General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Vice Versa (รักสลับโลก)

Vice Versa (รักสลับโลก, also known as Rak Salap Lok or Vice Versa: The Series) is a 2022 Thai romantic fantasy Boys' Love (BL) series produced by GMMTV, in which two young men survive accidents and wake up in each other's alternate-universe bodies, then search for the one person who can send them home¹. It aired on the GMM25 channel and worldwide on the GMMTV YouTube channel from 16 July to 1 October 2022, running 12 episodes¹.

Key fact	Detail
Format	12 episodes of about 55 minutes each, roughly 11 hours total; romantic fantasy BL¹
Broadcast	Saturdays at 20:30 on GMM25, with simultaneous worldwide YouTube streaming; 16 July to 1 October 2022²
Source	Adapted from the novel Vice Versa รักสลับโลก by JittiRain¹
Director	X Nuttapong Mongkolsawas (ณัฐพงษ์ มงคลสวัสดิ์)¹
Leads	Jimmy Jitaraphol Potiwihok as Puen/Tun and Sea Tawinan Anukoolprasert as Talay/Tess, their first pairing²
Audience ratings	9.3/10 from 10,025 ratings on Viki; 8.2/10 from about 2,400 users on IMDb³^•⁴
Follow-up	The characters returned in the anthology sequel Our Skyy 2¹

Spoilers

Premise

Talay is a colorist about to start his dream job when he drowns at the beach and wakes up in a parallel universe, in the body of a wealthy stranger named Tess⁵. Puen, a famous actor from Talay's world, has had his own accident and now lives in the body of Tun, an aspiring screenwriter².

The two travelers meet and learn the rules of their situation from Phuwadol, a male nurse who was himself transported from the real world eight years earlier and helps others like them through the Association of Thai Citizens in the Alternate World⁵. To return home, each traveler must find his "portkey", a person from the original world with whom he forms a connection; once they meet, both will dream of a location that sends them back⁵. Talay suspects Tun is his portkey, but Tun, a celebrity in the real world, hides his true identity, and Talay knows him only as Tun⁵.

The parallel world resembles the real one with deliberate differences. The first episode plays with details ranging from the number system to marriage equality laws, and shows snow falling in Thailand, weather that never occurs in the real country⁵. Talay and Puen also work together to get a first screenplay made into a film, a filmmaking subplot that occupies much of the middle of the series⁵.

Cast and characters

The series pairs two actors in lead roles for the first time⁶:

Jimmy Jitaraphol Potiwihok (จิตรพล โพธิวิหค) as Puen, a famous actor who crosses into Tun's body².
Sea Tawinan Anukoolprasert (ทวินันท์ อนุกูลประเสริฐ) as Talay, a production-minded young man who wakes in Tess's body².
Ohm Pawat Chittsawangdee as Tess and Nanon Korapat Kirdpan as Tun, the bodies the travelers inhabit⁵.
Supporting roles include Pepper Phanuroj Chalermkijporntavee as Kita, Boom Tharatorn Jantharaworakarn as Fuse, Neo Trai Nimtawat as Up, Aou Thanaboon Kiatniran as Aou, and Jeab Lalana Kongtoranin as Phuwadol².

Both leads had to play two characters whose personalities differ sharply. Jimmy described the dual role as his hardest acting challenge, requiring workshops and close work with the director to keep Puen and Tun distinct⁷. Sea, in his first series role, said he studied each character's inner life and had to match continuities with Ohm's performance as Tess⁸.

Production and source novel

The series adapts the novel Vice Versa รักสลับโลก by JittiRain, the pen name of Namfon Jittinat Ngamhuk, whose earlier works include 2gether, Theory of Love, and Fish Upon the Sky¹^•⁹. The novel was published in two volumes¹⁰. In an interview with GMMTV, JittiRain explained the character design: Talay represents a middle-class person who must strive to get what he wants, while Puen is famous and surrounded by people yet lonely; Tess and Tun were written as complete opposites of the leads so the swapped characters would experience a contrast in their new lives⁹. The Thai title รักสลับโลก (roughly "love swapped across worlds") was suggested by the director, and the English title carries a double meaning of mutual feelings and of a parallel world similar to our own⁹.

Screenwriters were Bee Pongsate Lucksameepong, Pratchaya Thavornthummarut, and Nichakorn Pairachwatin, with GMMTV as production company¹.

Reception and international reach

Audience scores were strong on international platforms: 9.3/10 on Viki from 10,025 ratings and 8.2/10 on IMDb from about 2,400 users³^•⁴. Critical reviews were more divided. BL Watcher gave it 8.5/10, praising the romance and the leads' chemistry while noting that many differences between the two worlds stayed cosmetic⁵. A review in Abstract AF! rated it 4/10, arguing the story should have run six to eight episodes instead of twelve and calling the romance underdeveloped¹¹.

The series reached Japan through a dubbed or subtitled broadcast on BS Asahi that began on 25 January 2024 at 23:00, promoted by the Thailand Tourism Authority's Japanese office; the BS Asahi run later ended, with all episodes available on the streaming platform TELASA as of March 2026¹².

In an August 2022 TIME feature on Thai BL dramas as a cultural export, director Nuttapong "X" Mongkolsawas said the show had touched on the topic of marriage inequality and was prepared to address other LGBT issues "if there is a way that we feel is appropriate, at the right time and right place in the series"¹³.

Music

Two singles anchored the soundtrack, both produced and written by Panat Koonprasert of the band getsunova¹⁴. Sea Tawinan sang "เป็นเธอใช่ไหม" (Have I Found), a pop ballad about waiting to meet the right person¹⁴. Jimmy and Sea then recorded "The Key" together, a love song whose lyrics use the key as a metaphor for unlocking misfortune, echoing the series' portkey premise¹⁵.

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African serials › Thai serial dramas (lakorn) › Premiered 2008 to 2024

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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