Last year, Time Out named Bangkok the “most Gen-Z city” in the world. It feels odd — you might assume that New York, Copenhagen, or even Melbourne would have the edge, given that so much of the digital culture we consume and so many of the influencers we follow are based in these youth-permissive cities. But somewhere in the back rooms of ‘Sawadee-ka’ edit videos, in a city where the freedom to be whoever you are is increasingly written into public life, and in the parties and bars that keep Bangkok alive, a new generation is shaping its own answer to what it means to be young. 

Though no work quite captures Time Out’s declaration better than GELBOYS. Directed by Naruebet Kuno of I Told Sunset About You notoriety, the 2025 series found its audience through its loud, flirty, fashion-forward characters, right down to a title that nods to a new youth habit: boys wearing bright, manicured gel nails as part of their everyday self-expression. Its Thai title, สถานะกั ๊กใจ, translated into English as No-status Status carries a sharper nuance: a story of an emotional state left uncertain by a love interest. What is not to love about a young series built around the ache of unrequited love?

GELBOYS is not a typical romantic comedy. Centred around Siam Square, Bangkok’s unofficial capital of youth culture, where students, malls, uniforms, beauty salons, cafés, influencers, and pop-ups converge, GELBOYS brings Gen-Z Bangkok to life. It does so in the manner that NewJeans opened up a genre to explosive reinterpretation through the simple force of generational honesty in South Korea, or how Japanese coming-of-age films such as All About Lily Chou-Chou and Summer Vacation tore opened the truth of youth tribulations. For once, Thailand has a show that cares about authentic representation. Yes, it is trendy. It is also vernacular. But most importantly, it is true to the lives of the city’s youths.

The story follows the familiar grammar of teenage desire seen on screen: friendship, jealousy, flirtation, and the unbearable uncertainty of not knowing what to call what you feel. Shot across BTS trains, malls, and teenage boys’ bedrooms, the series centres on Four-Mod, played by breakout name Chayapak Tunprayoon, otherwise known as New. The story follows Four-Mod as he is drawn into Chian’s world, played by Pide Monthapoom Sumonvarangkul, after being invited to get gel nails together around Siam Square, only to discover that he is not the only boy being invited into that intimacy.

New has described the character as resembling his real-life personality, a detail that speaks to the series’ ability to capture authentic expressions of Bangkok youth culture on screen by simply casting people who are, quite literally, close to the characters themselves. “Naruebet Kuno is a director who likes to pull certain details, certain ways of speaking, certain pieces of the actors into the characters he creates, so there were definitely parts of me in Four-Mod,” New shares. He adds that Kuno is a director who loves honesty. “(He) believes that if the actor truly feels something, the audience will feel it too, even if it’s only via the eyes. It’s not so much about dialogue. He considers body language, atmosphere, and the energy that transpires between actors. Everything has to feel real. Sometimes, it became so ‘real’ that there were moments Four-Mod stopped feeling like a character I was playing. He felt like a close friend. On days when Four-Mod felt confident, I felt confident with him. On days when he broke apart, I broke apart with him, too. Sometimes it even got to the point where I found it hard to separate us.”

Ultimately, what sets GELBOYS apart is that the show is less interested in clean romance than in the messy, half-formed condition of being young now. It recalls shows like Skins (UK) and Hormones (TH), which carried such honesty for millennials that it disrupted the rhythm of what it meant to create a body of work about youth, for the youth. Likewise, GELBOYS does not lean into a sappy, Disney-approved storyline. What transpires instead is a tale of boys using jealousy, TikTok, nail dates, flirtation, and friendship to avoid saying what they actually feel. By the series finale, they finally say enough of it to move forward.

Shows such as GELBOYS live in the space where fiction is repeatedly mistaken for fact in Thai entertainment. Its coolness, then, comes from a desperate reach for something real and authentic, bending the queer coming-of-age drama into a language so specific it feels unlike anything that came before. New, too, is aware of the significance. “GELBOYS season one has a very strong sense of time, in terms of the actors, the directing, and the era itself,” says New. “I feel like the series captured a moment in the now. And it feels special because we were able to canonise a specific faction of youth, of an era. The TikTok references, the way people talked, what they ate, what they used, the clothes they wore, the places they walked, the fashion, the style, all of it makes the show feel very specific to its time. Now, when I hear certain words or even hear the score from GELBOYS, the feeling comes back. It’s like being taken back to that exact moment.”

For a city often flattened into a White Lotus caricature, an exotic, “cheap” backdrop for Western vacations, GELBOYS feels like enough to dismiss any critics who might lambast Time Out for giving Bangkok the title. Because the reality is far more sophisticated: Bangkok might just be the only place in the world where growing up can hold so many contradictions at once: queer, confused, lost, hopeful, reckless, but unbelievably alive. “I think Thailand grants youth with dreams much more freedom now than it did before,” says New. “I grew up in a time when dreams, or even the idea of soft power, were not really supported as much as they are today. But now, you can see that change more clearly. Places like Siam, for example, give them the space to dance, perform, and show what they can do. I think that’s really important. When you’re young, it usually turns out to be one of the happiest times in your life. Naturally, you would want to try things and follow your curiosity without overthinking what comes next. So having spaces in Bangkok where young people can do that freely indicates that we’re on the right path. And I’m glad GELBOYS is part of that newness.” 

As for New? With the production of the series’ second season due in production right now, it is safe to say he, like the city around him, is inching even closer to how loudly he can become as both a ‘GELBOY,’ and a star on the rise. “Most of us would know that feeling of finishing a series we love, and we’re left wondering what happens to the characters next. Season two answers some of that curiosity,” spills New. “You’ll see how these four characters grow, how they’ve changed after everything that has happened, and what new adversities they face. As for what audiences should expect, I would say it’s better to simply enjoy it. Don’t hold on too tightly to what you hope will happen. Of course, it means a lot that people care enough to have expectations, but we gave this season everything we had. I hope everyone can enjoy the moment with the cast of GELBOYS.”

Creative Direction & Styling Izwan Abdullah

Photography Chee Wei

Production Ratchada Tubtimphet

Set Design Sittichai Pliaplong 

Grooming Saran Anaphon

Hair Topurk Thongwisate

Styling Assistant Katareeya Suksai

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