Viewers’ interest in JTBC’s “Knowing Bros” has gone cold. Their ratings have fallen into the 1% range.
On an online community bulletin board on Oct 24, a netizen has posted their opinion, saying “‘Knowing Bros’, at some point, has started to become something we only react with fake laughter. It’s boring because it’s always the same concept. The only thing that makes the audience laugh was the funny guests.”
The post was recommended by 451 people, and netizens also agree with it, saying, “It’s been running for too long,” “The comments and settings just don’t change,” and “No matter how funny it is, if it’s overused, it will become boring. But I don’t know if the show doesn’t realize this or the script itself is the problem.”
This is not just the opinion of some viewers. JTBC’s longest-running entertainment program “Knowing Bros,” which has exceeded 300 episodes, has recently plummeted to a 1% rating. The numbers do not seem to improve even after changing the broadcasting time to overcome the audience rating crisis last month. “Knowing Bros,” which once had a maximum audience rating of 6.6%, fell to 1.9% (Nilson Korea’s national standard) in episode 303 aired on Oct 23rd. Compared to tvN’s “Amazing Saturday”, which is aired at the same time and is maintaining a stable rating of 2%, and KBS2 weekend drama “Gentleman and the Lady” at a similar time with a rating of 30%, “Knowing Bros” is obviously falling behind.
The fall of “Knowing Bros” is a matter of the content. “Knowing Bros,” which first aired in 2015, was on a roll with a fresh combination of Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, Seo Jang-hoon, Lee Sang-min, Kim Young-chul, Kim Hee-chul, and Min Kyung-hoon. The biggest advantage was that the performers showed off their various charms while leading the program. The spontaneous ad-lib, the unquestionable performance of their tiki-taka, and new guests who appeared in each episode creates a novel picture.
The problem is that, their flow has not changed for over 300 episodes. The concept of the cast is the same, over and over again with the poor debtor Lee Sang-min, the rich divorced man Seo Jang-hoon, the guy who is mischievous to female idols Kim Hee-chul, the strong who pretends to be cute Kang Ho-dong, the Lee Soo-geun who cannot do anything to Kang Ho-dong, boring Kim Young-chul, and the clumsy dancer Min Kyung-hoon. One viewer even responded that they had no reason to watch “Knowing Bros” on TV because “All of this is shown in the shorts posted online.”
It’s high time “Knowing Bros” should change. This entertainment program is not a place for the celebrities to promote their friendship, but a broadcast to make viewers laugh. Attention is focusing on whether “Knowing Bros” will be able to rebound by listening to the voices of its viewers.
