I Told Sunset About You / I Promised You the Moon (known in Thai as ; , ) is a Thai coming-of-age series by Nadao Bangkok. It stars Putthipong Assaratanakul (Billkin) and Krit Amnuaydechkorn (PP) as teenage boys Teh and Oh-aew, and explores their relationship as they come to terms with identity, teenage angst, and love.
The series comprises two parts, with five episodes each. Part 1, titled I Told Sunset About You, is directed by Naruebet Kuno, and follows Teh and Oh-aew's lives in Phuket as they prepare for university admissions, while part 2, titled I Promised You the Moon and directed by Tossaphon Riantong, picks up after their entry into university and is set in Bangkok.
The series was released via the Line TV streaming platform, with episodes shown weekly on Thursdays at 20:00. Part 1 was released from 22 October to 19 November 2020, and part 2 from 27 May to 24 June 2021. A 14-minute short film, titled Last Twilight in Phuket, was released on 20 May 2021, serving as a thematic bridge between the two parts. The series was available outside Thailand through Vimeo.
Part 1 of the series was well received, with praise given for its story, performances and cinematography. The series is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes documentary series, as well as original songs and music videos, as part of the promotion plan BKPP Project.
Synopsis I Told Sunset About You Part 1, I Told Sunset About You, follows the relationship of Teh and Oh-aew, schoolboys living in Phuket who used to be childhood best friends but had a falling out and have not spoken for several years. Now in their final year of school, they meet again at a Chinese-language tutorial school as they prepare for university admissions. Starting out as rivals, they eventually make up and begin rebuilding their relationship as Teh helps tutor Oh-aew for their upcoming Chinese exam. They grow closer, forming a new bond that begins to extend beyond friendship but also tests their relationship as Teh struggles to understand and deal with his feelings.
Teh and Oh-aew are supported by their friends and family, but also have to deal with their own conflicting feelings for them. Teh is from a Chinese Thai family and lives with his mother and elder brother Hoon, and has a close female friend, Tarn. Oh-aew lives with his parents, who own an island resort, and is close friends with Bas, who recently joined his and Teh's mutual group of friends Mod, Kai and Phillip.
Last Twilight in Phuket The 14-minute short film, Last Twilight in Phuket, picks up after Teh and Oh-aew become boyfriends and follows their last day in their hometown Phuket before leaving for university in Bangkok.
I Promised You the Moon Part 2, I Promised You the Moon, explores the development of Teh and Oh-aew's relationship as they adjust to life as university students in Bangkok, with Teh becoming involved in the Drama Club at his university and meeting older fellow students Jai, Khim and Top, while Oh-aew makes a new group of friends including Q, Plug, Maengpong and Auu.
Cast and characters Putthipong Assaratanakul (Billkin) as Teh Krit Amnuaydechkorn (PP) as Oh-aew
Part 1 cast Nat Kitcharit as Ko Hoon, Teh's older brother Parada Thitawachira (Smile) as Tarn, Teh's female friend from upper-secondary school Pongpol Panyamit (Khunpol) as Bas, a friend of Oh-aew's who recently joined Moraoyulok, Oh-aew and Teh's group of mutual friends since lower-secondary school Jirayus Khawbaimai (Rolex) as Kai, a member of Moraoyulok Theethat Suk-im (Dream) as Phillip, a member of Moraoyulok Christiaan Churaporn Bos as Mod, a member of Moraoyulok Kanchana Pakviwat as Sui, Teh's mother Prapassorn Chansatitporn as Oh-aew's mother Udom Lalitnithi as Oh-aew's father Fu Nan as Fu Nan, the Chinese tutor Pitchanan Jiemsirikarn (Nobel) as young Teh Inthanon Seangsiripaisarn (Pupa) as young Oh-aew
Part 2 cast Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang as Jai, one of Teh's older fellow students from the Drama Club Arachaporn Pokinpakorn as Khim, the Drama Club president Naphat Vikairungroj as Top, another Drama Club member Taninrat Wadsriwat as Q, a member of Oh-aew's group of friends Sarit Trilertvichien as Maengpong, another member of the group Kamolpipat Bunnag as Plug, another member of the group Chayapak Tunprayoon as Auu, another member of the group Porntip Kitdamrongchai as Dream Pakin Kunaanuwit (Mark) as Mek, Teh's roommate Ploy Siriudomset as Nan Panwa Promtep as Guy
Production Conception The series was conceived shortly after Nadao Bangkok's previous series My Ambulance concluded in October 2019. A side couple from that series, played by Putthipong and Krit, had attracted a large fanbase, especially among shippers, and My Ambulance director Naruebet Kuno, in response to audience feedback, briefly considered featuring them in a sequel, but abandoned the idea as it could not be fitted into the earlier story. Instead, he opted to create a new story based on a topic he wanted to explore, that of a relationship between two teenage boys. He presented the idea to Nadao producers and executives Songyos Sugmakanan and Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn, who agreed that a simple coming-of-age story would make a refreshing change of pace from the fantastical My Ambulance. The project was pitched to Line TV, who were eager to produce another collaboration with Nadao Bangkok and promptly agreed to finance the project as Nadao's fourth Line TV original series.
