
The below rankings are based on sales of television/drama releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2022.
The top four Chinese TV dramas of 2022 were the same as 2021's, but with a slight shuffle in the order. The 2021 Taiwan BL hit We Best Love starring Sam Lin and YU grabbed the top spot, followed by three installments of the ever-popular HIStory BL series. Be Loved in House: I Do, another Taiwan BL drama from 2021, came in eighth. Nirvana in Fire and Stained also continued to chart. New entries include the Hailu Hakka-language Taiwan period series Gold Leaf and Mainland costume dramas Joy of Life and Word of Honor.
With precious few Korean series getting English-subtitled video releases these days, the top ten K-Dramas of 2022 were all older titles with the exception of Semantic Error. The sensational Korean BL series starring Park Seo Ham and Park Jae Chan was the top-selling TV drama of the year. Goblin, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? stayed in the top ten for the sixth consecutive year.
BL series occupy over half of the top ten Japanese dramas of 2022. My Beautiful Man starring Hagiwara Riku and Yagi Yusei was not only#1 in Japanese dramas but also #5 overall. It's followed by the Johnny's-led high school BL romance My Love Mix-Up! which also made the overall top ten. 2021's top seller Cherry Magic! stayed on the chart at #4, along with other BL series Old Fashion Cupcake, Minato's Laundromat and Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss as well as the BL-ish Kei x Yaku. Hagiwara Riku's presence in a supporting role likely helped to lift the NHK BS Premium drama Lion no Oyatsu to the top ten.
It's almost all BL across the board for Other Asia TV dramas which cover titles from Southeast Asia. The popular and acclaimed BL series
Bad Buddy starring
Ohm and
Nanon was the top-selling Thai drama of 2022, and it followed very closely behind
Semantic Error for second place overall. There are five more GMMTV dramas in the top ten:
Not Me,
A Tale of Thousand Stars,
Fish Upon the Sky,
Still 2gether and
F4 Thailand, the only non-BL entry on the list.
Don't Say No and the still-charting
TharnType round out the Thai BL hits. The two seasons of Philippines BL web series
Gameboys, which got Japan Blu-ray releases, both made the top five.
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Published January 9, 2023
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