Netflix’s gay romance Soul Mate is the most infuriating show of 2026

Did I scream ‘kiss!’ at my screen while watching Soul Mate? Sure, I did (Picture: Netflix)

Queer love takes many forms on screen, from the twee innocence of Heartstopper to the bump and grind of Heated Rivalry. A new gay romance on Netflix called Soul Mate recently took yet another approach, tenderly following the bond that forms between two men across Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo over the course of 10 years.

However, how that connection is defined remains somewhat ambiguous. 

Ryu Narutaki (Hayato Isomura) and Johan Hwang (Ok Taec-yeon) first meet in a Berlin church that’s just been set ablaze, yet the connection that ensues is m...