‘The Boyfriend,’ Japan’s First Same-Sex Reality Show, Hopes to Normalize LGBTQ Romance in the Country: ‘Hey, They’re Just Like Us’
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Socially-conservative Japan seems to be in no rush to follow its neighbors in East Asia and roll out the pink carpet to the LGBTQ community or recognize same-sex marriages.
But where the Japanese entertainment industry is slowly heading, courts and municipal authorities are following. The untroubled July arrival of the country’s first same-sex dating reality show “The Boyfriend,” on streamer Netflix, may be another sign that normalization of queerness in Japan is on the way.
The show takes nine men to a beach house in order to find love — or at least friendship. For a month, they live together and take turns working shifts at a coffee truck, forging relations with other housemates and learning about themselves along the way. “It’s no different from the familiar reality shows we’ve seen before.
The only thing that felt odd or questionable was that, while there have been plenty of heterosexual reality shows, there have been so few featuring same-sex couples, and none in Japan,” casting director Taiki told Variety. “We didn’t aim to create a special genre.” If the premise feels familiar, the result is a lightyear away from western shows such as “Love Island” or “Love Is Blind,” in terms of on-screen heat, excessive drama or unexpected events. “The Boyfriend” features very little kissing or fondling, let alone obvious sexual activity.
