UPDATED:Ā Feb. 21, 2017, to add clarifications.
Itās refreshing to see a series so well done that it not only invites viewers to deeply care about the characters, but encourages the audience to educate themselves about whatās happening in other parts of the world. People Like Us does that and more.
The webseries, which just released its first season, follows four gay men living in Singapore whose lives interconnect in unique ways. It is the first webseries to ever be developed in Singapore about gay men, which is why producer/director Leon Cheo is aiming to introduce their stories to a mainstream audience.
āWe pushed a lot of envelopes,ā Cheo said to Plus. āIt was multifaceted. We wanted real locations, real bars, real bathhouses... A lot of [global] gay representation is not Asian. Iām glad we made a film primarily about gay people in Asia and their stories. They have different ways of coming out, different cultures āĀ being gay in South Korea or Japan is completely different [than in Singapore].ā

Meet āIsaac,ā performed by actor Steven Lim (nomineeĀ of Best Supporting Actor - Drama award at the Indie Series Awards)Ā a 45-year old senior private banker. Though he used to lead a double life when he was married, he now enjoys the freedom of chem-sex parties on the weekends at his fancy apartment.
The series was co-developed with Acton for AIDS Singapore, a charity and non-governmental organization in Singapore that promotes HIV awareness and education. Since wrapping the first season, People Like Us has been screened at festivals around the world to high acclaim, recently winningĀ Best Short TV DramaĀ atĀ ITVFest - Independent Television Festival in Vermont last October.
When Action for AIDS approached Cheo in 2015 to help develop the series for Singaporeās MSM community as part ofĀ Gayhealth.sg, it soon became a passion project with much higher stakes.
āThe first thing I said was 'We cannot have a scene where a character gets tested,'ā Cheo recalled. āWe didnāt want it to be too moralistic, I didnāt want to see the character going through the emotions of getting tested and, you know, that usual scene we see a lot. And they agreed. We wanted to create something that didnāt preach to the audience. I thought about these characters, I drew from my own experience.ā
Meet āRai,ā performed by Hemant Ashoka, a 20-year old full-time national serviceman who is new to the gay scene. While heās optimistic and always searching for Mr. Right, his dates usually end up in tragedy, which makes him start to lose faith in the world.
Meet āRidzwan,ā performed by Irfan Kasban, a 30-year old accountant and your typical ādiscreet, fun only, top here, no placeā kind of guy who loves a good bathhouse. He keeps to himself, and is great at segregating work, social, and sexual activities.
Filming at real gay clubs and bars in Singapore, the characters also use local slang, such as āAJ,ā which means āgayā and even the title itself: āPeople Like Usā or āPLU,ā which is akin to how āqueerā is used in the west.
In addition to highlighting the experience gay men deal with, which is universal, the series deals with HIV, sex, coming out, and sex health. At the end of each episode, representatives from Gayhealth/Action for AIDS talk about the issues displayed in the episode.Ā
āWe had a private screening for the [Singapore gay] community,ā Cheo said. āPeople laughed and really connected with the characters. The response has been really good. One of the things we sort of hoped would happen is to provoke a little controversy with one of our characters. His name is āRidzwan,ā which is a very Muslim name. There isnāt talk about religion in the show, but we wanted to inspect religious people, how they deal with being gay⦠I think they needed an intersection as well.ā

Meet āJoel,ā performed by actor Josh Crowe, a 26-year old yuppie working at a PR firm. While he lives with his parents and is out to everyone who cares to know, he is also a bit impatient, which is probably why he his longest relationship was three months.Ā
Gay sex is still technically illegal in Singapore and although it's kept on the books to appease conservatives, itās rarely enforced. Still, as a result of the policy there is a great deal of censorship restricting positive portrayals of LGBT people in the news and in film/TV. Cheo says thatās a major reason why the team chose Internet streaming.
While there are LGBT rallies, like "Pink Dot"Ā in Singapore,Ā they are rarely covered by press untilĀ a ābigger companyā like Google is there, Cheo says. In that case,Ā when the event gets bigger,Ā they ācanāt help but cover.Ā With the Internet, you can't hide that an event supporting LGBT rights was attended by more than 28,000 people."
People Like Us is available now Ā on the Here TV network, Ā and alsoĀ YouTube and Amazon Prime. Take a peek at the first episode below: