"The Boyfriend" is a ten episode, American style, real life/slice of life television show. It borrows from the American tropes of putting mostly strangers in a tekevison house that is outfitted with many television cameras, but, without the bullshit of 100% of American reality shows.

There is quiet, calm, politeness, thoughtfulness and character with an equal amount of class in all 9 cast members of this Japanese Netflicks' show.

The house is in a sea resort area of Japan, and the house is called "The Green Room", for the purposes of this show.

It has a pool, sauna, professional kitchen, enough separate bedrooms for everyone; and they do indeed remain seperate bedrooms for all nine men. These are all mature adult men.

There is a nice living room, and plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces for the musically or art inspired persons. Wine, and coffee and juices are the popular beveridges.

The point of this gay Japanese dating show is to put 9 curated individuals in a lovely home, and create polite scenarios for them to get to know each other while working together to operate a mobile truck based coffee shop.

There is a budget from the earnings of the coffee truck to purchase the foods for this cast. They cook their own family meals, and sometimes will leave the television house, for days at a time, to take care of work, back at their real job.

The show members get texts telling who will be the one person to work on the coffee truck, and in turn, that person gets to be the one asking one or two other cast members whom will work with him on that day.

Whom will get a private date, picnic and/ or over night date....off site, is sent by text from the studio staff as well.

Several cast members get to have private and overnight dates.

The nine men drift in and out of the show over a six week period. There are always 5 to 7 cast members at the house in the afternoons throughout this series, and briefly 9 members.

Two to three men operate the coffee truck, usually near a pier where tourists get on a ferry. So, there is a built-in customer base at the location.

Ironically one cast member was friends with two other cast members, one sexually, before the show began; a small world indeed.

There are no demeaning monetary rewards, nor, any prizes at all on this show, nor, silly challenges. Everybody wins from having this experience together. It makes good television, and is a fun diversion.

Cast members are from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. One was born in Brazil, and has lived in Japan his whole life.

One man is a hair and makeup person, another is a chef, and included are a student and a professional male club dancer. Cast members range in age from 20s into their 30s.

Unike those awful American reality shows, there is a studio "Greek chorus" of colorful individuals to narrate, and laugh and emote politely as they watch the show in real time with us, the audience.

There is no live communication, thankfully, between cast members and the studio narrators. The American way of communicating with captive cast members is really stupid. On this show, cast members are free to come and go as they please.

Those studio "Greek Chirus" persons range from a drag queen, to several polite women, and a male "host" type of person.

I found them to be entertaining, and, a much better way of having narration, than the stupid American style of demeaning commentary.

In short, everyone treats each other as gentlemen. Attractions between cast members are noted, thanks to who works with whom on the coffee truck.

By the end of this series, one "on again, off again" couple comes to a pleasant agreement to date after the show; although one of those men comes off as needing personal and professional counseling.

A second couple, also expresses interest in more dating after this show, but, in a much more realistic and adult way.

There are plenty of opportunities for several men to be interested in one or two of the cast members at the same time. However, there is no anger nor recriminations expressed. There is no silly television editing to create "drama".

One guy is turned down, politely, three times.....by the same cast member!

There are variations in perceived physical attractiveness, personality and in maturity in all 9 cast members.

This is a pleasant, harmless, gay dating show. The focus is on communication and personal growth.

No one leaves this show with any sort of prize or money. There are no winners nor losers, just like in real life.

I enjoyed this show, and was pleasantly surprised at the total lack of any queeniness, nor bitchiness. No matter how masculine the cast members all are, they all offer mature and thoughtful asides to each other about life.

This show offered a good slice of life to show the world that gay men are mostly normal, at times neurotic, and also sometimes funny and moving.

Real life gay couple, Peat and Fort, are great in this gay themed Thai dramedy.

Peat plays a wealthy author, and loveless playboy, who is sent by the publisher to a beautiful Thai resort to relax, and finish his current contractually obligated gay themed novel.

The publisher, unbeknownst to the Author, contracts with a hunky resort Escort, played by Fort, to watch out for the Author, engage him in fine dining, take him scuba diving, and take care of any and all needs of the Author.

While at the resort, Author hires Escort for escort services, and pays in advance via a mobile pay app.

It goes swimmingly. Fort plays an accomplished and enthusiastic sex partner, scuba diver, dinner companion and tour guide.

Just as Peats' character is to return to Bangkok, Forts' character agrees to continue his professional escort duties, and move back to Bangkok with the Author.

This first section has excellent and well planned scuba filming, lovely resort images, and quite erotic sexual scenes between the real life gay couple.

Watching on iQIYI is preferable because you get to watch the unedited sex scenes, and you get another 20 minutes of storyline.

Also, iQIYI provides wonderful behind the scenes interviews, filming setups, rehearsals and games with the actors.

In real life, Peat and Fort tend to interact like a real gay couple; sometimes clingy, sometimes preoccupied with the day to day nonsense of life.

Now, keep in mind, that Thai gay themed dramedies always have a roller coaster ride of various emotions for the viewing audience.

There is a lot of that in the rest of this series. The escort has a goal of winning the love of the author. Yet, the author rapidly admits to not believing in the concept of "being in love".

Please, find out for yourself. Watch "Love Sea", streaming on iQIY

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