Ratings battles are always part of the trials and tribulations of television dramas, but is the experience better or worse when one is going up against one’s own sibling? It’s not a common scenario, because while there are several sets of famous siblings in the biz, like Kim Tae-hee and Lee Wan, it’s rare that they’re both in dramas simultaneously, much less in the same timeslot.

But now, we have not one but two sets of siblings in this situation. Older sister Chae Shi-ra is currently heading the KBS weekend sageuk series Iron Empress [천추태후], but will soon face competition from her own little sister, Chae Kook-hee, who has been cast in SBS’s Style [스타일], which premieres August 1.

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Note: The following is taken from a Korean article, so the opinions therein aren’t necessarily my own. Still, it’s a look into the trends we can expect in the coming year of dramas. (For instance: Not one, but TWO figure-skating dramas?)

2009 looks like a bright new year. This year, there are many dramas to be produced and aired that may capture viewer hearts. Last year, the economic slump and the shrinking of the drama market caused many difficulties for drama production, a number of dramas still drew viewer notice.

Last year, the sageuk, which used to be a sure thing, fell back, and professional-themed series like medical- or broadcast-centered dramas came into the spotlight. Also, daily and weekend dramas that were strongly criticized had high ratings with trite characters, sharp contrasts between good and evil, conventional conflicts, extreme plot setups, and so forth. On top of that, there were many dramas looking to score success featuring top stars that failed.

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I mentioned in the previous post about Go Hyun-jung’s new sageuk that the upcoming year would showcase three prominent sageuk dramas starring three famous actresses, and the first of those has just revealed its posters. (The other two dramas are Go’s Queen Seon-deok for MBC and Jung Ryeo-won’s SBS series Princess Ja-myung. I’m going to put my bets on Cheon-chu being the big winner, although Seon-deok has some experienced names behind the cameras.)

Here’s our first glimpse at the official posters for KBS’s Empress Cheon-chu, starring the awesome veteran actress Chae Shi-ra (Emperor of the Sea, Invisible Man Choi Jang-soo), looking ready to kick some historical ass. (Looks a lot like Song Il-kook’s Jumong poster, doesn’t it?)

The drama will take over the weekend slot from recently ended Great King Sejong; it’ll premiere on January 3.

Via Newsen

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