Showtime's original series, The Affair, has viewers hooked on a gripping story intensified by a dual narrative from both a male and female perspective as well as mysterious twists and a cliffhanger ending. That's the American recipe for making hit dramas.
Thai soap operas portraying infidelity, however, hold no suspense or surprises but can still rake in the ratings otherwise we wouldn't see remakes of the same old stories.
Domestic dramas often emphasise the mia luang/mia noi (lawful wife and mistress) conflict. The wife is stereotyped as a proper but pitiful woman and the mistress is usually a cunning and seductive character.
Premiering last Sunday on Channel 7, another remake of Nam Soh Sai recalls such images of the female protagonists, Wannaree and Pudkrong, played by Suwanan Punnakanta and Sopidnapa Chumpani, while the male central character, Peem, is portrayed by Sornram Theappitak.
The three of them are close friends, with Peem and Pudkrong falling in love with each other at university. Pudkrong though ties the knot with someone else while Peem weds Wannaree, who later has two children. The happy family however faces a crisis when Pudkrong rekindles her relationship with Peem.
Dara Video's production is actually the fifth TV version of Krisana Asoksin's famous novel, which has also been adapted twice into movies.
The national artist penned another classic Mia Luang (The Legal Wife) in parallel with Thommayanti -- another national artist -- who wrote Mia Noi (The Mistress) in order to depict women in opposing circumstances.
Mia Luang is also making a comeback on Channel 3. The teaser presents a tearful Wikanda (played by Warattaya Nilkuha) saying that no one likes to be in the position of the legal wife when there is another woman involved.
The respectable Wikanda is betrayed by her husband, Anirut (Krisada Pornveroj), whose extramarital affairs include a sizzling one with the sexy Ornin (Cris Horwang).
Set to air from April 27, the sixth TV adaptation of Mia Luang will be compared with the renewed Nam Soh Sai in how the female protagonists handle their man and the other woman.
The remakes, while aiming to be a TV sensation, carry the message of how an illicit relationship can ruin lives and the family institution.
Warattaya Nilkuha, Cris Horwang and Krisada Pornveroj in a remake of Mia Luang, which will air on Channel 3 from April 27. photo courtesy of Channel 3
