Rebecca Walters

War of Y: The New Ship (Episodes 1-5)

War of Y, directed Cheewin Thanamin Wongskulphat, is the latest queer series to expose the homophobic underbelly of Thailand’s drama industry. Essentially the plot centers on a “shipped couple,” Pan and Nott (NottPan), whose working relationship falls apart at the same time they start a romantic relationship off-screen. NottPan DTR covertly by sneaking into hotel rooms and talking in dark corners of their drama sets.

Growing up as a gender non-conforming woman (she/they pronouns, please) before that specific identity existed in the U.S., raising myself on Velvet Goldmine, Queer As Folk (both versions), and The L Word, I am left to contemplate the following: How meta is this plot line? Do “shipped couples” date in real life? And consequently, how is this integrated into the queer drama industry and Thai society?

ICYMI, a “shipped couple” is an actor pair who appear onscreen as a couple in multiple drama series over the course of several years. Some have now been together for six or seven years; most are more recent. This creates what could be interpreted as a work marriage, and we all know that can be messy.

At this point, with Thailand creating 40 to 60 queer drama series a year, there are dozens of actor pairs. So many that I have lost count. Taking into account probabilities, just like Andrew Rannells and Tuc Watkins during the The Boys in the Band’s Broadway run, at least one of these actor pairs has accidentally become a real life couple.

In War of Y, NottPan are played by Seng and Billy who have worked together since Secret Crush On You (2022), also directed by Cheewin. NottPan even appear together in a super cringy Mafia Baby romance where their characters’ names are Nuea and Toh, a clear nod to SCOY. According to chatter on Reddit and YouTube, IRL Seng and Billy engage in performative “fan service” (i.e. they flirt with each other) in public similar to their characters in War of Y, giving the impression that they might be playing themselves.

(A disclaimer: I do not ship BillySeng, so I am taking YOUR word for this. I only ship BounPrem. Erm, I mean, PremBoun since anyone who thinks Boun wears the pants in that working relationship is seriously in denial.)

This Is Meta, Right?!


Are Seng and Billy romantically together in real life and working with Cheewin to portray a creative nonfiction version of their relationship? Is there a “ship” that broke apart and into a real life couple, which Cheewin and Co. witnessed? If so, I do not know enough about Cheewin’s vast body of work to suggest an actor pair that might fit the description. Dare I say, Cheewin is the Shonda Rhimes of queer drama?

There are also multiple appearances by real-life directors, producers, and hosts who are close to many actor pairs. Director Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee of TharnType and Lovely Writer appears as the Mafia Baby series director, for example. If this is a work of creative nonfiction, they would know.

The answer seems to lie adjacent. Last summer two of Cheewin’s Y-Destiny actors, Ton and Yoon, turned up in a bdsm mafia romance, Unforgotten Night. (So bad, so soapy…it’s kinda good?) Not originally paired together in Y-Destiny, #YoonTon are the very definition of a “new ship.”

By October Yoon, who coincidentally played a character named Nott in YYY The Series, first told reporters that they are fæn/lovers. (Fæn lacks gender connotation and, therefore, does not directly translate into English.)

Perhaps more revealing is the media’s response, roughly translated over the course of several interactions:

“Really?”
“Are you a fake couple or a real couple?”
“Are you together to create a trend?”

Even Yoon—who with far more industry experience, has evidently been tasked with breaking the news—seems taken aback. While the media seems satisfied with their answers for now, nearly a decade of fan service performed by presumably straight actors has blurred the line between fact and fiction.

From the outside, it seems that Thailand’s queer drama industry cannot quite agree on its purpose. Clearly there is money in the game (and $10.7 M in foreign investment) and an strategic intersection with advancing the country’s tourism industry. Queer drama puts Thailand on the map, positioning itself vis-à-vis South Korea as a leader in Asian drama.

And we are not just talking about Boys’ Love (BL). In the last two years, Thai queer dramas have given us lesbian couples, gender non-conforming couples, and even couples where one partner identifies as a trans female—despite the censors. (A controversial confession: InkPa were by far my favorite couple from Bad Buddy.)

These stories remain rare even in the U.S. where I am still waiting for a romantic comedy starring Laverne Cox because I would ship that fantasy couple like there is no tomorrow. And give Nuch from Not Me the lead in a rom-com with Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana at the helm, pretty please.

So while you could argue that the primary goal of Thailand’s queer drama industry is the pure pursuit of profit, the emerging one is marriage equity. Take Not Me’s queer anti-capitalist protest celebrations, for example. Or in Cutie Pie, BounPremPremBoun give their pitch for marriage equality. Later, as the series ends, the main lead takes out a billboard in Bangkok to declare his intention to marry his partner.

And it is highly probable that the queer movement in Thailand is funding these messages to achieve narrative change.

Thailand’s government is on the precipice of legalizing LGBTQIA+ marriage. In fact, one of the options on the table would remove reference to gender identity within marriage from the legal code. Let’s face it, that would be a game changer. Thailand would leapfrog past the U.S. to set a new international standard of marriage equity. It would become only the second Asian country to legalize LGBTQIA+ marriage. However, concerns remain that the government will instead adopt a more limited, discriminatory definition of civil unions for LGBTQIA+ couples.

To further advance the goal of narrative change, space* must be created for queer fantasy to collide with reality. With queer writers, actors, producers, and directors centering the conversation and the vision of the industry. In War of Y: The New Ship, the only space NottPan have in the end is on a closed set with Director New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul, Earth, and Santa, in what looks like a scene from My Only 12%. Only then can they be out.
*space created by strategic power shifts

For Thailand, in the words of Matt Bomer’s character in The Boys in the Band, “It’s early.” Tick tock.

War of Y finished airing in December 2022: watch it on Gaga. In early 2023, Seng left their management company, Idol Factory. #BillySeng broke up—mirroring #NottPan’s War of Y storyline and ending their ship for the foreseeable future.

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Subbed into English! An interview with Cheewin and War of Y Co-Director Romchat Thanalapipat:

P.S. BounPremPremBoun’s fearless pitch for marriage equality:

P.P.S. Yeass, Thailand, legalize gay marriage. I want to see those #NetJames wedding cards actually go out!

P.P.P.S. That time when Cheewin made a BL version of 13 Going on 30: