In Korea, there is an increasing trend of extending existing hit dramas at the request of viewers and the needs of broadcasters and production companies, making them into seasonal dramas. Seasonal dramas are a common form of series in the U.S., but they had not been introduced in Korea for a long time until recently.
Recently, such “seasonal dramas” are on the rise. A representative one is SBS’s “The Escape of the Seven,” which was first aired in September last year, and is having its season 2 broadcast. The cast including Uhm Ki-jun, Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Yu-bi, Shin Eun-kyung, Yoon Jong-hoon, Cho Yoon-hee, Cho Jae-yoon, and Yoon Tae-young appear in the same roles following the previous one.
SBS is particularly active in producing such seasonal dramas. In addition to the aforementioned “The Escape of the Seven” series, there are the “Dr. Romantic” series starring Han Seok-kyu, which first aired in 2016 and lasted three seasons until June last year, and the “The First Responders” series, which has two seasons including “The First Responders” in November 2022 and “The First Responders II” in August last year. In addition, “Flex X Cops,” which aired in January, also announced the production of Season 2 in the last episode. “The Fiery Priest,” which aired in 2019 and recorded a 22.0% viewer rating (based on Nielsen Korea) due to its cool story development and good acting, will return to Season 2 in October.
tvN will join the trend of seasonal drama series. It has decided to air “Player 2” on May 3. This is a follow-up to “Player,” which was released on OCN in 2018. Season 2 will be aired for the first time in six years, featuring Song Seung-heon, Lee Si-eon, and Tae Won-seok, who starred in Season 1. Oh Yeon-seo, Jang Gyu-ri, and Ha Do-kwon reported joined the show.
In addition, “Signal,” which was broadcasted in 2016 and became a syndrome, confirmed the production of Season 2 after its broadcast. “Signal” is a drama about detectives from the present and the past, who are connected by earnest radio from the past, re-exploring old unsolved cases. It became the “life drama” of many viewers with the solid acting skills of actors and actresses such as Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong, and Lee Je-hoon. However, there is currently nothing known about whether they will appear in Season 2 or whether the story will continue as it is.
Broadcasting companies and production companies release season-based dramas one after another because they can safely obtain ratings with these popular IPs. However, if the acting of actors and the quality production of the original are not continued or further developed, the season system can be a stain.
