This year’s performance of KBS dramas has been dismal. The weekend drama “Beauty and Mr. Romantic”, which is nearing its end, only reached a peak rating of 20%, marking the lowest ratings in 18 years. This casts a shadow over the KBS Drama Awards this year.
After the successful pairing of Ji Hyun-woo and writer Kim Sa-kyung in “Young Lady and Gentleman”, which earned the Grand Prize at the Drama Awards, this reunion was expected to revive the struggling KBS weekend dramas. However, the outcome has been disappointing.
Despite high expectations, Beauty and Mr. Romantic has faced criticism for its outdated themes and sensationalist plot, managing to surpass 20% ratings only once. After a break for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the ratings dropped to 12%.
The only drama with lower peak ratings than “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” was “Thank You, Life” in 2006, which reached 19.9%. “Thank You, My Life” holds the record for the worst ratings in KBS weekend drama history.
KBS has faced repeated failures across its dramas this year. The Monday-Tuesday dramas “Love Song for Illusion”, “Nothing Uncovered”, and “Dare to Love Me” all averaged 2-3% ratings. The Wednesday-Thursday drama “Perfect Family” also ended poorly with a peak rating of 3.1%. The only exceptions are the daily dramas “Suji & Uri” and “Snow White’s Revenge”, which are faring relatively well with 15% and 8% ratings, respectively. However, both dramas face challenges in terms of critical and artistic acclaim.
With such poor results, there is no clear front-runner for the Grand Prize unlike SBS and MBC. Industry experts feel Ji Hyun-woo and Im Soo-hyang from “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” are not suitable candidates. “Iron Family” starring Kim Jung-hyun and Geum Sae-rok also does not seem likely to guarantee success.
Attention is now shifting to upcoming dramas. “Dog Knows Everything”, set to premiere on the 25th, featuring veteran actors like Lee Soon-jae, Kim Yong-gun, Yeo Su-jeong, and Im Chae-moo. Considering KBS’s older viewership, the senior comedy “Dog Knows Everything” might strike a chord. Following “Dog Knows Everything”, the drama “Miss Granny” will air, which tells the story of a 70-year-old grandmother, Oh Mal-soon, who suddenly turns into a 20-year-old, Oh Doo-ri. This adaptation of the film, which attracted 8.66 million viewers, will see Kim Hae-sook take on the role of Oh Mal-soon, originally played by Na Moon-hee, while Jung Ji-so will play the younger Oh Doo-ri, originally portrayed by Shim Eun-kyung.
KBS has four dramas left to air this year. Whether these remaining shows can succeed in generating a deserving candidate for the Grand Prize remains to be seen, as all eyes are on KBS’s next moves amidst this crisis.
Source: Naver
