Influlover – Series Review & Episode Guide

Focus is an influencer who has built a following by reviewing products online. At 11:45 PM, he kicks off a late-night livestream to recommend some quirky food items. The stream starts with just over 100 viewers. Focus starts eating and delivers his usual funny commentary. However, the audience becomes far more interested in the guy standing behind him. Focus tries to ignore the comments, but everyone is dying to know who that mystery man is.

Eventually, the mystery man joins the livestream. He is Jed, the roommate who has been living with Focus for the past four years. Jed seems completely comfortable on camera. He starts flirting with Focus, mostly for fun and to hype up the viewers. Focus is caught off guard by his roommate's antics. He never expected his livestream to get derailed like this. Of course, the audience immediately assumes they are dating. Jed is more than happy to play along.

Focus shoves some food into Jed's mouth to shut him up. It works, at least for a moment. Focus regains control and gets the livestream back on track. Since viewers love him, Jed sticks around to help test the products. He still enjoys messing with his roommate and knocking him off script. When Jed starts flirting again, Focus doesn't just sit there and take it. Instead, he flirts back and pushes things into surprisingly intimate territory on camera. This time, Jed is the one caught off guard by how close things suddenly get.

How do I feel about Influlover? Let's check my notes: "Well, that was cute. 7/10." No, my review isn't very deep. But then again, this isn't a deep BL series. The whole plot is about two roommates flirting on a livestream before realizing they actually like each other. It's a simple story for a 15-minute vertical drama, and you get what you expect. There's a bit of humour here, some flirting there… Before you know it, the six episodes are over. I'm already running out of things to say, but let's elaborate on what worked and what didn't.

Influlover is the third vertical drama in the Dee Hup House cinematic universe, after the studio recently released Screen Together and Love Truck. The other two had better jokes, but this series is the most romantic. It has the sweetest story, which will make your heart flutter. It helps that the characters are already friends from the start. Focus and Jed have lived together for years, so they're familiar with each other. Influlover doesn't need to waste time explaining how they met and grew close. Instead, it takes a shortcut. It jumps straight into the couple's relationship and instantly shows off their chemistry.

A huge chunk of Influlover is just Focus and Jed flirting their faces off. Soft touches… Lingering looks… Way too much eye contact, that's for sure. The series keeps dangling romantic vibes in front of us like a toy. The fanservice is actually part of the story, since the characters play up their connection for the livestream viewers. At first, they're just pretending to flirt. But then, the line starts to blur. Oh! Focus stares at his roommate for too long. Ah! Jed also looks a little flustered. The fun comes from watching both leads catch serious feelings and realize it in real time.

Many scenes are cute enough to put a smile on my face. Yet, I feel awkward because Focus and Jed are technically flirting for an online audience. Why are all these exchanges happening in front of a camera with a livestream chat reaction? Suddenly, the romance reminds me of a content marketing strategy. It makes every interaction feel slightly insincere. I wish we could see the couple away from the crowd. Let's drop the influencer personas and give us more private moments instead. That way, we can see the characters be their honest selves around each other.

Influlover is a vertical drama. I hate the format with a passion, and this series didn't convert me. Yes, I get it… The story is about a content creator filming on his phone, so it makes sense technically. Do I enjoy looking at it? No, the visuals seem cramped. The characters are also stuck in the same living room. There's hardly any variety in the filming locations, which feels lazy. At least the leads do a decent job, bouncing off each other pretty well. Every flirting scene works because there are genuine sparks between them. Plus, Focus's actor (Dect) looks like a cutie-patootie!

Influlover has some fun moments. The twist at the end of Episode 4 made me laugh, even though I saw it coming. And yes, the finale delivers! The story saves its cutest scene for the very end. This romcom knows when to deploy the sugar, giving viewers the sweet ending that we all want. However, the story still seems too simple. It takes no risks and barely shows any creativity. Nothing about it feels deep. At the end of the day, it's another cutesy BL drama coasting on six short episodes of romantic fluff. I enjoyed Influlover, but not enough to give it an absurdly high score.