Inside Queendom The Series: Ned on Adapting a Thai GL Body‑Swap Romcom

Q and A

What first grabbed your attention about the Queendom novel and made you want to turn it into a series?

So as this series will be the first GL series for WeTV Original, we wanted to have something that would really stand out in the market, but still have some mainstream appeal. So when we first started, my script doctors went through close to 100 of IPs before they stumbled upon Queendom. And when my script doctor pitched the story to me, and there was something about it that immediately stood out. Because personally, I've always been like quite a sucker for romantic comedies. And every single project that I've done with WeTV has been in that genre. And Queendom immediately gave me that feeling that it has the warmth and familiarity with like 90s and 2000s rom-coms that we grew up loving, but it still has like a fresh twist to it. Although the body switch concept isn't entirely new, seeing it through like a girl love perspective makes it entirely different in terms of experience.

So what really sealed the deal for me was when my script doctor described this one particular scene, that after the body switch, Rey sees her own body smiling while print is inside. And it's the first time she realizes how beautiful she looks when she's genuinely happy because she's never had that smile before when she was in her own body. So that moment made her see herself through the eyes of someone else. And that moment really struck me like really strongly. And it showed how the story isn't just all about fun or comforting, but it's also like deeply empowering as well. So beneath all the humor and the romance, it all links back to female empowerment, self-acceptance, and learning to love yourself from a new perspective. So that kind of made me say, this is the story that should be the first GL for WeTV because it stands for something.

How do you go about adapting a book for TV, especially for Queendom The Series?

I can't speak for other studios, but based on my own experience, the reason behind this is actually quite practical and it might be a bit unromantic at a certain extent because we have to admit that at the end of the day, a GL series has become like a business model in itself, right? So when we decide to adapt a novel, we look at the data, we look at the readership numbers, the popularity, whether the story has already been translated to other languages, which would help with the international appeal. I mean, it is not the most artistic answer, but it is the reality that we are living in. And we want to make sure that the story has an existing audience that we can build on. So that's the boring part of the answer.

But if we move on to the fun part on how we actually adapted to screen, like during the acquisition process, we will talk to the authors if there's any specific things that they would like to keep in the series. And some would write pages for us like keep this, keep this. The novel and TV are two very different mediums, and we want our screenwriters to have the creative freedom to make the story work on screen as well, but we still want to stay respectful to the original spirit of the story.

So in the case of Queendom, Salmon actually gave us full freedom to interpret it however we want it, and that kind of trust really motivated us to be even more thoughtful about our adaptation to the novel, because we wanted to make sure that the heart of her story stays intact, even though the structure has been changed.

So in the development process, we usually start with the pilot script because that's the first real look that we can see how the adaptation will feel. So when we first released the 10 minute pilot, we were still developing the full screenplay as we were doing that as well. So when we released it, we closely monitored the audience reaction, what they liked, what confused them, and we looked at what they wanted more of. And by they, we mean like the readers, the readers of the original novels.

So one recurring comment was about the mirror scene, which people loved. But since the pilot was quite short, some viewers were a bit confused about the idea that the characters are falling in love with their own bodies. So we know from that point that the execution of this needs to be very crucial. So inside the writer's room, we try to focus on making it about self-love, self-acceptance, and make it the emotional core of the story so that the audience wouldn't see it as something strange, but just something very deeply human and something very beautiful.

How did you expand the world of Queendom The Series for a full season?

So another big challenge for us was expanding the world of the story since it needed to fill 12 episodes total. We knew we had to add more layers and new characters, new dynamics to make the story feel richer. And from the start, we wanted to have like two couples immediately because we know that we wanted to offer like two different kind of flavors and two different kinds of love that can appeal to many different audiences.

So you have Rey and Print who represent that feeling of young love, first love energy. It's sweet, it's nostalgic, and it has that little bit like puppy love energy that people remember from their youth, right? On another hand, we also have Wan Mai and Saifon who are more mature and their relationship is a bit messier and more complicated and it's a bit more spicy. And I guess it feels closer to what many of us have. Many of us core viewers have related to like closer experience too as well.

How did you put the crew together and what did you look for?

When it comes to choosing the key crew, the very first thing I look for is passion. I love working with people who have that spark in their eyes, like people who are genuinely driven and excited about what they're making, what they're creating. Because at the end of the day, it's a long process and this energy makes the whole process more fun and creatively alive. And for me, I have a soft spot for first time directors.

