“The On1y One” Director Reveals Why There Was No Promotion and Teases Season 2

Taiwanese BL drama The On1y One was released on August 22, 2024, but there didn’t seem to be much (if any) publicity in the lead up to its premiere. With BL fans left high and dry on the Chinese market, the romance drama, which is based on a Chinese novel, and produced in Taiwan with actors Eric Zayn Liu Dongqin (Only for Love) and Benjamin Tsang (The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon) at the helm, has managed a broadcast outside of the mainland through online platforms such as iQIYI International, WeTV, Netflix, etc.

No Budget for Promotion

You would think a drama based on a popular novel AND with zero restrictions from the censors to boot would be reason enough to rally the fans. So why no publicity then? Well, show director Patrick Kuang Hui Liu says there was no room on the budget.

In his Instagram post where the director encouraged everyone to help spread the word, he wrote “ladies and gentlemen, the Taiwanese drama I filmed last year “The On1y One” has already hit 8.9 on IMDb. Because the production company had no budget for promotion, it aired quietly on all the major platforms. I hope everyone can help spread the word. The songs are beautiful and the plot of the story is a fantastic watch. You won’t be disappointed! Thank you thank you!”

Pushing for The On1y One Season 2

Reaction to the live adaptation of the book was pretty polarizing. Whilst some book fans complained the plot of the story was different to the book’s, many others have said the story was actually very captivating. As early as now, director Pat Liu cheekily hinted at season 2 having a lot of kissing scenes. Apparently, the script is done so he clamoured via livestream for fans to push for a new season as he said, “you have to ask the production company for season 2, we all want season 2, okay?”

(Step)Brothers Turned Lovers?

The On1y One is adapted from the popular novel Mou Mou 某某 written by Chinese author Mu Su Li. The story is all about the relationship that develops between Sheng Wang and Jian Tian, stepbrothers who couldn’t be any more different from each other and constantly butted heads. As they got to know each other, feelings develop between them.

Photo: pat3liu / Instagram