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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
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Smoggie Queens: Season 1 (UK) (TV Series)

By Golu
Smoggie Queens is a British sitcom set in Middlesbrough, and the word Smoggie is what people from there call themselves, which I didn't know before watching this. Six episodes, about half an hour each, and honestly I had never even heard of this show before. Went in completely blind and it turned out to be this brilliant little find. The whole thing is about a group of LGBTQ friends who've basically created their own family together, and you watch them dealing with break-ups and awful dates and drag brunches and secrets and just constant drama, the kind that only really exists when everybody in your friend group knows absolutely everything about everyone else.

The crew you're following is Dickie, who's a drag queen, his drag mother Mam, this newly out guy called Stewart, Sal who's a lesbian and a wannabe musician, and then Lucinda who's the one straight friend in the mix. They're all just trying to get through life in Middlesbrough while figuring out careers and relationships and each other. The show starts with Dickie getting dumped by his boyfriend Harrison, which is already bad enough, except Harrison also works with him. And then Dickie immediately decides to try and win him back, which goes about as terribly as you'd imagine. After that the show kind of opens up and each episode does its own thing, proper classic sitcom format. You get Mam going full fairy godmother mode to help Lucinda find her ideal man, and then this whole episode where Mam throws a Titanic themed brunch and an old enemy turns up out of nowhere. The episode I laughed the most at was the murder mystery game night where Dickie is completely losing his mind trying to keep the whole evening on track and actually get to the bottom of the fake crime. There's also Sal dealing with a girlfriend who's honestly just not good for her, and Stewart trying to figure out how to come out to his nan. The whole series wraps up at Smoggie Pride and it's just a good time all the way through.

I was laughing out loud pretty much the whole way and this genuinely ended up being one of the funniest things I've watched recently, which is wild because I had zero expectations going in. The LGBTQ humor is really sharp and I loved how each episode just throws these people into some completely different chaotic situation. But it's not all just laughs because every single character has something weighing on them. Mam seems like this rock solid mother figure but she's got an estranged son from a whole previous life nobody really talks about. Sal is out dating while quietly putting up with a girlfriend who treats her badly. Stewart has finally found people who get him but then goes home to a nan who wants nothing to do with who he actually is. Lucinda just keeps picking the wrong guys over and over. And then there's Dickie, who is honestly the best thing in the show. The man is vain and dramatic and completely unreasonable a lot of the time, but somehow you just love him anyway. The way he constantly rolls his eyes at Stewart and throws little digs at him had me in stitches every episode, and his whole attempt to get an LGBTQ network meeting going at work is also really funny. The guy playing Mam does a brilliant job, there's real warmth and authority there. Lucinda is all big loyal hun energy, Sal is wonderfully weird, and Stewart's whole coming out arc ends up being the most genuinely emotional part of the series. Him joining the group lets the show look at queer friendship across different generations without ever getting preachy or wrapping it up too neatly. At its core the show is really just about this group and how they argue and protect each other and somehow turn every tiny little thing into a massive occasion.

It had me laughing every single episode and I just really loved the found family stuff and the way it looks at LGBTQ life honestly, both the good and the not so good parts. These people are chaotic and exhausting but by the end of it you genuinely want to be part of the group. Really can't wait to see what the next season does. (8/10)
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