tvN, which suffered a crushing defeat in Season 2, is not relieved by the return of Jang Dong-gun

《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.

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While tvN has lined up a variety of Season 2 works in 2023, the first hitters are performing below expectations. In particular, 'Joseon Psychiatrist Yoo Se-poong 2' had a downward trend from the start and suffered the humiliation of falling to the 1% level. Unlike SBS, which has solidified the success of seasonal dramas such as 'Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim' and 'Penthouse', tvN is still anxious.

tvN's representative seasonal hit drama is 'Hospital Playlist'. Seasons 1 and 2 both recorded the highest viewership rating of 14.1% and were all-kill in terms of topicality. However, due to the coronavirus, the production schedule was postponed and many actors' upcoming schedules clashed, so the production of Season 3 was postponed indefinitely.

In the case of seasonal dramas, the main advantage is that they can guarantee stable viewership ratings in subsequent seasons because the existing fan base is strong. Accordingly, tvN has already confirmed that it will be divided into Seasons 1 and 2, even before the broadcast of 'Yoo Se-poong' to 'Hwanmoon' in 2022. In addition, 'Missing', which had been aired on OCN, was brought to tvN and revived for Season 2 after two years.

The result was a failure. In the case of 'Marriage', both seasons 1 and 2 succeeded in achieving stable viewer ratings and topicality, but in the case of season 2, it failed to exceed 10% in viewership ratings due to its time slot matching 'The Youngest Son of' a Chaebol Family.'

The biggest problem was the 'campaign wind'. While Season 1 received favorable reviews for the growth story and refreshing prescriptions of genius doctor Yoo Se-poong (played by Kim Min-jae), the beautiful widow Seo Eun-woo (Kim Hyang-gi), and eccentric teacher Gye Ji-han (Kim Sang-kyung), Season 2 received positive reviews from Yoo Se-poong and Seo Eun-woo. The focus on romance diminished interest.

Accordingly, 'Yusepung', which maintained a viewership rating of 5% in Season 1, fell sharply in Season 2, falling to 1.8%. Currently, 'Yoo Se-poong 2' has only two episodes left to end. Aiming for a rebound is not enough.

'Missing 2' reunites Heo Jun-ho, Go Soo, and Ahn So-hee, and Lee Jeong-eun and Kim Dong-hwi join as new faces, creating a new version of the 'soul-seeing duo.' In the case of 'Missing', as it was a work with a clear fan base since Season 1, Season 2 also recorded similar viewership ratings to Season 1, but it is a disappointing figure in that it did not see the effect of changing the broadcasting company from OCN to tvN.

There is another season 2 drama scheduled to be aired on tvN this year. These are 'Arthdal Chronicles' and 'Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox'. However, it is unfortunate that both works have the issue of actor replacement.

'Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox' Season 2, 'Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox 1938', depicts the action scenes of Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-wook), a nine-tailed fox who made an emergency landing in 1938. Lee Dong-wook and Kim Beom will appear in Season 2 following Season 1, and Kim So-yeon will play the female lead instead of Season 1's female lead Jo Bo-ah. Kim So-yeon plays the role of Ryu Hong-ju, the owner of Myoyeon-gak, a high-end restaurant in Gyeongseong, and a former western mountain god. Above all, as 'Tale of the Nine-Tailed' received great response due to the visual chemistry between Lee Dong-wook and Jo Bo-ah, attention is being paid to what effect Jo Bo-ah's departure will have on the drama.

'Arthdal Chronicles', with a production cost of 54 billion won, is also about to release Season 2 after 4 years. 'Arthdal Chronicles' attracted great expectations by casting a large number of top stars such as Song Joong-ki, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ok-bin, and Kim Ji-won, but it performed below expectations due to poor CG and difficult plot development. In addition, in Season 2, even the main actors are replaced, with Lee Joon-ki replacing Song Joong-ki and Shin Se-kyung replacing Kim Ji-won. Regardless of Lee Joon-ki and Shin Se-kyung's acting skills, comparisons cannot be avoided as they are played by different people. It is unclear how the risk of replacing actors will be resolved.

Will tvN, which achieved painful results in Season 2, achieve meaningful results in the remaining works this year? We must keep in mind that indiscriminate production of Season 2 can actually be toxic.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr