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Lakorn (ละครpronounced[la.kʰɔːn] related toJavanese ꦭꦏꦺꦴꦤ꧀lakon from ꦭꦏꦸlaku "behavior"[1][2]) orlakhon is a popular genre of fiction inThai television known inThai asละครโทรทัศน์RTGS: lakhon thorathat (lit. "television drama"). They are shown generally at prime-time on Thai television channels, starting usually on, before or approximately at 20:25–20:30 hrslocal time. An episode of a prime-time drama is between 45 minutes to two hours long including commercials. Each series is a finished story, unlikeWestern "cliffhanger" dramas, but rather likeHispanictelenovelas.[3]
The first television drama in Thailand wasSuriyani Mai Yom Taengngan (สุริยานีไม่ยอมแต่งงาน, lit. "Suriyani sent a mitten") starringMom RajawongseThanadsri Svasti and Chotirot Samosorn with Nuanla-or Thongnuedee from the composition of Nai Ramkarn (Prayad Sor Nakanat) broadcast on January 5, 1956, on Channel 4 Bangkhunphrom (nowChannel 9), the first Thai television station. It can be considered the broadcast happened only two months after the establishment of the station.[4]
A series will run for about three months. It may air two or three episodes a week, the pattern being Monday–Tuesday, Wednesday–Thursday Monday-Thursday (weekday slots) or Friday–Sunday (weekend slot). A channel will air three soap operas simultaneously at any given time (each producing their own series by separate production houses). Channels will compete for the most popular stars as they attract the most viewers. Some examples areChannel 3,5, and7 as well to a lesser extent onChannel 9.[5]
While the "best" series are shown at night right after the news, the ones with a smaller profiles (and shorter run times) will be shown in the evenings from 17:00–18:00. In some cases, the most popular prime-time series are shown on re-runs a couple of years after their initial release, generally in the afternoon.[6]
A lakorn episode is normally 1 hour or 30 minutes. When broadcasting internationally, the running time is around 45 min. per episode.
Since January 20, 2023, every Friday night after the second edition of the evening news, Channel 7 stopped airing its regular television dramas. Instead, the station began broadcasting live combat sport matches fromONE Championship, marking a significant shift in theThai television industry.[7]
Starting from September 6 of the same year, Channel 7 introduced a new prime-time slot for television dramas from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., reducing the drama broadcast to just one hour. Only one drama would air Monday through Thursday, while another drama would be shown over the weekend. After 9:30 p.m., the station began airingKorean dramas, starting withGhost Doctor (2022).[8]
By mid-2024, Thai television dramas faced a crisis due to a sharp decline in viewership. Most audiences had shifted toward watching dramas in the format of "series", including foreign titles fromChina and Korea, as well as streaming platforms likeNetflix. This change led to a significant drop in advertising revenue on free TV channels. Many actors found themselves out of work.
One notable example isThe Legend of Nang Nak, a 2024 adaptation of theMae Nak Phra Khanong story on Channel 3, directed by Taweewat Wantha (known for horror filmsDeath Whisperer andDeath Whisperer 2). Although originally scheduled to premiere on July 16, the show was postponed indefinitely. In its place, the station began re-running old dramas. Many channels slowed down drama production, and the veteran actor–producer duoChatchai andSinjai Plengpanich shut down their production company.[9][10][11][12][13]
Eventually,The Legend of Nang Nak premiered its first episode on October 14 of the same year.
Romance, Comedy, Thriller, Action, Psychological, etc. Apart from Lakorn,Boys Love orBL series are booming across the globe.
Thai television soap operas have contributed to popularize the spirits and legends of thefolklore of Thailand. Some soap operas, such as "Raeng Ngao", include the popularghosts in Thai culture interacting with the living, while others are based on traditional Thai legends andfolk tales such as "Nang Sib Song", "Kaki" and "Thep Sarm Rudoo".
Thailand has strict censorship laws on films containing nudity, sexual intercourse, smoking opium, or which might offend religious sensibilities. There are no classifications to rate films for different ages so censors often obscure scenes by scratching the celluloid or smudging it with a translucent gel. When actors are playing cards in TV series, a sentence displays that playing cards with money is forbidden by the law.
On Thai television, Chinese, Japanese, American, and Indian films are broadcast.
Some series are subject to a rating. Most ofBBTV Channel 7 programs are usually rated as PG-18 (children under 18 should seek parental guidance).
