'Revenged Love' Ushers in a New Era for Chinese BLs

Boys Love (BL) has been a prominent part of the media ever since. With its ever-rising popularity, multiple series have been greenlit and continued to fuel its success—Revenged Love (逆爱) being one of them.

Released on June 16, 2025, Revenged Love is a live adaptation of the novel Counter Attack by Chai Jidan. It was also adapted in 2015 as Counter Attack. Consisting of 24 episodes with hour-long runtimes, this series quickly rose to the top in popularity, introducing and encouraging many BL fans to explore Chinese BLs.

Revenged Love follows the story of Wu Suo Wei, who is trying to take revenge on his ex by making her current boyfriend, Chi Cheng, fall for him. What begins as a sinister plan soon turns into something real as the humble job hopper falls in love with the rich snake-obsessed man. A classic enemies-to-lovers storyline that hooked the viewers with its emotional and sexual tension.

Many fans have “declared this the best BL of 2025, while others argued it was overrated due to its massive global popularity. The series was also praised for its cast’s visuals and breakthrough performances.

Chinese BLs have been widely infamous for having a good storyline and character chemistry but being discontinued halfway through its run due to China’s censorship and government policies regarding LGBTQIA+ series. Even so, Revenged Love’s popularity and avoidance of censorship felt like a blessing for the Chinese BL fans. With its massive fanbase and critical acclaim, it paved the way for more Chinese BLs to once again break

through mainstream media with their storytelling prowess.

Even after its finale on August 12, 2025, the series continues to captivate fans. Behind-the-scenes footage is steadily being released, keeping the buzz alive and giving viewers a closer look at the chemistry and craft that made Revenged Love a hit. This exclusive content can be streamed on the drama’s official YouTube channel: 逆爱 Revenged Love.

Revenged Love stars Zi Yu (梓渝) as Wu Suo Wei, Tian Xu Ning (田栩宁) as Chi Cheng, Zhan Xuan (展轩) as Guo Chengyu, and Liu Xuancheng (刘轩丞) as Jiang Xiaoshuai. The series is available on streaming platforms such as Viki and GagaOOLala.