All of my projects with WeTV has been with first time directors because for me, there's something very, very special about that phase in your career because there's hunger to prove yourself. There's fearlessness to take risk and the willingness to give it all you have. And for me, that kind of energy is quite contagious and it creates this 'we can do anything' atmosphere that I really love when I work. So even with my group of screenwriters, this was their first time writing a GL series as well. And when I brought them on board, they only had one series to their name, which wasn't even released yet during the time of my development. But they were working with me on another series as well and we had such a positive working relationship, I was like "oh why waste a good thing when you found it," because there was this shared rhythm between us all and it made the development process feel quite natural and collaborative.

What I always say is, I had this vision for a female dream team. It was like a very intentional decision from my part because, as I mentioned, it would be WeTV's first GL series, I wanted it to be a story for women by women. Of course, we selected everyone based on their strength and demands on the job, but I made it a point that I wanted to put as many talented women as possible in key creative positions. When I chose Beam as a director, I shared this vision with her and she really embraced this idea and she chose to surround herself with very strong, capable women who poured so much heart and perspective into the project as well.

But with that being said, we also have incredible men on the team as well. And these men who have been nothing but supportive of this vision that we have. They also created a safe space for the women to take the lead, which I really appreciate. At the end of the day, it's not about excluding anyone, but it's about creating an environment where women can step forward confidently and everyone can work together with mutual respect and enthusiasm and like I said, passion for something that we love.

Were there moments during production when you felt especially proud of the team?

Honestly, I feel that every single day I walk on set because shooting days are painful. They start painfully early and they end very late. And the conditions are less than ideal most of the time. I mean, it's not the comfort of like an air-conditioned office and sometimes you're sharing three bathrooms with nearly a hundred different people. So production life is chaotic, messy, and very exhausting. But somehow, because of the people I get to come and meet every day, I still look forward to coming on set and seeing it every day. What makes it worth it is the people. I want to see everyone do their magic and I want to watch the words I have read on the script finally come alive on screen. I mean, we have tough days and production is basically about facing like 100 different problems a day, but making the best possible decision for each one.

What makes me so proud every day is the team's amazing attitude. So no matter what comes our way, they approach it with this unstoppable, like 'come get me', this kind of energy. And it's the resilience and the can-do spirit that makes me so proud of the team that I've built. So even on the hardest day, we see how everyone pulls together and it reminds me of why I love to do this and why this team in particular means so much to me.

How did you approach the body-swap theme so it felt fresh for Queendom The Series?

As I mentioned earlier, the body swap trope isn't something entirely new. I mean, it's been done before many times. What makes Queendom different is it's the first time the concept is explored through the GL lens because it's such a familiar setup. It's also an easy trap that you can fall into if you repeat what's been done. So I knew from the start that I wanted this series to come out as a comfort watch, but with a bit of a modern twist. It has to be something that feels warm and nostalgic, but fresh and relevant to today's audience.

That's when I knew that I wanted a new voice behind it. I wanted someone who could look at a familiar trope, but reinterpret it in an unexpected way. So choosing Beam to direct this project came from that instinct that I had, because I knew that if I went with a veteran director, I knew that I would know exactly what I can expect. I would expect a polished piece that might feel a bit too safe. But with Beam, it was the opposite. It felt like a new territory. It's a bit unpredictable, but it's exciting. She brings this fresh sensibility and very modern perspective that I felt was perfect for Queendom and what we're going for.

From the very beginning, Beam and I agreed that we wanted the series to feel accessible and mainstream, something that everyone can enjoy, but wrapped in exciting and contemporary package. But most importantly, we both wanted to feel it to feel like it's empowering for women. So even though it's a body swap on the surface, like at its core, it's really about self-love and self-acceptance. And that's become our guiding theme throughout the development. We wanted this simple, entertaining story to leave viewers with a quiet but meaningful message about seeing yourself with kindness and learning to love the person that you already are.

How did you and the team decide which parts of the novel to keep or change for Queendom The Series?

Once we announced the IP acquisition, the script doctors and I started to monitor the comments from the fans of the novels. We tried to pay very close attention to which scenes they talked about most, what moments they say they wish to see brought to life and we continued doing this even after the pilot's release to observe what resonated with the audience and what didn't. So throughout the development, we tried our best to accommodate most of these voices while still crafting something that works on screen as well. The most important thing was for us to preserve the heart of the story, even though the series didn't follow the novel 100% in terms of the plot. But we believe that we captured it's spirits and the emotional core and the message the author wanted to convey. Our goal was to reinterpret that essence in the way that feels natural and impactful, but still in the format of a series.