The series was developed as part of what Nadao termed the "BKPP Project", an integrated promotion plan centred on the two actors and codenamed after their nicknames, Billkin and PP. In addition to the series itself, Nadao planned to release music singles and behind-the-scene documentary series, and hold a fan meeting event. The series was envisioned as a ten-episode story following the development of the characters' relationship from their school days and as they adjust to university life, and Kriangkrai suggested the approach of splitting the series into two self-contained five-episode parts.
Development
Development of part 1 began in December 2019, with Naruebet at the helm. He invited Karakade Norasethaporn and Naron Cherdsoongnern, both of whom he had worked with as fellow students at the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University, to develop the screenplay with him. , one of Naruebet's co-writers from My Ambulance, later joined the team. The project was Karakade and Naron's first screenwriting experience; Karakade primarily worked as a writer and editor, and Naron as a flight attendant.
As is often Nadao's approach, the writers interviewed the lead actors to aid the development of the script, partly basing the characters on their personalities and taking inspiration from their experiences. The characters meeting at tutorial school, for example, was an early plot point based on Putthipong and Krit's introduction in real life. The actors joined in improvisation sessions with the writers in January 2020, and the project was teased via Nadao Bangkok's Twitter account on 14 January.
Naruebet envisioned visually rich imagery for the series, and wanted a locale that would serve as an atmospheric backdrop. The writers briefly considered Ayutthaya, as well as several other provinces, before settling on Phuket, which offered the combination of beaches, hills, and an urban environment. With a rough draft for the story, the team conducted a research trip to the Southern island province in late January. They took inspiration from Phuket's multicultural heritage, Sino-Portuguese architecture and local cuisine, and set the story mainly in Phuket's Old Town. Several food items are featured in the story, including the Hokkien noodles sold by Teh's mother and the dessert o-aew, which inspired the name of Krit's character. The names of the characters Teh and Hoon, meanwhile, are from the Hokkien words for tea () and rice vermicelli (), one of many nods to the Hokkien Chinese heritage which forms a large part of Phuket's culture. Chinese culture is also featured in the story through the language (as Mandarin), which plays a central role in the university-admissions plot, contributed to by language consultant Suppawat Zhou. Phuket's pluralism is also reflected through language, with several characters speaking in the Southern Thai dialect and employing code switching during conversation.
The writers saw the series as first and foremost a coming-of-age story, and created a character-driven narrative focusing on the characters' internal conflicts, having them questioning and learning to understand their own feelings through experience. They employed a lot of symbolism to visually enhance the storytelling. The Chinese hibiscus flower, for example, is commonly used in school textbooks to illustrate the concept of a perfect flower—one with both male and female structures—and the writers used it in different scenes to alternatively represent male and female characters, while leaving open the possibility for viewers to differently interpret the flower's metaphorical meanings. They originally planned for forty-minute episodes, but with the gradually increasing ambition of the project, ended up at almost twice the length.
The project was officially announced by Line TV at its Line Nexplosion 2020 event on 19 February, under the working title BKPP: The Series. It was originally slated for a July 2020 release. However, production was delayed as the COVID-19 pandemic spread through Thailand in March, just as work was entering pre-production. After one of its actors tested positive for the virus, Nadao closed its office from 20 March and advised its staff to self-isolate. The writers, who had until then had almost daily face-to-face meetings, continued working via conference calls, and used the time to further refine the screenplay. A first read-through was held with lead actors Putthipong and Krit via Zoom video call on 24 April, after which some further refinements continued, totalling about months of screenplay development.
The series entered pre-production under isolation conditions, with the crew holding online meetings where each department presented their work via video conference. Though travel restrictions were in place, one of the crew members lived in Phuket and was able to do location work outside of curfew hours.
Casting As the disease came under control, the country began easing restrictions around mid-May, allowing in-person auditions to take place. With the lead actors already fixed for the project, casting for the supporting roles focused on ensuring good chemistry with Putthipong and Krit. The task was split among the casting directors: A-tis Asanachinda, who had done extensive casting work with Nadao, covered the roles of Bas, Hoon, and young Teh and Oh-aew, while Nantanat Thakadkul, who had also co-written My Ambulance, was responsible for the others.
For the role of Hoon, Nat Kitcharit was among the first choices A-tis considered, having been impressed by his lead appearance in the 2018 film App War. The roles of Tarn and Bas, in particular, depended on chemistry with the main actors, and Tarn had to speak Southern Thai. Parada Thitawachira, a TV actress and singer, was invited to audition for the role after the crew came upon a Facebook video of her rapping to a popular song in the dialect, and was promptly chosen. On the other hand, the crew had difficulty filling the role of Bas until Songyos suggested auditioning Pongpol Panyamit, who had earlier been recruited to Nadao Academy, the company's recently launched talent development project. Pongpol had no acting experience and didn't match Naruebet's vision of the character, but his portrayal impressed Naruebet and secured the role.