countryprofiles
Modern families
Mike Lin, Melvia Sia and Kai Lin during Taipei Pride 2020
Global streaming platform GagaOOlala premieres Asia’s first gay parenting series this month, keeping Taiwan at the forefront of LGBTQ+ content and helping to shape the narrative around modern families. Asia’s first gay parenting series, six-episode family comedy Papa & Daddy,
dience and ultimately, amplify the message of love and acceptance,
releases on global streaming platform GagaOOlala on 23 April, keeping
diversity, and equality for all, regardless of one’s sexual orientation”.
Taiwan at the forefront of LGBTQ+ content in the region and taking the next step in the country’s already-significant shift to gender equality. Inspired by the parenting journey of GagaOOlala founder and chief
Lin, executive producer on Papa & Daddy, speaks about the opportunity to “help shape the narrative on the modern family and in the process assist LGBTQ+ individuals who have contemplated starting a family”.
executive, Jay Lin, Papa & Daddy is the story of Damian, a 38-year-old
“As a gay parent myself, I have heard people question whether chil-
overseas Taiwanese and recent divorcé, who returns to Taipei to open his
dren raised under LGBTQ+ households could grow up physically and psy-
dream restaurant, and falls for 28-year-old YouTube vlogger, Jerry, who
chologically healthy,” he says.
hasn’t come out to his mother and father yet. Eventually, the pair become parents through surrogacy.
Chen speaks about the series as helping “to showcase the challenges of gay parenting but also celebrate its new beginnings”.
Papa & Daddy, supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, is written
“While there is a lot of LGBT-related content that talks about the hard-
and directed by Nancy Chen, who was behind the screenplay for 2018’s
ships of starting same-sex parented families, there is little or absolutely no
A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities, and directed Big Three Dragons and
content focusing on the roles and responsibilities that come with being a
HIStory4.
gay parent,” she says.
Malaysian Chinese actor/singer Melvin Sia (Romantic Delicacies, Love
Papa & Daddy is the second installment in GagaOOLala’s anthology
Destiny, V-Focus) plays Damian. Taiwanese actor Mike Lin (Love & TT, The
“Queer Up The Volume”, a collection of original queer love stories, each
Outsiders) stars as Jerry. Both play gay characters on screen for the first
with its own title song and music video, aiming to portray different facets
time in the series.
of contemporary queer life and its issues. The project received a subsidy
During the launch press conference in Taipei, Sia said “while much of the world is gradually becoming accepting of the LGBTQ+ community,
from the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development of the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture.
it is clear that Asia is largely lagging behind. There is barely any LGBTQ+
Director’s involved in “Queer Up The Volume” include Kuang-Hui Liu
content that makes it to the theatres or mainstream television, especially
(Your Name Engraved Herein), Cheng Hun-i (The Last Painting, As We
from where I come from in Malaysia. With Papa & Daddy and Gaga-
Like It) and Nelson Yeh (A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities). All projects will
OOLala, I genuinely believe we can reach out to a larger online au-
premiere on GagaOOLala during 2021.
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contentasia may 2021