Project S: The Series

Project S was Nadao Bangkok's first major television series to follow the highly successful Hormones, whose three seasons were broadcast from 2013 to 2015. Nadao CEO and Hormones creator Songyos Sugmakanan conceived the project as an outlet for younger members of the Hormones creative team to assume directorial roles. He invited Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn, who had directed Hormones's second and third seasons, to co-produce and oversee the script, and invited four Hormones crew members to join the project as directors: Pitchaya and Naruebet had co-written and co-directed the third season, Tanida was on the writing team for all three seasons, and Pat had been a cinematographer.[1][2][3]

Each of the directors picked a sport they wanted to work on, and developed the script from there. The creators wanted each sport to be integral part of the story, and the actors spent months learning and practising their sports. Teeradon lost 8 kilograms (18 lb) for the role and also broke his wrist practising during pre-production, while Thanapob spent almost three months with autistic children to learn and understand their behaviour.[3][4][5]

The series was announced on 2 June 2016 in a press event by GDH 559 (Nadao Bangkok's parent company), as part of its upcoming line-up.[6] It was also co-produced by associated companies Jor Kwang Films and Hub Ho Hin Bangkok. A blessing ceremony, marking the start of production, was held on 29 November.[7] Filming of the first segment, "Spike!", began in December 2016 and concluded in February 2017, with the others following sequentially.[3]

Project S was originally broadcast on Saturdays at 21:45 on GMM 25, beginning with a special introductory episode on 13 May 2017. The segments were broadcast sequentially, with a four-week hiatus in October to observe the royal cremation ceremony of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It was made available for on-demand streaming via Line TV, and later also became available on Netflix.

While not as popular as Hormones, the series, especially the "Side by Side" segment, gained a large following and was widely discussed online.[1][8] "Side by Side" and "S.O.S", and their lead actors Thanapob and Teeradon in particular, were commended for their portrayal of psychiatric issues.[5][4] "Side by Side" won three categories at the ninth Nataraja Awards for television and radio programming: Best Drama Series, Best Overall Cast, and Best Lead Actor (for Thanapob).[9]

The series has seen a Chinese remake, titled Project 17, which was released in 2019.

• Official description at GDH 559 website