By Lady Ping • October 28, 2026 • 2 min read
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Rent A Plus-One takes the quirky concept of being a girlfriend for hire, surrounds it with a juicy love triangle, throws in some good old-fashioned Asian parental pressure, and adds the stress of being an Ivy League law student. That's right, although this is a vertical microdrama series - a format that is designed to hook you in short snippets - this series still has a whole lot of drama, backstory, and depth to every scene.
Rent a Plus-One (written and directed by Alice Wang) follows Julia (captivatingly played by Khang Diec-Nguyen) as a smart, quick-witted Chinese Canadian law student who is top of her class at an Ivy League school. Julia is struggling with so much debt and weight on her shoulders that she desperately leans into her side hustle of being a girlfriend for hire. However, Julia's latest client could derail her entire life—both her school life and love life are in jeopardy. What could be worse than pretending to be her ex-girlfriend's brother's girlfriend? ...The fact that she's still in love with her ex.
Rent A Plus-One mixes family drama, comedy, and coming-of-age angst in good measure. It does not take the audience for fools like other vertical microdrama series might; rather, it embeds thoughtful subject matter within the story, such as condemning the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court and including terms such as a 'lavender marriage,' which is highly relevant to the LGBTQ+ community—particularly in Asian culture.
Touching upon many universal concepts, from the pain of having to constantly perform a version of yourself in any given situation, to the weight of parents' expectations, Rent A Plus-One is highly relatable and bound to keep you rooting for a happy ending. Whether or not you ship the couple 'Juliessa' or 'Judrey' is for you to watch and decide.
Rent A Plus-One will be available to stream on the subscription-based platform and app—iQIYI—starting October 30, 2026.
You can also engage with the series' official Instagram, TikTok, and X accounts.
Not only is queer Asian Canadian representation rare to see on screen, Rent A Plus-One will be iQIYI International’s first original Canadian vertical series. Go check it out if you can!
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