Portico Media and GOL Studios’ original GL series, "Fragrance of the First Flower", returns for a second season on 18 February in a simultaneous release on Taiwan-based LGBTQ+ global streaming platform, GagaOOlala, and on Netflix.

The distribution deal marks GagaOOLala’s first original production to be licensed by Netflix for streaming across Asia. "Fragrance of the First Flower" season one premiered on Netflix in Asia on 8 Feb.

Directed by Yi Ling Wang, the series is about two women – Yi-Ming (ZaiZai Lin) and Ting-Ting (Lyan Chen) – who reunite after more than a decade and explore the transformation from the initial heart-fluttering feelings to a mature and evolving loving relationship. 

According to the show production notes, the new series delves into “how heartfelt emotions manifest in everyday life and how one navigates and reconciles their queer identity within the realms of family, work, and personal life”.

Executive producers are Jay Lin and Derjk Wu, with Ai Chung as director of photography. 

Season two expands both production scale and storytelling scope, delivering 12 half-hour episodes compared to season one’s eight episodes of approx 20 minutes each. 

“At GagaOOLala, our mission has always been to bridge the gap between niche and mainstream, and this milestone is a testament to that vision, albeit not an easy one to decide as we are both a production house (GOL Studios) as well as a streaming service (GagaOOLala),” Portico Media Founder and CEO, Jay Lin, said in a post ahead of this week’s media event and special screening in Taipei. 

“While we’re expanding our reach to new audiences worldwide, we remain deeply committed to our community,” Lin added in a social media post. 

“As a proud gay-owned and operated company competing on the global stage – and as we navigate the fast-changing landscape of digital and short-form content – we’re constantly innovating to ensure that these important stories are heard. Let’s continue to break barriers and celebrate diversity together,” Lin said. 

"Fragrance of the First Flower" returns as Asia emerges as a “beacon for LGBTQ+ content”, amid a decline in LGBTQ+ representation across U.S. broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, GOL Studios says. The rise of GL follows explosive growth in the BL (Boys Love) genre, led by Thailand, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. 

“GL is gradually gaining traction as a genre with the potential for both commercial success,” GOL Studios says.

Building on this momentum, the second season of "Fragrance of the First Flower" aims to set “a new benchmark in the female-female romance genre by authentically weaving lesbian and GL narratives, in a push for female-centric stories in the Asian LGBTQ+ content landscape”.