Taiwan-based global LGBTQ+ streaming platform, GagaOOLala, has moved, along with its owner, Portico Media, into a whole new international universe this year.

In February, Warner Bros International Television Production announced the acquisition of LGBTQ+ series, Boys Like Boys, for its worldwide formats catalogue, followed a few weeks later, on 5 March, with the premiere of the original unscripted Taiwanese series on Warner Bros Discovery channel, TLC, in Taiwan.

The dating series is WBITV’s first gay relationship format, and gives Portico Media/GagaOOLala’s original creation an international berth along with The Bachelor, First Dates and FBoy Island.

WBITV launched the format, which eschews manufactured drama and traditional eliminations in favour of “real reactions to real situations”, to the international market during the London Screenings.

What does the pick-up mean for Portico Media, which maintains its traditional channel distribution business in Taipei alongside its fledgling original production unit?

Portico Media/GagaOOLala founder and CEO, Jay Lin, says Boys Like Boys’ success is “recognition that Portico Media possesses the creative and production capabilities to reach the global standard in the non-scripted space”.

WBITV’s decision to add the Boys Like Boys format to its global catalogue has a broader significance too.

“Boy’s Love (BL) has been one of the key content exports from Asia to the rest of the world in the past several years,” Lin says.

Boys Like Boys takes that further, ushering in “an exciting era where Asian LGBTQ people sharing their real personal stories is just as appealing as famous Asian actors playing fictional BL stories. Both content increases the awareness and representation of Asian LGBTQ in media, and we are eager to continue to forge new paths with our partners,” Lin adds.

On 8 March, three days after TLC Taiwan premiered the original Taiwanese version, GagaOOLala added another first to its calendar, announcing its production partnership with Japanese free-TV broadcaster, TV Tokyo.

The live-action series, At 25:00, in Akasaka, is also envisioned as the first of a series of collaborations that characterise growing cross-border content relationships between Asian creators, Lin says.

The eight-year-old GagaOOLala will stream the series in a global exclusive (ex Japan) from 11.30pm on 18 April. New episodes, in the original Japanese with subtitles in traditional & simplified Chinese/English/Bahasa Indonesia/Spanish/Thai, will be released weekly.

Describing Japan as the undisputed cradle of BL culture, Lin says the joint production created a “formidable Japan-Taiwan alliance that leverages the unique strengths of both entities”.

At 25:00, in Akasaka fuses gay/boys love drama with a Taiwan-Japan storyline infused with the tastes of Taiwan’s night market food culture.

Based on the popular manga by Hiroko Natsuno, the 10x 30-mins episode series is a ‘what-if’ story about two actors, known for their roles as a BL couple, being in a romantic relationship in real life.

The series was in discussion with Natsuno since 2020, says TV Tokyo drama producer, Satoshi Egawa.

At 25:00, in Akasaka stars Taisuke Niihara (Nare no Hate no Bokura) as Yuki Shirosaki, a rookie actor who seizes his chance during an audition and lands a role opposite popular senior actor, Asami Hayama, played by Kiita Komagine (Avataro Sentai Donbrothers).

As Shirosaki grapples with the pressure of his first major role, Hayama proposes that they enter into a “relationship for the sake of their roles” until filming ends.

Egawa, who produced the show along with  Takaya Chiba (TV Tokyo) and Ayano Kimura and Miyako Furubayashi from production house The Icon, says the series aims to capture intricate love stories within the creative industry.

“The original setting, deeply connected to our reality of creating drama and films,” he says, “is both a familiar world and a crucible for crafting fiction.”