Following the successful collaboration of Ji Hyun Woo and screenwriter Kim Sa Kyung in “Young Lady and Gentleman” (2021/highest rating 38.2%) - the drama won the Grand Prize at the Drama Awards, this reunion was expected to revive KBS's struggling weekend dramas. However, the results were disappointing.
Accordingly, “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” marks the reunion of the writer-actor duo who have faced criticism for their outdated themes and absurd plot. This is also the reason why the film has only surpassed the 20% rating mark once. After being suspended for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the film’s rating continued to drop to 12%, marking the lowest rating in the past 18 years of KBS.
Previously, the drama with lower viewership ratings than “Beauty and the Goofy” was “Thank You My Life” (2006) with a rating of 19.9%, holding the record for the worst viewership in the history of KBS weekend dramas.
Ten Asia assessed that this year, KBS has faced consecutive failures. Monday and Tuesday dramas such as “Illusionary Love Song”, “Exposing Crimes”, and “Dare You Love Me” all had average viewership ratings of 2-3%. The Wednesday and Thursday drama “Perfect Family” also ended poorly with a peak viewership rating of 3.1%.
The only exceptions are the daily dramas “Suji & Uri" and “Snow White's Revenge,” which are doing relatively well with viewership ratings of 15% and 8%, respectively. However, both dramas have faced mixed reviews from critics.
With such dismal results, there is no strong candidate for the Grand Prize from KBS like SBS and MBC. For example, Ji Hyun Woo and Im Soo Hyang from “Beauty and the Goofy” are not suitable candidates.
Or "Iron Family" with the participation of Kim Jung Hyun and Geum Sae Rok is about to air, there is no guarantee of success.
Attention is turning to upcoming dramas. “Dog Knows Everything” is scheduled to premiere on September 25, starring veteran actors such as Lee Soon Jae, Kim Yong Gun, Yeo Su Jeong, and Im Chae Moo. Considering KBS’s large senior viewership, the senior comedy “Dog Knows Everything” is likely to be a hit.
Following this project, the TV series “Miss Granny” will be aired, telling the story of Oh Mal Soon (Kim Hae Sook) - a 70-year-old woman who suddenly transforms into a 20-year-old girl - Oh Doo Ri (Jung Ji So). Previously, the film version of the film attracted 8.65 million views and grossed 51.7 million USD.
From now until the end of the year, KBS still has 4 more dramas to air, however, Korean newspapers commented that to be able to successfully create a worthy candidate for the Grand Prize, we still have to wait and see the quality of the upcoming works as well as the station's moves to overcome the crisis.
