Reasons Viewers Cannot Find Any Good Dramas To Watch On Netflix Recently
Is the reputation of K-dramas, which reached its prime with Netflix’s original series “Squid Game”, declining?
Introduced as Netflix’s powerful lineup for 2024, “Sweet Home” and “Gyeongseong Creature” were created with huge production costs but ended up recording disappointing results. Rather, “Mask Girl” and “Bloodhounds” were produced with smaller budgets but did well in terms of cumulative viewing time. However, none of the Netflix productions so far received favorable reviews from critics. According to drama producers, dramas are now focusing on expressions rather than completion, pointing out unnecessarily stimulating scenes in “A Killer’s Paradox” as an example. They believed that drama creators were misusing the media by putting provocative scenes and details to arouse public attention, and stressed, “Korea needs to create content with better values”.
Some drama industry insiders cited “freedom of creation”, which has been emphasized since Netflix entered Korea, as one of the factors that affected the performances of K-dramas. In this regard, drama experts urged drama creators to discuss with investors, platforms, and production companies to create synergy for quality control.
In addition, only about 12-15 original Korean series are released every year on Netflix. Thousands of projects are waiting to be chosen for Netflix’s new lineup. Regarding this issue, some blamed Netflix’s delayed feedback and decision-making, saying “Even with a full package of directors and actors, it takes Netflix 2-3 weeks to give an answer on whether to produce it or not. Netflix is too slow in reviewing the productions and scripts”.
In the meantime, a drama expert mentioned the emergence of movie directors in the drama industry as the main reason. They said, “I could feel the characteristics of the film industry, which is strongly influenced by the directors, are also applied to OTT. I think the film directors whom I worked with could not control the process as well as drama producers.”
Others analyzed the application of the Hollywood drama model in drama production without considering the local conditions when global OTT platforms entered Korea has led to various limitations in the current K-drama scene. Korea is not familiar with such production methods and conflicts often arise when the Hollywood model, which involves links between production fees and production budgets, is applied. Moreover, while US seasonal dramas operate under a system of collaborative writers, Korean dramas rely on individual writers.
Lastly, the key factor is the next move that OTT platforms will take. Pointing out the unexpected failures of “Sweet Home 2” and “Gyeongseong Creature”, an OTT staff shared, “Sometimes projects with small budgets eventually succeeded. Now OTT is looking for a golden ratio in content investment to create cost-effective plans”. Except for “Squid Game 2”, Netflix has recently confirmed the production of various works. Therefore, drama fans are hoping that OTT platforms, especially Netflix, can learn from their successes and failures after “Squid Game” hit to come up with a proper strategy.
Source: Naver
