Bad Roomate (2021)

3 reasons to watch this series

I have one principle when I start watching a series: I don't expect anything, so at least I won't be disappointed. Then I give it three or four episodes to decide whether to watch it to the end or not, which usually takes at least an hour or so. This time it didn't even take ten minutes, because the total runtime is 70 minutes for 30 episodes. Was I disappointed? No, I was surprised.

There are three reasons to watch this series: 1. Junior, 2. Kad, and 3. it's fun. It's fun because many of the things that make 'normal', i.e. longer, Thai series so hard to watch sometimes are simply not possible when there's less than 3 minutes per episode: no staring at each other for 10 minutes, no endless crying scenes (there are actually none at all!), no distracting side couples, no shrieking bl-fans, even the ex-girlfriend isn't toxic, and she doesn't get more than 2 minutes of screentime.

I won't spoil the plot, there isn't much to spoil anyway. The episodes display short scenes about two roommates who are different from each other, but there isn't the worn-out hater to lover trope. There are just 30 glimpses of two boys getting closer, and I find it surprising how well they are being characterized. Junior and Kad have a fantastic chemistry, and they obviously enjoy the opportunity to show their talent as comedians.

Cinematography is also surprisingly good for a tiktok series, as is the soundtrack.

The series is now available at youtube with English subtitles, all episodes put together without any commercial breaks, and if you have 70 minutes to spare, and if you want good, light entertainment, and if you like Junior and Kad, then this is exactly right for you.

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Quirky and cute, rather decent

When I saw that this was 30 episodes, I was like, "Wow, I don't think there's any Thai BL since Love Sick with so many episodes." Then I realized that each episode was only a few minutes long. Which is not a bad thing for what has been touted as a Tiktok drama. It's just as well, since I'm not really used to the unusual aspect ratio adopted.

The story is fairly OK--not particularly exciting, but sufficiently coherent and at least it is focused. One guy moves in with another as a roommate and some misunderstandings arise, giving to some mystery and some comedy. There is enough cuteness in the two roommates to satisfy BL fans who are not all that demanding.

This is not something that you would want to compare with some classic, high-budget BL series. But at least it is as entertaining as (or even more entertaining than) some BLs with 12-15 episodes of about 40 minutes each. With the focus on a limited number of characters, at least it does not drift from one couple to another. With some BLs, I complain about wasted potential. But with a production like this, I would say it has sufficiently fulfilled its potential despite less than stellar results. Several aspects of the production seem on the amateurish side, but the actors seem to have taken the production seriously, and this makes a difference.

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