《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
MBC's historical dramas 'Golden Marriage' and 'Joseon Lawyer' suffer crushing defeats one after another.
Will the Namgoong Min, Lee Ha-nui, Lee Se-young card work?
MBC's historical dramas 'Golden Marriage' and 'Joseon Lawyer' suffer crushing defeats one after another.
Will the Namgoong Min, Lee Ha-nui, Lee Se-young card work?
《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
Reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will properly cover all aspects of the drama based on what she heard and saw on the spot. We will be the eyes and ears of readers in an era where dramas are flooding in on numerous channels.
MBC's reputation as a historical drama master has become a thing of the past. From 'Golden Marriage' to 'The Joseon Lawyer', historical dramas aired this year are suffering from the humiliation of ranking last in viewership ratings in their same time slot. There are only three historical dramas that have been confirmed to be scheduled. Will MBC, which holds in its hands the ‘box office guarantee’ of Namgoong Min and Lee Ha-nui, escape the swamp of ‘box office disaster’?
Since 'Red Sleeves', which had a record of highest viewership rating of 17% and #1 topicality for 8 consecutive weeks, the results of MBC's historical dramas have been dismal. 'Golden Marriage', starring Kim Young-dae and Park Joo-hyun, had the lowest viewership rating of 3%, while 'The Joseon Lawyer', starring Woo Do-hwan and Kim Ji-yeon, had fallen to the 2% range.
The failure of 'Golden Marriage' was an expected result. It was not easy to survive in competition with prominent works such as JTBC's 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family' and SBS's 'Police Station Next to the Fire Station'. 'Chosun Lawyer' also suffered a bitter defeat in a head-on confrontation with SBS' 'Model Taxi 2'. Even now, its presence has long since disappeared due to the competition for viewership ratings between SBS's 'Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 3' and JTBC's 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook'. With only 4 episodes left, 'The Joseon Lawyer' is maintaining a rating of 3% with no rebound.
But there is a chance to make up for it. MBC has scheduled a large number of historical dramas in the second half of this year. The cast is also gorgeous. ‘Trustworthy actors’ Namgoong Min, Lee Ha-nui, and Lee Se-young will play the main characters.
'Lovers', scheduled to air in the second half of the year, is a historical drama set during the Manchu War. It depicts the story of a lover thrown into the midst of the changes of the Manchu War and the people who built hope amid hardships. Writer Hwang Jin-young, who wrote 'The Emperor's Daughter, Bae Su-hyang' and 'Rebel: A Thief Who Stole the People', and director Kim Seong-yong, who worked with Namgoong Min in 'Black Sun', joined hands.
Namgoong Min takes on the role of Lee Jang-hyeon, a mysterious man who suddenly appears in the Neunggun-ri social scene one day. A complex character with a natural playfulness but a dark inner self that cannot be revealed to anyone. Since he didn't love anything, he didn't give his true feelings to anything, but after getting to know a woman (played by Ahn Eun-jin), he opens the door to an unexpected fate.
Above all, 'Lovers' is Namgoong Min's first appearance in a historical drama in 10 years since 'Guam Heo Jun' in 2013. In addition, Namgoong Min is raising even more expectations as he is an actor with guaranteed acting and box-office power, having won two grand prizes for 'Black Sun' and 'The Thousand Won Lawyer'.
Lee Ha-nui, who won two grand prizes for ‘The Fiery Priest’ and ‘Wonder Woman,’ takes on the role of a widow with ‘Flowers that Bloom at Night.’ ‘Flowers that Bloom at Night’ is a drama depicting the double life of a 15-year-old widow who climbs over a wall at night and a blind man named Jonggwan who is coveted by everyone in the four major gates.
Jo Yeo-hwa, a masked widow of 15 years played by Lee Ha-nui, is a prim and virtuous woman during the day and the daughter-in-law of the highest noble family who lives quietly without seeing the world outside the wall, but at night when the sun sets, she leaps over the wall and takes care of those in need without anyone knowing. .
This is a new work by producer Jang Tae-yu, who directed 'Hyena', 'My Love from the Star', and 'Deep-Rooted Tree', and attention is focused on the synergy between the two.
In addition, Lee Se-young, who led the success of 'Red Sleeves', was once again able to meet viewers wearing hanbok on MBC. She was cast as the female protagonist in 'The Contract Marriage of the Virtuous Lady Park', which tells the story of a 19th century 'Confucian girl from Joseon' who crosses time and space to modern times. This work is also aiming to be broadcast in the second half of this year.
Works that will rekindle the dying flame of MBC's historical dramas are preparing to meet viewers. Expectations are likely to be high as it brings to the forefront actors who are said to be great. Attention is being paid to whether a work will be created that will escape the swamp of poor viewer ratings and even enjoy the glory of the 'Grand Prize'.
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr