Thai Series ‘Analog Squad’ Turns Back the Clock to Low-Tech ’90s

Netflix is set to transport viewers back to 1999, a time when people worried about the Y2K bug, mobile phones were only meant for calling, and Google was not yet a verb. Premiering worldwide on December 7, Analog Squad is a heartwarming series that follows the twists and turns of a pretend family against the backdrop of a world entering the new millennium.

Directed and co-written by veteran filmmaker Nithiwat “Ton” Tharathorn, known for the highly popular feel-good Thai hits such as Teacher’s Diary, Dear Galileo, and Seasons Change, Analog Squad marks his debut in creating series.

Nithiwat decided to set the family-oriented series in 1999, describing it as a distinctive period. “There were many memorable moments at that time—whether it be transitioning to a new millennium or the charms of an analog era, characterized by how we used to wait and long for those far off and how our lives remained private because we weren’t as connected before,” he explains. “We’d get to know someone only on the day we met them. So the idea of a pretend family works well in that era, which is also a period that many of us, including myself, yearn for.”

In Analog Squad, Pond (Nopachai “Peter” Jayanama) is a middle-aged man who recruits various individuals to form a makeshift family to be with him at his estranged father’s deathbed in an effort to make his dad proud one last time. And it was easy for him to do so, as it was not easy to discover someone’s true identity at that time.

Pond ropes in former girlfriend Lily (Namfon Kullanut) to act as his wife and mother to his fake children, who are actually Keg (JJ-Krissanapoom Pibulsonggram), a playful teenage employee at a pager company, and Bung (Primmy-Wipawee Patnasiri), a tomboyish girl who owns a video rental shop. Along the way, the four learn what it means to be a family while pretending to be one.

The talented ensemble cast is rounded out by Surasee Ithikul, Viyada Komarakul-nanakorn, Kasap Champadip, Yoko Takano, and Thanida Manalertruengkul.

Discover the true meaning of family with ‘Analog Squad’ on December 7, only on Netflix.