of BL dramas for years to come.
Side note: this show has nothing to do with drugs. The original book was something like "Addicted to Heroin" because the main character's names are Hei and Luo Yin, when said together sound like the pronounciation of heroin "hei-luo-yin" in Mandarin.
Addicted was the first widely popular BL in China and is a must-see for BL fans.
For the story, there are a lot of tropes that other BLs have copied from Addicted. It's the story of enemies-to-lovers set in a Chinese high school, rich boy and poor boy, and family entanglement. There is a lot of one-sided and unwanted affection at the beginning, borderlining on toxicity. But just as we get consentual with our affection, the Chinese government and film production agencies slammed down on LGBTQ censorship with the final 3 episodes being lost for viewers.
In February of 2016, Addicted was the first series to experience the new Censorship rules that were enacted in December of 2015. The series was pulled from broadcasts and limited availability for international viewers. The lead actors were prohibited from appearing in media together. Even now, we are only able to watch 15 episodes of the series, which ends abruptly in the story, with no solid resolution for the characters.
Luckily for us, 9 years later, a spin off, "Love After Addiction" was made highlighting the love story for the secondary couple in Addicted. This brought back original secondary actors and was produced by a Tiwanese company to circumvent China's censorship. While the two main actors from Addicted can't appear in film together, there is a surprise wedding with unnamed "schoolmates" that give some of us a small bit of closure.
The chemistry between the two main actors is great, the relationships with their families is realistic, and its full of familiar tropes, inspiring hundreds of BL dramas for years to come.
Side note: this show has nothing to do with drugs. The original book was something like "Addicted to Heroin" because the main character's names are Hei and Luo Yin, when said together sound like the pronounciation of heroin "hei-luo-yin" in Mandarin.
Addicted was the first widely popular BL in China and is a must-see for BL fans.
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