4 Thai Channels to Watch the Best Thai Dramas Part 3

This is the third part of our blog series on Thai Drama Channels where you can watch some of the best Thai Dramas. If you missed the first and second parts, you can check them out here! At last, we’ve reached the final part of this series. And saving the best for last — the next lakorn channel where you can find some of the most highly recommended Thai dramas is Channel 3 (Ch3).

4) Thai Drama Channel 3

Channel 3 (Ch3) is probably the most popular among all the channels we’ve mentioned so far, especially in recent years. They not only have some of the biggest names in the industry, but they also offer many popular Thai dramas already available for online streaming — and yes, with English subtitles too!

Popular Ch3 Actors and Actresses

The first name that comes to mind is Urassaya Sperbund, better known as Yaya. She starred in the very first Thai drama we watched, Kluen Cheewit, alongside Mark Prin. It was such a beautiful story and truly sparked our love for lakorns.

Aside from Yaya, there’s also the talented Bella Ranee Campen, best known for her fun and lovable portrayal of Karakade and Kadesurang in the record-breaking Thai drama, Bpoop Phaeh Saniwaat (Buppesannivas or Love Destiny).

And we can’t forget Yaya’s best friend in real life, the stunning Kimberley Anne Woltemas, who many know from her role as Chaba in the hit series Thong Ake Mor Yah Tah Chaloang (Thong Ek the Herbal Master).

How about Taew Natapohn? She starred in Ch3's high-rated drama, Nakee, alongside Ken Phupoom. Most international fans probably know her from Game Sanaeha (Game of Love), wherein she had really good onscreen chemistry with James Jirayu.

Channel 3 has so many more amazing actresses - Boy Maylada (transferred from Ch7), Mew Nittha, Mint Chalida - but for now, we’ll stick with these top favorites. And oh, we must not forget the OG's - Anne Thongprasom and Chompoo Araya Hargate.

For actors, at the top of the list would be Yaya’s real life partner and fiancé, Nadech Kugimiya; Kimberley’s koojin and husband, Mark Prin; and the charming James Ma, who had great pairings with both Kim and Yaya. We also have the adorable good-looking heartthrobs - James Jirayu, Mario Maurer, Great Warintorn, and of course, the fan favorite who stole so many hearts in Love Destiny, Pope Thanawat.

Popular Ch3 Thai Dramas

These are just some of the popular lakorns you can watch from Thai Drama Channel 3. The first two on the list are definitely among the best Thai dramas — with Love Destiny breaking all drama rating records across Thailand and earning the title of the highest-rated lakorn in history (as of this writing).

Bpoop Phaeh Saniwaat (Love Destiny)

A romantic comedy historical drama.The story begins with a wicked woman who, out of jealousy, causes the death of a royal maid. She denies her wrongdoing, but her betrothed, the male lead, doesn’t believe her. He asks his father to perform a chant to expose the guilty party, and sure enough, the woman suffers its painful effects.

Meanwhile, the heroine — a kind and virtuous archeology student — looks exactly like the wicked woman. One night, while working on a dig, she encounters the ghost of the bad woman and, in a twist of fate, gets into a car accident.

She meets the bad woman in a strange dimension and is asked to take over her body to redeem her. Suddenly, she wakes up 300 years in the past, living in the body of the once-hated woman. With her pure heart, she slowly changes how everyone, including her once-despising betrothed, sees her.

Thong Ake Mor Yah Tah Chaloang (Thong Ek the Herbal Master)

A hilarious historical and medical romance drama.The male lead grows up with his grandfather, a once-respected herbal master who was banished from their village after a tragic mistake. Because of this, his grandfather forbids him from following the same path.

The heroine, a free-spirited young woman, prefers sword fighting over traditional women’s duties. She often sneaks off to spar with her father's men, causing trouble at home.

