First Impressions: “Be My Angel” Brings Butch-Femme Representation to Thai Romcoms
Romcom lovers and Girlsโ Love (GL) fans, rejoice! 2026 starts strong with Pennyy Studioโs first original drama, Be My Angel. The series focuses on down-on-her-luck Jane (Baipor Thitiya Jirapornsilp), a 24-year-old who dreams of being her own boss and opening her own shio pan (salt bread) bakery. She makes a wish for someone to be by her side and receives Z (BamBam Niwirin Limkangwalmongkol), an angel with zero skills, to help make her dream come true.
Be My Angel is directed by Poy Pannares Ruchirananta, whose previous work includes the crime thriller GL, Petrichor, and the GMMTV comedy, Baker Boys. The first episode aired on January 30. It brought all the cute, fun, and outlandish vibes and set the tone for the romantic comedy series.
Make a Wish
The show opens with a supernatural question: What if you could exchange the good karma youโve collected throughout life for a wish via an app? When Jane complains to her friends about rent being too expensive to find a space for her bakery, they suggest she try out the โLucky Pointsโ app โ an app where she can spend her good merit on a wish. She soon discovers her merit is not high enough for all her demands: money to start her bakery, a cheap rental, and a โhot, posh, rich lover!โ In her frustration, Jane asks if itโs really too much to ask to have someone by her side. Unbeknownst to her, the app registers her exasperated demand as a wish and sends her an angel.
The next morning, the angel Z appears at her front gate. Zโs sunny disposition clashes with Janeโs frustration right off the bat as Jane struggles to believe Z is really sent from heaven. Jane tests her by asking her to cast a spell, read her fortune, or turn invisible. Z bashfully reveals that, technically, she isnโt an angel nor a human, but a low-level worker from heaven who fulfills wishes. She is stuck by Janeโs side for three months โ the allotted time that Janeโs merit can afford. Jane is reassured slightly at the idea that at least sheโll have a minion to order around for three months.
Romcom Antics
Jane puts Z to work cleaning her house, but Zโs inability spans from fortune-telling to mopping floors. After spilling a mop bucket down the stairs, using a toilet brush to clean the shower, and taking an entire day to clean two rooms, Z earnestly offers to clean Janeโs bedroom. She opens the door only to discover Janeโs underwear hanging all over the room. An embarrassed Jane hurriedly kicks her out while Z giggles behind the closed door. All of these antics are paired with a healthy dose of humorous sound effects commonly found in Thai comedy dramas. The noises ham up the comedy behind each characterโs actions and facial expressions.
The addition of small, hand-drawn animations over certain scenes also adds a cute flair, such as Zโs angel wings and halo, or displays of Janeโs emotions like hearts, tears, or a sigh of frustration. In an X post, director Ruchirananta noted that the animations were added to โgive the series a stronger sense of cuteness, a cartoon-like feel, and a touch of fantasy.โ
At the end of a long day, Jane and Z settle in for bed. Jane quickly stops Z from climbing into bed, having a minor fit, which Z copies. She asks where she should sleep if not in Janeโs bed. Jane banishes Z to the living room, and Z sheds her bright demeanor to pout alone on the dusty couch. That night, two mysterious, white-clothed strangers stand outside the house.
Butch-Femme Rep
At the forefront of this show is the representation of butch and femme identities. Butch and femme are lesbian political identities, butch being masculine and femme being feminine. Although GL has seen a rise in popularity in the Thai entertainment sphere, representation of masculine lesbian identities, such as butch or tom (from โtomboyโ), has been few and far between. The 2010 Thai movie Yes or No is often spoken of as a significant representation of a butch-femme lesbian relationship in Thai media.
Director Ruchirananta is butch herself and has stated in a behind-the-scenes documentary that she specifically wanted a butch-femme pairing for the series. Lead actor BamBam Niwirin Limkangwalmongkol has also explicitly stated their sapphic and gender non-conforming identities. With lesbians behind and in front of the camera, Be My Angel makes for great representation.
Silly Mysticism
After another chaotic day, this time with Z assisting Jane in baking her special salt bread recipe, Jane canโt contain her frustration. She asks Z, โApart from that sunny smile, what else can you do?โ Z admits that sheโs at the bottom of the barrel, given her name is the last letter of the alphabet, and that she is the only one cheap enough for Janeโs meager number of merit points. Discouraged that she got the โbargain-bin pick,โ Jane opens the Lucky Points app while Z cleans up the kitchen and returns her wish.
The next morning, Jane looks around her house to check if Z is really gone. Now alone, Jane opens the Lucky Points app to see that her wish return has been submitted and is awaiting approval. Despite this, Jane does not look overjoyed. When she leaves her house, she finds an angel on her front step again. This time, itโs the angel Duangjai, one of the supervisors at Lucky Points. He begs Jane to reconsider returning her wish for Zโs sake. Unable to finish her task, Z has been demoted from her role.
Duangjai brings Jane to see where Z works now: helping the dead into heaven. The only problem? Z is deathly afraid of ghosts. Jane can only watch while unruly ghosts chase Z around. Duangjai brings Jane back to her home and explains that she can rescind her return and take Z back on a one-month probation. But if Z fails to fulfill Janeโs wish, Jane can return her permanently. That night, Jane accepts and takes back her return.
Six Degrees
With Z back and looking dapper as ever, Jane renews her efforts and puts Z to work on making salt bread again. While baking, Z begins to sing quietly. Surprised by her sweet voice, Jane asks if Z was a singer before she passed away. Z waves it away as nonsense, but Jane begins to come up with a plan. Using the โsix degrees of separation theory,โ or the idea that any two people on Earth are connected by six people, Jane pledges to find Zโs past identity.
Jane hopes that Zโs past identity might be a doctor or a lawyer, someone she could benefit from while she is stuck with Z during her probationary period. This gets the ball rolling on the showโs main plot, promising a fun-filled journey to discover self-identity and fulfill lifelong wishes โ and maybe fall in love along the way.
The hunt for Zโs past identity continues Fridays on iQIYI at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and 8 p.m. Indochina Time.
Want more GL? Check out EnViโs coverage of GMMTVโs 2026 lineup here.
