At first, I was a little taken aback at the way the following article frames IRIS’s popularity in terms of disappointment, because it burst onto the scene with a big splash and has maintained a comfortable lead over its competition. But I suppose this all points to where expectations play into a drama’s perceived success (among other factors that are discussed below). This is why a “small drama” like You’re Beautiful is being called a modest success despite its 9%-10% ratings (on account of its mania fanbase, lower budget, and less-famous cast), while IRIS has been performing more than twice as well and still gets mixed reception as not fulfilling its hype.

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At this point, I feel like I’m just your crack dealer. Enjoy your next fix:

Why You’re Beautiful isn’t crumbling against IRIS

SBS’s You’re Beautiful is putting up a good fight against the blockbuster in the same time period, IRIS.

You’re Beautiful got off to a start on October 7 with a 9.2% rating (ABG Nielsen Media). However, when KBS’s IRIS premiered on the 14th, its numbers dropped to 7.5%. Considering IRIS’s hype and that its first episode rating was over 20%, this could have been predicted. As IRIS looks toward the 30% ratings mark, one suspected that You’re Beautiful would face falling ratings.

But a strange phenomenon occurred. Even with IRIS’s swift onslaught, You’re Beautiful’s ratings steadily grew. Its episode on October 29 rose to a 9% as it faced off against IRIS, which had received a top rating of 27.7%. Where did You’re Beautiful’s latent force come from?

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Honestly, this has to suck for Heading to the Ground: Not only did MBC already cut the broadcast down by several episodes due to poor ratings, it has made an additional cut. What seems worse (to me) is the way in which they approached the matter, because viewers found out from a notice that ran after this Thursday’s episode that read, “The last episode will air next Wednesday.” Viewers were surprised to have the show end earlier than expected; this means there’s only one more episode, and MBC will broadcast a foreign documentary on Thursday.

The soccer drama starring idol star U-Know Yunho in his acting debut was initially supposed to wrap on November 12 with Episode 20. After two episodes were shaved from the series and one episode was postponed due to sports, the Episode 17 finale was moved up to November 5 to allow Hero to premiere a week earlier than scheduled. With the additional cut, the drama will now end on November 4 with Episode 16.

Heading to the Ground got off to a rough start with criticism for its star’s weak acting, which was followed by a slew of complaints over its confusing storyline that had nothing to do with the drama’s purported theme of soccer. Its ratings lagged in the 3%-4% range, and when competitor drama IRIS came along it drove a nail into the coffin; right after IRIS’s 25% premiere, MBC announced the first cut to Heading. You’re Beautiful has held steady with 9%-10% ratings; Heading’s most recent episode drew a 3.7%.

I get that Heading is not performing well, and it sounds like it’s riddled with flaws, but I do wish MBC would take more care with its underperforming series. A show may be subpar, but these last-minute scheduling changes only handicap the series further, and thus never gives it the chance to be the best version of itself. Then again, sounds like Heading may just need to be put out of its misery.

Via Segye

 
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After several dramas fell to Queen Seon-deok’s Monday-Tuesday domination over the past several months, SBS tried to experiment with its scheduling in order to protect its new Monday-Tuesday series Angel’s Temptation. It therefore shuffled its broadcast schedule to air Angel’s Temptation at a time where it would be unchallenged by drama competition from the other stations. (10pm is traditionally the prime-time drama hour, and Angel’s Temptation was the first prime-time miniseries to air in the 9pm hour instead.)

However, two weeks in, the experiment has provided middling results, with its first three episodes drawing 10.3%, 11%, and 11.3%, respectively. These are not awful numbers for a prime-time show, but when considering that it had no competition, the results are quite disappointing, and there is reportedly a high probability that the 9pm trial will die here. Adding to the letdown is the fact that Angel’s Temptation had been hoping to recreate the sweeping success of the over-40% ratings brought in by its predecessor, Wife’s Temptation. (Angel isn’t a real sequel, but the plot is similar and it comes from the same writer-director pairing.)

SBS had made the move to avoid losing another drama to Seon-deok, after Ja Myung Go and Dream both brought in ratings around and below the 5% mark. An SBS rep explained that they made the move to offer “a variety of choices” to viewers, but at the root of the issue was their desire to avoid Queen Seon-deok.

Since Angel’s Temptation is still early in its run, it is premature to decree the move a definite success or failure, but because the trial has been unimpressive thus far, those involved with the following drama, medical sageuk Jejoongwon, have openly stated that they are confident they will be airing back in the 10pm slot. SBS’s drama department is hedging their bets by saying, “The schedule can change at any time.”

Via Star News

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Uh-oh. MBC may be getting ready to let that axe fall for the third time this year. I’m reading conflicting reports about its soccer drama Heading to the Ground, but it’s not looking good.

KBS’s blockbuster drama IRIS has just premiered with a very strong rating in the 20% ballpark. (Official ratings aren’t out yet, but the preliminary report places it close to 20%. UPDATE: The number was a whopping 24.5%. As it just aired four hours ago, no I haven’t seen it yet, but I plan to.) That means that the poorly performing Heading, which has several weeks still left to go, is now essentially dead, with Iris and You’re Beautiful getting most of the attention.

One report says that Heading will end early and allow Hero, the Lee Junki vehicle, to begin a week earlier than planned, which would give MBC more to work with in the Wednesday-Thursday ratings battle. That would mean that the 20-episode Heading would need to wrap up by its 18th episode instead. However, Star News reports that MBC has “strongly denied” the curtailment rumors. In a phone interview on the 14th, the MBC source said, “Rumors of cutting it early are ridiculous” and that the drama would end as planned.

As you know, MBC cut Tamra the Island and Strike Love, but strongly denied rumors of cutting Friend, Our Legend, which went on to complete its original run. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see which side prevails.

Via Star News, Today Korea

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• Iris and Chuno run into production disputes
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• Fans are spitting mad at Tamra’s curtailment

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