Tell us about casting Rey and Print. How did Pam and Arhoung end up in these roles?

First, when we were still in the IP sourcing process initially, we had our show Chuang Asia, which was a reality show that was also on air on WeTV. So back at the drawing board, we were considering casting some of the contestants from the show to be the project after Chuang Asia finished. At that stage, we were looking at IPs where the talents could possibly showcase their singing and dancing. And very early on, Pam was actually on my short list. It wasn't like she was a definite choice, but she was more of like a starting point as we were exploring ideas of what we could do.

So at one point when we decided to move forward with the Queendom IP, it became very clear that Pam was our Rey. Notice I will say Pam is Rey for now. So her personality and aura kind of made perfect match with the character. The next step for us was finding the right Print. The audition process for print lasted a very long time and we saw so many actors but even though while we were looking, Pam was always supportive and adaptable throughout the journey.

I first saw Arhoung on Instagram and honestly, her photo made me feel a bit skeptical at first because she looks very fierce, almost like a queen bee. So I was worried that she might be too similar to Pam in terms of like typecasting. Initially we thought that she might also suit the role of Rey because of her look. But then we called her in for an audition and once we got to know her more, she immediately gave us the print energy that we were looking for.

But the moment that truly sealed the deal, wasn't even like a scripted scene. It was the improvised scene that we released the audition tape of. So it was fun because we watched Arhoung, who seemed very fierce in her photo, become this shy person and she crumbled like a little cat around Pam. And Pam, who's we know is fierce already, she softened in response and watching it felt magical.

Before the auditions, we would always tell the actors, don't do anything you're not comfortable with. So any gestures or moments that they do, it's entirely their own choice. So the fact that Arhoung and Pam added these small like intimate touches, peck on the cheeks, it kind of showed us that they were willing to open up to one another. And that spontaneity and that trust told us everything that we need to know that this is our Rey and Print. It was meant to be.

Did you have the actors try out both original and swapped characters during auditions?

I love that this question actually connects to the previous question because during the audition process, like each character, each actor has to perform three different scenes for Print and Rey. First they have to play the character in their original body, then the switch, and then we have them improvise a scene where they ask the other person out on a date because the last scene was our way of gauging their natural chemistry and how comfortable they are with each other while going off script.

As I mentioned before, Pam was originally auditioning for Rey and Arhoung was Print. At that time we were still in the script development phase. So while we already have like a rough sense of where the story was going in terms of story structure, we knew that from early on that these characters would spend most of their time living in each other's bodies. So that made things quite challenging because essentially they needed to master two characters in one person, themselves and the other person.

Both of them came into audition. I think if memory serves, they came twice. The first round was focused on their swapped characters and we kind of give them notes and we try to see how they can adjust to the notes when they came in for a second time. It was after the first session that Beam had this like total light bulb moment. She suggested that, what if we switched the roles? What if we just have Pam play Print and Arhoung play Rey since they'd be spending most of their time in the swapped bodies anyway? And, you know, I had to admit that I was very hesitant at first because at that point I had pitched this project so many times that I got used to thinking of Pam as Rey and Arhoung as print. But, I have to say that Beam's idea was like a stroke of genius because it made perfect sense to the story and for the emotional depth that we wanted and I give her full credit for that decision. It was a hundred percent the right call.

Were there surprises in casting that made you rethink anything?

Not really, at least not in terms of casting itself, but one thing that made me question it was actually something from a more of a business standpoint, because if I have to address the elephant in the room, it was a tough decision to cast both Pam and Arhoung, because, as we know, both artists come from different agencies, right? So we knew that from the start that this would complicate a few things further down the line. And there were many practical considerations to be had, like contracts, promotion, scheduling, next steps for the talents, all that very boring stuff.

Every time I thought about taking the easy route, I would go back and I would watch that improvised audition scene, not even the scenes where they were playing the characters, but that unscripted moment between the two of them. Every single time I watch it, I found it so endearing and I found them so naturally in sync that I could not imagine the show without the two of them together.

I'd like to share like a little tidbit from behind the scenes. At one point, it came down to Arhoung or another actress and on paper, the other option made perfect business sense. But emotionally, I was drawn to Arhoung more and because we felt like she had something very special, I remember I was feeling completely torn between making a logical choice and just following my gut instinct. What I did was, I called Beam. Honestly, at that point, I just needed a sounding board or maybe someone to be like a bit crazy with me. So I told her what I felt and thankfully, she felt the exact same way. So we both agreed that, okay, screw everything. We're going to follow our hearts and if our hearts say it's Arhoung, then it's the decision that we will stand by. Never once have we regretted that decision.

