The drama “A Business Proposal” showed rapid development in 12 episodes.
Recently, it is a trend for dramas to have 12 episodes, 8 episodes and less these days. The drama “A Business Proposal” starring Kim Se-jeong and Ahn Hyo-seop is becoming popular these days. It is a drama about the protagonist who went on a blind date instead of her friend and met the president of her company.
The drama started with a viewer ratings of 4.9% nationwide but has become increasingly popular and eventually exceeded 10 percent. It is reported that there are only four episodes left until the end of this drama, which is receiving enthusiastic responses every episode.
This is because “A Business Proposal” was planned in 12 episodes, unlike other dramas, so its development was very fast from the beginning, which received favorable responses from viewers. Likewise, Son Ye-jin‘s drama ‘Thirty Nine” also has quick development. These days, dramas end when they are about to get fun. Why did they get so short?
Originally, TV dramas usually consisted of 16 to 24 episodes. It has been considered a norm for dramas to air two episodes a week for eight to twelve weeks. Recently, however, there have been many 12-episode and even 8-episode dramas.
These days’ dramas such as “Navillera,” “Youth of May,” “Inspector Koo,” “Happiness,” “The Veil,” “Bad and Crazy,” and “Through The Darkness” all have 12 episodes.
Netflix is the first to make this change. On online streaming services (OTT), dramas are usually produced in 8 to 10 episodes, and for this reason, their development speed is very fast. The quick development provides a tremendous sense of immersion.
As the trend of shortening the length of a drama and speeding up the development rises, terrestrial dramas began to be shortened in length. Therefore, various dramas that have 12 episodes, 8 episodes and air once a week appeared. The reason for this trend has been explained as “consumers’ drama patterns have changed.”
It is not common these days to sit in front of the TV on time to watch a drama. This is because VOD replay has become more accessible on the way to work or after work. In order to capture viewers watching dramas with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets until the end, it is important to increase their immersion with faster development. Simply put, viewers can’t stand being bored. If the number of episodes is reduced, production time can be secured and quality can be improved.
The common feature of the Korean drama lineup to be released in 2022 is that it is all “short.” “Pachinko,” starring Lee Min-ho, consists of eight episodes, Ha Jung-woo and Hwang Jung-min‘s “Surinam” six episodes, Jungwoo and Park Hee-soon‘s “Best Family” ten episodes, and Yoo Ji-tae‘s “House of Paper” twelve episodes.
Most of the respondents to the growing number of dramas and netizens agree. “Dramas have been too long so far,” “I like short ones,” “I think it’s better to have short dramas,” “It’s easier to binge watch,” and “I like it because there’s nothing dragging.” On the other hand, some say that it is regrettable that “A Business Proposal” is only 12 episodes, “Please extend “A Bussiness Proposal,” and “It’s too short.”
However, if the length of a drama is shortened, broadcasters will have to produce more dramas, which will inevitably lead to a burden of production costs. However, as the large OTT companies started producing less than 10 episode dramas, dramas are expected to be shortened in the future.