Their first meeting happens during a ghost attack where they end up spending the night in the forest — leading to a huge misunderstanding. The heroine’s father almost cuts the male lead into pieces, but she saves him. Still, the male lead offends her, sparking a bitter rivalry.

Eventually, the heroine needs his help to save her sick mother. Grateful for his skills, she becomes determined to learn herbal medicine herself, pushing the male lead to teach her, even though he tries hard to make her quit. Over time, their feelings begin to change.

Piang Chai Khon Nee Mai Chai Poo Wised (When a Man Loves a Woman)

A romance drama featuring a contract and forced marriage. The heroine is a strong, business-minded woman and heir to a wealthy furniture company. She trusts no man, believing all they want is her money — except for her trusted father and uncle. Unbeknownst to her, her uncle secretly harbors feelings for her.

One night, after nearly being drugged by a shady client, she escapes and is saved by a noble island doctor — the male lead. She feels hopeful until she discovers he is tied to a debt her aunt arranged, leading to disappointment and distrust.

Eventually, through family schemes and to protect her reputation, she is forced into a marriage with him. Although both resist the idea at first, circumstances push them into a contract marriage — sparking an emotional and complicated journey.

Kluen Cheewit (Waves of Life)

A romance and revenge drama.The heroine, a famous actress and model, accidentally hits the male lead’s fiancée with her car. Unbeknownst to many, she was running away from her abusive stepfather after being drugged.

The male lead, an attorney, is devastated and vows to uncover the truth. He believes she escaped justice because of her powerful connections. As he stalks her to find evidence, he discovers that behind the public image is a woman hiding deep wounds.Slowly, what started as hatred turns into something deeper, leading them to stand by each other against all odds.

Romantic Scenes

Ch3 produces really wonderful lakorns across all genres. But when it comes to love stories and romantic scenes, we shouldn’t expect too much. In our opinion, out of all the drama channels we mentioned, Channel 3 is the most conservative. It makes sense, though, because they seem very protective of their talents — even the actors themselves have said that shooting intimate scenes can feel quite awkward.

That doesn’t mean their love stories don’t have kissing scenes or sweet moments. They do — just not as much as we usually see from other channels. We don’t know if you guys have noticed it too, but we definitely did.

Still, in the end, it doesn't really matter (well, maybe we crossed our fingers a little there, haha) because the stories are just too beautiful to miss.

We say "crossed our fingers" because sometimes, we just wish there could be a little bit more — especially if it's a romance drama. Just a little extra wouldn't hurt, right? Haha. Anyway, that shouldn't stop anyone from watching their dramas! It’s not always about romantic scenes, after all (zipping our mouths here 😄).

Love Destiny, for example, didn’t have a lot at the beginning, but it still became a massive hit — and they did give us some sweet moments later on.

However, things seem to have changed in recent years, probably from 2020 onwards. Channel 3’s romantic Thai dramas have become bolder than ever — even bolder than Channel 7. While Ch7 has maintained its traditional style when it comes to intimate scenes, Ch3 seems to have adapted to what K-dramas have been doing for years now, embracing a bit of that Western influence in their romantic series.

Take Mark Prin and Yaya’s 2017 drama Kluen Cheewit, for example. Back then, kissing scenes were mostly angled, and the bed scene wasn’t shown at all. But fast forward to 2024 with Love at First Night — oh boy! And let’s not forget Yaya and Mario’s Bad Romeo in 2022 — wow. This is supposed to be Ch3, bruh! But yeah, they’ve definitely adapted to the trend.

Conclusion

GMMTV / GMM 25, OneHD 31, Channel 7, and Channel 3 are the top four Thai drama channels we highly recommend as non-Thai lakorn enthusiasts. We noticed there are so many local Thai channels out there, but when we started streaming online, most of the Thai dramas we found and loved were produced by these four.

If you know another great channel that we didn’t mention in this article series, feel free to leave a comment below! Also, what Thai dramas have you watched from these channels? We’d love to hear your favorites too!

Part 1 | Part 2