Was much of the show improvised? Any favorite improv moments?

Oh, there's so, so many, so many. But I think the one that matches my humor the most, it's a small one, but it's the sponge scene where Arhoung mimics Pam's character with the green sponge and the pink sponge. I love that because to me it was so subtle. Like if you did not pay attention, you would just think she's mimicking her in terms of the tone of voice, but then if you really paid attention, she got it wrong.

A lot of, during Arhoung playing print, a lot of things is improvised on the spot. A lot of it is just Arhoung being Arhoung. Actually, the print payday dance was Arhoung. If I remember correctly, we only had one shooting day down. Beam and I talked that, oh, maybe we needed more time with the girls to make the shooting day a bit more efficient. So we called them in for a quick workshop session. So we're like, okay, let's do a checklist of what we want to get down so we don't have to find it in front of set. And Print's payday dance was actually one of the things that was developed in the workshops like, oh yeah, let's do this. It's so silly.

In your eyes, what sets Queendom The Series apart from other girl love dramas?

So I think for anyone who has watched Queendom, I think it's pretty clear that we are something entirely different from the other GLs out there. I mean, we're loud in style and we're a bit unconventional and we're delightfully unique in every single way. I've seen people online say that Queendom doesn't feel like a GL and I actually take that as a compliment because it has a very like coming of age energy, which I fully credit to Beam and our story development team. This is not to compare to other series, but for me, what makes Queendom truly stand out is its heart.

As I mentioned, and as you've mentioned that this project is made with so much love, like genuine love from every single person that has been involved in the project. We can sense that everyone knew that we were creating something special and they treated the project almost like a passion project because this project was a chance for us all to try something new, to be a bit more bold and to break some molds. And because of that, everyone poured a piece of themselves into the project. A body swap story could easily have fallen to the traps of like cliches. And we've seen that done before, but we wanted to go deeper and we wanted to give it spirit, heart and soul. So at its core, Queendom isn't just about swapping bodies, but it's about seeing yourself through someone else's eyes and learning how to love what you see and finding acceptance within yourself. I think that's why people who love the show really, really love it because I think they can feel that authenticity and the collective heart behind it.

Have you had memorable or funny moments with fans since Queendom The Series aired?

Yeah. Actually, there's a couple that comes to mind. But one of the most touching moments actually happened at our Queendom Pinky Party. I mean, that was our first official offline event. And to be honest, the turnout wasn't huge, but the people who came, you can tell that they were the core fans and the ones who have been with Queendom from the very beginning and they loved it. So at that event, I wanted to do something special for them because I think it's no secret by now that I also managed the Twitter account, the X account as well. I wanted to do a special giveaway of the t-shirts from the shoot and at one point, the MC on stage announced that I was the producer because I wanted to take some photos of the lucky winners of the show.

Everything went on normally, but then later when the cast had their little meet and greet session with the fans after the event, which was like a very heartwarming moment to see, something a little bit unexpected happened because a few fans actually came up to me as well. They thanked me for making the show and they started sharing with me how much the show meant to them. This was just the halfway point of our series and they even asked like, oh, can we take like a selfie? Can we take a photo together? And it was such a small thing, but it really stayed with me because as someone who's usually behind the scenes, I don't get a lot of these like "I see you" moments. So for a brief moment, it felt like the love that we poured into the show was being reflected back at me and it was incredibly moving.

Did any fan theories during the run make you laugh?

Actually, yes. There is one particular event that still makes me laugh a little because I think we were going to air episode 6. So I made a very subtle post on emojis that represent episode 6 and at the end, one of the emojis I chose to use was a man with a mustache. That single emoji spiraled and it sent everyone absolutely wild and fans were like wait why is there a man in the show, what is happening? And the theories got, if I remember, the theories got very crazy and it went wild but I mean, now we know that it was actually like Arhoung wearing a fake mustache, but at the time, no one saw it coming. No one except for one person, one person who guessed it as a joke. She photoshopped a picture of Arhoung and a fake mustache as a joke. I was like, oh my god, i can't believe it. I know she didn't know that it was gonna be true. I'm pretty sure she made it as a joke but i remember i bookmarked that because i'm like it's gonna be so funny when it comes true. Then like immediately after the episode aired she retweeted it again.

