A record of the times

ONE NIGHT about two years ago, I tuned in just out of curiosity to a brand new teenage series by GTH. After years of ignoring the same old, dull and misinformed soap operas on Thai television, I was amazed to find myself enjoying “Hormones” and even more surprised to discover at the end of the first season that I hadn’t missed a single episode.

From the get go, “Hormones” was exactly what a teenage series should be. In that first episode, the main character Win is all set to strike against school uniforms, raising questions among viewers as to why students have to wear one to school. He calms down after an unconventional teacher gives him reasons why a uniform should be worn but not until after a drawn-out fight with a more traditional master.

Rebelling against the system – that’s exactly what high school students want to see.

“Hormones” has improved over time and while the cast, production and storyline have enjoyed greater finesse, it has never lost the plot. Other teenage series made for Thai TV tend to cover puppy love between the sexes. “Hormones”, on the other hand, talks about same-sex love. Other series talks about sex. “Hormones” talks about teenage pregnancy and how to prevent it. The series is so broad-ranging that it has ignited discussions on HIV patients, conversion disorder and the effects of drugs, all of which have educated the public. This type of education should be freely available at school but, in this country at least, it is sadly lacking. 

“At the beginning we set ourselves the goal of surviving commercially while contributing something new to society. Two-hundred-thousand views on YouTube was my goal,” Songyos Sugmakanan, the director of the first season, told me two years ago.

“Hormones the Series” has not merely survived, it has become a major success. Of course, it has its flaws. For example, it hasn’t always been as rebellious as hoped or indeed expected. It hasn’t discussed major problems in Thailand such as poverty, inequality and most obviously, the Thai education system itself. But then it never claimed it would. “Hormones” just does it job as a teenage series that entertains, informs, ignites useful discussions and offers a glimmer of hope for the Thai entertainment industry.

That success has been hard earned. The team of scriptwriters has worked very hard over the years, researching and developing stories that twin accuracy and drama. Most of the team are holding down other jobs: one is a member of an airline cabin crew; another is a filmmaker. Months of hard work on “Hormones” have all but drained their energy.

“It takes a lot of time and energy to create ‘Hormones’. We decided three seasons is enough,” explains Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn, director of second and third seasons.

Notwithstanding, the pay off has been excellent – two million views of each YouTube clip and a market that has extended well beyond Thailand’s borders. On some nights, #hormonestheseries has ranked in the top 10 trending topics on Twitter worldwide. It reaches, touches and changes people..

“Hormones the Series” reminds me of the TV series “Sarm-Noom-Sarm-Moom”, which I watched when I was a teen. High school kids today discuss the series now and they will be discussing it in the years to come. “Which Hormones character was your favourite?” will be a common question among university students and help break the ice. It might even encourage media-minded students to write their own series.

“Hormones the Series” ends tonight but the cast will move on. Many of the actors will probably go on to bigger and better things while the script and production teams will continue working in the industry.

“Hormones” will be remembered as the work of its era and has set a standard for Thai TV drama. Let’s hope it is one that can be lived up to. 

 

TUNE IN 

“Hormones the Series” finale airs tonight at 10.30 on One Channel.