MANILA – The pilot episode of Black Sheep’s first boys' love (BL) series "Hello, Stranger" is off to a good start.

Aside from topping the Philippine trends on Twitter when it aired on Wednesday, the opening salvo of the series continues to gain traction online by recording a strong viewership.

As of writing, the series starring Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara already has more than 1 million total views on YouTube, Facebook and iWant.

In the lockdown-set first episode, Mico (Alcantara), the top student of his class, is assigned to partner with a varsity basketball player Xavier (Labrusca) for a class project.

At first mischievous and apparently carefree, Xavier admits to Mico he has been struggling with his subjects, risking his slot in the varsity team. Mico promises to help him, while Xavier promises to cooperate and be a diligent partner.

Their frequent video calls for their task lead them to get know each other. Mico learns that Xavier has a girlfriend, and lives alone because his family is in the US. Xavier, meanwhile, is amused with Mico's formal demeanor — and choice of outfits — and gets glimpses of his being a responsible son, juggling chores with his studies.

"Hello, Stranger," written by Patrick Valencia and directed by Petersen Vargas, comes amid a wave of BL productions in the Philippines, following the massive success of the Thai series "2gether" early this year. For the creative team, this signaled that the Filipino audience is now ready for gay love stories with mainstream treatment: that is, through romcom lens, and more importantly, normalized.

A new episode of "Hello, Stranger" will be released every Wednesday via the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Black Sheep.

The cast also includes Gillian Vicencio, Vivoree Esclito, Patrick Quiroz, and Migs Almendras.