TICKET2ME
ACTORS: Ali King, Alec Kevin, Ivoy Colo, Luis Padilla, Crystal Paras, Kaloy Tingcungco,Teetin Villanueva
FORMAT: Digital web series
PREMISE: The series talks about love in the time of pandemic, offering a tighter scrutiny at relationships at a time when being too close with each other is utterly discouraged.
WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT
Cute boys in a cute story that feels like a summer teenage romance, ‘Boys Lockdown‘ is pretty inside out, teeming with not just visual treats but some quarantine lessons, too
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When you think there are like a dozen of Pinoy BL series airing right now, it is almost automatic to pass when a new one arrives. I mean, come on, producers! give us time to breath － not to mention, there are also new titles from Thailand that keep our to-binge-watch list, fully loaded.
So imagine when ‘Boys’ Lockdown’ trailer suddenly appeared on our YouTube feed. We’re like, Ugh! Another one?! Not again! But we checked out the trailer, anyway, and it’s cute, it stars cute and charming boys, and to top that, it has a heartwarming and intriguing ‘pandemic’ story － if you know, what I mean.
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Boys’ Lockdown begins with Key (Ali King), a university guy trying to deal with the Enhanced Community Quarantine enforced in his area. He is just one of at least two tenants in the building, who weren’t able to get home to their respective provinces before the lockdown was imposed. Now he feels bored, and mind you, he’s fully aware that a total introvert like him isn’t supposed to feel that way, but he does － except when he watches video clips from a certain male vlogger who goes by the handle @CCStrong and is getting popular on a fictional app that perfectly resembles Tiktok. Also, his ex-girlfriend, Dev (Crystal Paras), conveniently provides him some sense of companionship through video calls, and she is the one who made him check out that male vlogger －whom he is quickly having a crush on－ too.
One day, he bumps into a guy at a drugstore, who wears the same mask as his, their bought goods scattering on the floor. When they try to pick them up, their eyes meet, and for a while you’d think they’re having an ‘eye sex’, if there is even such a term. At his apartment, he finds an alien item in his grocery, and straight away realizes that it belongs to the drugstore guy he now addresses as ‘Boti-cute’. This drugstore guy turns out to be the same guy he follows on Uptick － the video sharing app －CCStrong, whose real name is Chen, and who at home, is now being scolded by his sister for not picking up the meds she asked him to. Of course, keen observers may have some hesitation to believe he handed the meds to Key only by accident, because his smile when he suddenly recalled their first encounter, suggests otherwise.
There is a bunch of things to admire in this Jade Castro-helmed series. It’s lovely, breezy, and tender. It is also beautifully shot, in a nice and Instagram-worthy location that essentially defeats the challenges presented to filmmakers, these days. Admirably, the series takes information dissemination about health and safety protocols too seriously that the first episode kind of feels a 20-minute DOH ad. People here are too nice and law-abiding to be true, but it’s still impressive because it makes it a great point without being too preachy. And the boys are fine-looking and can act really well, too.
But more importantly perhaps, is that Boys’ Lockdown offers a closer look at relationships and connections and how love keeps them alive amidst restrictions caused by unexpected events like this pandemic. The series is yet to dwell in such aspect of the plot, but as of now we surely can’t wait for the connection they’re yet to make, go to interesting levels.
Boys’ Lockdown is streaming new episode every Sunday, 8PM, on Ticket2Me’s Official YouTube Channel
Watch the official trailer for ‘Boys’ Lockdown’ below:
