These are some of my favorite dramas that I have watched recently. This post will include a (mostly) spoiler-free description of each drama, along with the platform you can watch it on, amount of episodes, link to the shows and even my personal rating of the show.

one of us is lying

summary: When five students enter detention, and one dies, an investigation ensues as the student was about to reveal critical secrets about his classmates in his gossip blog.

platform: peacock

episodes: 16 (2 seasons total)

link: one of us is lying

rating: 9.5/10

I started One Of Us Is Lying when I was dogsitting over spring break and I immediately loved it. In One Of Us Is Lying, there are five students who end up in detention, and one of them dies under very suspicious circumstances. One of the students, Simon, writes a gossip blog to snitch on classmates and over the course of the season, viewers see all the students had a motive to kill Simon.

I loved it because it was unpredictable and the characters each had their own developments. It kept me invested as a viewer since all the characters were some straight up liars about everything in their lives. I don’t think there was ever a moment where these students were honest. I’m definitely gonna read the book series soon since the show was loosely based on the series and not an exact copy. I would recommend this drama to anyone who likes school-based suspense dramas.

manifest

summary: A commercial airliner suddenly reappears after being missing for five years. As those aboard reintegrate into society, they experience voices and visions of events yet to occur as an even deeper mystery unfolds. 

platform: netflix

episodes: 52 (4 seasons) 

link: manifest

rating: 10/10

I can talk all about Manifest all day, but then this review post would be five pages long. As someone who was an early adopter of Manifest summer 2019, I can confidently confirm it is worth the watch. In Manifest, a Montego Air Flight 828 experiences turbulence and when the passengers land at the international airport on their return, they learn they’ve been missing for over 5 years. The passengers must rejoin society, resume their lives since their loved ones thought they were dead and grieve. If that wasn’t bad enough, the passengers start having visions of future disasters.

I loved all the characters, especially chaotic Ben Stone and his family. I won’t spoil anything since the storyline can get quite complex, but just know that the story will keep you on the edge of your seat and continuously hitting ‘play next episode’ on your tv screen or laptop. 

When the first half of the final season dropped at the end of 2022, my mom & I watched it in about two days & couldn’t get enough. The very final episodes of Manifest drop June 2nd and I am so excited! I’m super thankful so many people tuned into the series when it was “cancelled” & that it got the Netflix resurrection so the story could continue. I would’ve been very sad if it ended poorly. With a complex story like this, once it ends I’ll definitely rewatch it from the very beginning.

korean dramas

the glory

summary: A young woman, bullied endlessly by her peers, plans the best way to get revenge on her perpetrators.

platform: netflix

episodes: 16

link: the glory

rating: 10/10

I absolutely LOVED The Glory. I first started watching when I heard how good it was. In The Glory, the main character Moon Dongeum, who experienced brutal school violence and bullying, plans and seeks revenge on her bullies. Song Hye Kyo did wonderful as Moon Dongeun. Part 1 of The Glory aired at the end of December, so I did have to wait for Part 2 to air in March. 

All the actors put on stunning performances, and the bullies were definitely scary and very evil. I was scared through my screen over what they subjected Dongeun to. Everything Dongeun had to do to perfect her revenge over the years, insert herself back into her bullies lives and stay there without breaking down was so interesting to watch. 

By the end, she does enact her revenge and it’s wonderful. If revenge dramas or movies are your thing, definitely give it a watch!

thai dramas

mama gogo

summary: Former 90s singer inherits a hostess bar, rebrands it as a host bar called Mama Gogo & hires a lineup of handsome, talented, and charming male hosts, while preventing the host bar from closing. 

platform: GMMTV Official YouTube Channel 

episodes: 12

link: mama gogo

rating:10/10

I started watching Mama Gogo, when I needed another drama to watch. In Mama Gogo, Annie receives a host club from her uncle when he dies and she recruits some handsome men from the city to attract more customers at the bar. The show was hilarious as she had to train each of the hosts and since they all had different personalities, day jobs, dance skills and charms, it started off rocky for the host club.

I absolutely loved the themes and friendships between all the characters. I also loved Annie’s fight to have a comfortable space for women to have a good time without stress, since she constantly had to fight against others that Mama Gogo was not a strip club. There was always a character trying to ruin Mama Gogo’s success and I loved seeing how they all worked together to keep the host club afloat. With only 12 episodes, I wished it was even longer since it was such a fun watch.

p.s i hate you

summary: Five friends bonded by love & secrets investigate who leaked their friend’s secret & uncover the dark truths, jealousy, and viciousness in the clique’s relationship.

platform: GMMTV Official YouTube Channel Episodes: 16

link: p.s. i hate you

rating:  8/10

Most of the Thai dramas I’ve seen are either through GMMTV or through Netflix. P.S. I Hate You was through GMMTV & at the end of the year, the company always has a press conference with all their new drama trailers. As soon as this trailer dropped at the end of 2021, I knew I had to watch it. The show gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes which I liked & all the girls were so secretive. The individual relationships and secrets the girl squad had with one another was so interesting to watch because there was always one person left out of a secret. Some of the issues would’ve been resolved if they just communicated! But other than that, it was very entertaining, unpredictable, the actresses of GMMTV really know how to put on a performance.