The only place to trust is 'Doll Singles 4', a public appearance... MBN's entertainment in crisis

《Kim Seoyoon's Nunettune》
Reporter Kim Seo-yoon of TenAsia digs into the current status of the entertainment industry, including notable dramas, entertainment, and noteworthy rising stars.

---

MBN entertainment is barely holding on. Neither healing content nor stimulating material worked. New variety shows are lined up, but the only thing to look forward to is 'Doll Singles 4'.

Currently airing MBN entertainment programs are missing both topicality and ratings. Star PD Seo Hye-jin's 'Couple on Rest', which was ambitiously released, is showing signs of dropping to the 0% level. The highest viewership rating was 1.9% for the first episode, and then dropped to 1%.

'Couple on break' threw a strong card called 'sexless'. This program presents a solution to Korean couples living sexless. From veteran MC Shin Dong-yeop to the popular MZ generation, Hong Seong-woo, a urology specialist who is popular with the MZ generation, appeared and showed off his wit.

However, performance was not proportional to stimulation. MCs also directly talked about their experiences, and comedian Chan-min Jung and actor Soo-hyun Lim even mentioned the number of marital relationships. It was somewhat embarrassing enough to tell the truth, but the viewership ratings are at a standstill. The topicality is also not found in the upper ranks.

It's not just the 'resting couple'. The situation in 'Earth Exploration Life', which depicts 17-year-old singer Jeong Dong-won, struggling to survive and experience life in a foreign country with a different culture and language, is no different. 'Earth Exploration Life', which attracted attention with the meeting between 'The Godfather of Entertainment' Lee Kyung-gyu and 'New Chicks' Jeong Dong-won, has been maintaining a viewer rating of 1% all the time.

At least, it is 'Burning Roses' that gives vitality to MBN entertainment. 'Burning Roses' is a spin-off entertainment of 'Burning Trotman', which recorded double-digit viewership ratings. 'Burning Trotman' TOP 7 (Top 7 Son Tae-jin, Shin Sung, Min Soo-hyun, Kim Joong-yeon, Park Min-soo, Kong Hoon, Enoch) will appear. Of course, the average viewer rating of 'Burning Roses' is 4-5%, which is far short of the popularity of 'Burning Trotman'. The record also relies on the fandom of trot singers rather than the competitiveness of the program itself. Singers decorate the stage and compete. It is content that can be seen anywhere else in the program.

MBN, which is in crisis, has finished preparing to launch several new entertainment programs. 'It's up! They are stepping up efforts to promote programs such as 'Captain Kim', 'Fireworks Band', and 'Shocking Night'. Among them, the most anticipated variety show is definitely 'Doll Singles 4'.

The 'Doll Singles' series is MBN's filial entertainment that swept the topic every time it was aired. This season 4 raised the scale even more. It is a special feature of the US version, not the domestic version, and was filmed in Cancun, Mexico earlier this year. The production team raised anticipation, saying, "The taste of seeing only overseas episodes will unfold properly," and "The more intense and hot love stories and living together of American doll singers will hit the hearts of viewers once again."

MBN entertainment is making new attempts with various materials in its own way. But the results are not coming out as expected. Now is the time to find out and solidify the identity of each program. It remains to be seen whether 'Doll Singles 4' can be a light for MBN's variety show, which is struggling in the swamp of sluggishness.

Kim Seo-yoon, staff reporter seogugu@tenasia.co.kr