Prior to the 2000s, Thai TV soap operas were primarily popular in neighbouring countries such asMyanmar,Cambodia andLaos.[14] SeveralCambodian television channels aired Thai soap operas instead of their local ones.Dao Pra Sook was the most popular series for Khmer viewers. Occasionally, due to historical conflicts between the neighbouring countries, the content of these television programs would lead to offline political conflicts. For example, a plot line concerningAngkor Wat led toriots at the Thai embassy inCambodia and Thai lakorn were banned in early–2003.[15] However, in 2015, Thai content rapidly returned to popularity amongst Cambodian viewers and while they're mainly viewed on online platforms, many television stations were also broadcasting Thai dramas.[16]
Apart from their immediate neighbours, Thai dramas have become increasingly popular in other Southeast Asian countries. Over the years, several Thai TV soap operas have begun to become popular inSingapore asNang Tard andLove Destiny aired successfully in that country. They are usually broadcast in Singapore one or two weeks after airing in Thailand, primarily on Mediacorp'sChannel U. In 2020, Mediacorp announced that they will be airing a comprehensive set of Thai television content to their streaming platforms with English & Mandarin subtitling option.[17] Several Thai hit series have also been broadcast on major national public or commercial television channels in Malaysia (TV3), Indonesia (Rajawali TV), and Vietnam (VTV1).[18] Likewise, Thai content has also gained considerable following in the Philippines, with numerous Thai series such as2gether: The Series andThe Gifted, regularly topping Twitter trends in the country.[19] In 2018, GMA announced that they will be broadcasting more Thai series and exploring collaboration options for production and talent development.[20]ABS-CBN have also announced that they will be airing multiple Thai series on theKapamilya channel and their streaming platform, as well as further partnership with GMMTV.[21][22] Filipino newspaperDaily Tribune stated that "Thai lakorn (“television play”),...is slowly inching its way to the top of the tier."[23]
Outside Southeast Asia, Thai television content has also gained popularity in the broader Asian region. In the 2000's, many Thai soap operas aired in China, were dubbed into Chinese language.[24] With the advent of online and digital media, Thai television content continued to gain popularity in China through word of mouth and viral hits on social networking sites such asBilibili &Weibo. By the late 2010's, Thai content became a mainstay in Chinese streaming platforms, which led to many Chinese companies forming partnerships and collaborating with Thai production companies, such as iQIYI forming a partnership with RS Television to remake Thai content for Chinese audiences.[25][26] Over the years, numerous Thai series were adapted and remade for Chinese audiences through such collaborations as Project S: The Series & My Husband in Law.[27][28] In 2011, Thai dramas quickly became popular in China, with a high performance-price-ratio, passing South Korean dramas as the second most popular country of origin for foreign shows in China, following Hong Kong dramas.[29] The rise of Thai entertainment in China has had an effect in other aspects of Thai-China relations, with Thai dramas credited as being partially responsible for the popularity of Thailand as a tourism destination amongst Chinese travellers and being consistently awarded as 'Weibo's most popular destination' award.[30][31] Meanwhile in Japan, Thai dramas experienced a boom in 2020, with Yahoo Japan stating that "the Thai wave is coming after the Korean wave."[32] While the initial boom was led by Thai BL dramas such as2gether andSOTUS, the introduction of Thai entertainment to the Japanese market led Japanese consumers to explore other Thai entertainment content as well.[33] After months of sustained popularity, TV Asahi announced a business partnership with GMMTV to "deliver fresh and stellar Thai content to the Japanese market and further unlock the great potential 'Thai style' entertainment holds".[34] In India, Thai BL dramas have increased in popularity among Indian women since the early 2020s.[35] In 2023, Indian streaming platformMX Player began broadcasting Hindi-dubbed Thai dramas on its platform for the South Asian market.[36]
With its rising popularity, numerous streaming platforms such as Netflix, Line TV and WeTV have purchased Thai content to stream to global audiences.[37] Aside from airing the content, many of the streaming platforms have also formed partnership with Thai production houses to develop their own original content for their platforms.[38]
Thai soap operas are available inNepal alongside English language, Hindi, Korean and Chinese dramas.[39]
Thai soap operas are available to stream with subtitles onIflix inSri Lanka.[40]
Recently, a historical romantic drama set in the Ayutthaya KingdomLove Destiny (2018) became hit across countries including Russia.[41][42]
In 2021, Thai primetime Lakorns have started to broadcast via Netflix worldwide in the same as in Thailand.
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