Why did you cut the deleted scene that was later released?

Ah, okay. This is a great question. The answer will be a bit long. So to be honest, that deleted scene wasn't even part of the original screenplay at all. Let me give you the full context of how it actually came to be, because it's quite an interesting journey and it reveals a lot of vulnerability behind the scenes as well.

Towards the end of production, I think we only had like one shooting day left. At the same time, we had another GL series that is airing on our platform and it was performing really, really well. So of course, as research, we looked at the data to see which moment drove engagement, like how the numbers were so crazy. What we found was that the relationship in that show progressed quite quickly. They had a kiss or an NC scene by the time it got to episode 3. Immediately there was question that is raised from our team, so when does Rey and Print kiss in Queendom? And my answer was, at the end of episode six. That worried a lot of people because we originally made Queendom to be built as a slow burn and we wanted Rey and Print's relationship to feel believable, for the intimacy to like really land emotionally when it does happen.

So I understood the concern, but I guess at that point, we needed something for safety just in case. From an artistic standpoint, it doesn't make sense for the characters to kiss at episode three because emotionally they weren't there yet. But I also wanted to give the WeTV team some peace of mind. So I called Beam to discuss the logistics and asked her to look through episode three to see if there was something that we can add that would still make sense narratively, but something that could show intimacy without like forcing it. Beam came up with the idea that we should do another rehearsal scene. And it could be something that worked emotionally and be shot within the remaining schedule. Of course, it meant that we have to cut a few other scenes out to make time to shoot this scene instead.

Once Beam shared her vision, I talked to our script supervisor, who was also one of the screenwriters. She was with me at that time and I told her to take that brief and turn it into a scene for me. Together we looked through the shooting breakdown for that final shooting day, and we tried to decide together, OK, what we can cut so we can sacrifice it to make the new scene fit. And then we shot it and after shooting it, we place it into episode three for our internal viewing. And with the internal viewings, this is when the magic of fresh eyes really matter because for us, when we've been living in the edit room for weeks, we kind of get attached to every single scene. We know how hard it is to edit, how hard it was to shoot, and you kind of lose perspective at that point.

During the internal screening, fresh eyes, no one has known anything about the show. Almost everyone who doesn't even know that this new scene was added like last minute, the consensus was that scene felt out of place emotionally. The story's pacing and the character's emotional state didn't align with having a romantic beat at that moment. Honestly, I felt it too, but hearing other people say it confirmed it for me. So out of respect, we also showed that cutting to our screenwriters as well because it wasn't part of their original vision. But in the end, we decided together that we wanted to be sincere to the story and stay true to the character's emotional journey. So we made the decision to cut it.

But with that said, we have to admit it was a beautiful scene and I didn't want it to go unseen. Around that time, the shows engagement numbers weren't strong and we needed to do something to build a sense of community to drive people together to do something to get the engagement numbers up. So we decided that we would challenge the audience to the trending. We started with that deleted scene. So we decided to do a trending party to be a way to reward our dedicated fans, to build a sense of community and hopefully we know that scene was good enough that it might draw in new viewers.

I know that for some people, we monitor the comments, of course, so we know that some people questioned it. Like they were upset, like why was this removed from the screenplay? And I completely understand that, but I also believe that the diehard fans know that our heart was in the right place and we wanted to honor the story and still share something special with them. So in the end, we think it's a win-win for everyone.

Final thoughts from us

Talking with Ned reinforced what we already loved about Queendom The Series. The show is a careful blend of comfort romcom elements and quiet, sincere exploration of identity and self-acceptance. The body-swap device is never just a gimmick. It becomes a way to look at empathy, growth, and how people can find themselves by seeing themselves through another's eyes. Ned's commitment to preserving the heart of the source material while making bold production choices shows how adaptation can honor readers and still surprise new audiences.

Want more Queendom The Series content? Check out our interview with the director, Beam, here and the screenwriters, Pat and Kade, here!

If you want to see us react to the entire season of Queendom The Series, check out our Patreon. Or just come join our discord where you can talk all things Queendom with other fans and us! Until next time, hydrate for Lesbian Jesus and gay it up all over the place!

We sat down with Ned, the creative producer behind Queendom The Series, to get a behind-the-scenes look at how this Thai GL body-swap romcom became a heartfelt story about self-love, female empowerment, and queer joy. This article is written from our episode with Ned and captures her perspective on adapting the novel, building a female-led dream team, casting, improv moments, and the choices that shaped the series.