“Homosexuality, exposure, provocation” Viewers’ zero credibility… “Dating shows” saturation
In 2022, the entertainment industry was dominated by “dating shows”.
TVING’s “Love Catcher in Seoul”, “Transit Love”, ENA Play’s “I Am Solo”, “Dol Singles”, Netflix’s “Single’s Inferno“, IHQ’s “Eden“, KBS Joy’s “Secret Man and Woman”, wavve’s “Merry Queer”, “His Man” and “Somefing” were released through terrestrial cable channels and OTT.
Similar programs are expected to pour out in the second half of the year. Programs scheduled to be released in the second half of this year, including Coupang Play’s “Office Romance”, “Chain Reaction” and Kakao TV’s “Love Alarm” are already on standby.
Reckless imitation of popular programs increases viewers’ fatigue. Viewers complained and protested last year when similar programs were created due to the trot craze.
In order to resolve such dissatisfaction, each broadcasting company ignited a “differentiation competition“. It is an effort to creatively reformat the same material and give it a different kind of fun.
In their competition, positive and negative views are mixed. This is because while there are programs that graft fresh ideas based on authenticity to give viewers emotion and fun, programs that focus only on topicality with a high level of provocation and intensity are being released one after another.
The problem is “overreaching” to survive in the competitive process. There are programs that use social controversies such as homosexuality as entertainment materials, and there are programs that utilize provocative personal affairs by featuring “divorced singles” or separated men and women. Controversy over sensationalism cannot be avoided due to high-level exposure.
As ordinary people appear, interest in them is also high. The “ordinary people” who appear on reality programs gain popularity through broadcasting. Some quit their existing jobs and became full-fledged celebrities.
In many cases, children or spouses of celebrities appear and walk the same path. Although the ratings were high due to high topicality, it is also a reason to lower trust in the authenticity of broadcasting.
We do not need to criticize the safe path. This is because it is the role of the broadcasting station to move according to viewers’ preferences and trends. However, “dating shows” are saturated. Moreover, it is questionable whether new fun can be created in a situation in which viewers’ credibility has already been lost because of overreaching.
Source: daum
