The Missing Piece Leads This Year’s Mandarin BL Premieres, Surpassing 2.92 Million Viewing Minutes Across Its First Four Episodes
Mandarin BL is gaining momentum this September. According to the latest viewing data from global LGBTQ+, BL and GL streaming platform GagaOOLala, the first four episodes of The Missing Piece have surpassed 2.92 million viewing minutes, making it the platform’s strongest-performing new Mandarin BL premiere so far this year. Its opening performance has surpassed A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills’ Dream and Double Helix.
On GagaOOLala’s BL viewing chart for September 4 to 10, The Missing Piece ranked No. 1, while The Last Oath came in at No. 3. Another new release, Till I See You, also followed closely in its first week. From memory loss and a painful contract romance to a zombie apocalypse and a reunion five years after separation, the three series reflect the increasingly diverse direction of Mandarin BL.
Memory Loss, a Contract Romance and a Painful Love Story: The Missing Piece Takes the Lead
Directed by Yuanyuan and starring Rao Zihao and Zhu Hou, The Missing Piece is adapted from the Jinjiang Literature novel Mao He Shen Li. The original novel already had an established readership, while the live-action adaptation has quickly sparked discussion around its casting, the physical contrast between its two leads and the emotional tension between their characters.
The story follows Shen Mo, who loses his memory after an accident and mistakenly believes that Ji Mingxuan, the man who saved him, is his lover. What begins with a misunderstanding unexpectedly develops into a real relationship. Six months later, Shen Mo regains his original memories, but at a cost: he completely forgets the six months in which he fell in love with Ji Mingxuan.
Desperate to keep Shen Mo in his life, Ji Mingxuan proposes a three-year contractual relationship. As former relationships, family secrets and lost memories begin to resurface, the drama raises a painful question at the heart of the story: if only one person remembers a love they once shared, does that relationship still belong to both of them?
The series moves quickly through high-intensity BL elements including memory loss, a contract relationship, former lovers and rekindled romance. The chemistry between Rao Zihao and Zhu Hou, together with their off-screen interactions, has also helped extend interest in the characters onto social media.
With more than 2.92 million viewing minutes across its first four episodes, The Missing Piece has delivered GagaOOLala’s strongest opening performance among new Mandarin BL titles so far this year.
Zombie Apocalypse Meets BL in The Last Oath
Mandarin BL is also moving beyond the familiar settings of school and urban romance. Directed by Ben Jin and starring Chen Minghao, Chen Liang, Lu Lu and Wang Chaoyang, The Last Oath places a male-male relationship at the center of a world devastated by a global zombie outbreak.
After losing everyone close to him, Lin Zai discovers that he is the only known person immune to the virus, immediately making him a target for competing forces. A-Leh, who is sent to capture him, is critically wounded and unexpectedly saved by Lin Zai. Hunter and prey are then forced to survive side by side amid hordes of zombies, betrayal and the collapse of human morality.
The virus, Lin Zai’s immunity and their escape through the post-apocalyptic world are not simply background elements. They directly drive the changing relationship between the two men, who move from mutual distrust toward putting their lives in each other’s hands.
By combining BL with thriller, action and survival elements, The Last Oath expands Mandarin BL into a very different genre space. The series also reached No. 3 on GagaOOLala’s BL viewing chart for September 4 to 10.
Addicted Director Ding Wei Returns to BL with Till I See You
Till I See You marks the BL return of Ding Wei, director of the 2016 series Addicted. The new series stars Wang Chenrui and Sun Xiaoxiao.
Raised in Japan, Song Yi travels to northern China in search of answers about his father’s past. There, he unexpectedly becomes the temporary caregiver of Xu Feiyu, who has recently undergone eye surgery.
With his eyes still covered in bandages, Xu Feiyu gradually lowers his guard under Song Yi’s forceful yet tender care. Before Xu Feiyu has even had the chance to properly see Song Yi’s face, the two have already fallen for each other. But just as Xu Feiyu is about to regain his sight, a major secret forces Song Yi to leave without saying goodbye.
When they meet again five years later, the story shifts from falling in love before Xu Feiyu can see him to a different question: can a relationship interrupted by secrets and time ever be made whole again?
Ding Wei’s return to BL after many years also creates a connection between an earlier era of Mandarin BL and a new generation of series reaching international audiences through streaming. Till I See You posted a first-week performance close to other recent Mandarin BL releases such as The Last Oath, adding another title with room for further growth to GagaOOLala’s September lineup.
Six Men Compete for BL Lead Roles as Project XY Turns Reality TV Into a Casting Ground
Male dating reality shows have already demonstrated both viewing appeal and star-making potential. Boys Like Boys, launched by GagaOOLala and HahaTai in 2023, surpassed 350,000 views within 24 hours of its first episode and held the No. 1 position on GagaOOLala’s Taiwan viewing chart for 10 consecutive weeks.
In Japan, the first season of The Boyfriend also showed how male dating reality can build stars beyond the program itself. The social media followings of its nine participants increased by an average of approximately 120 times, while the show’s popularity led to a second season.
Project XY takes that model in a different direction. Six men move into a seaside house, where shared living, pairing challenges and improvisational acting exercises test their chemistry. The eventual goal is to select the lead and supporting CPs for the production company’s first BL screen project.
Rather than focusing only on who ends up together, Project XY connects real-life pairing, talent discovery and CP development. Viewers can follow the process from the participants’ first meeting and watch as potential new Mandarin BL pairings gradually take shape.
From the memory-loss romance of The Missing Piece and the zombie survival world of The Last Oath, to the return of an established BL director with Till I See You and the reality-based casting experiment of Project XY, the current wave of Mandarin BL is expanding not only in volume, but also in viewing performance, storytelling genres and content formats.
Further reading: September New BL Releases: Your Full Watchlist on GagaOOLala
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