Featuring top actors like Lee Min Ho and Song Hye Kyo, these 3 SBS dramas still fail to live up to the hype.
In the last 2 years, in addition to successful dramas such as The Penthouse: War In Life or One The Woman, SBS, Korea’s Top 3 major broadcasting network, has also suffered from the underwhelming performances of some series.
This has more or less affected the reputation and overall achievement of SBS in the TV drama segment. Let’s take a look at 3 recent dramas that are labeled “flops” of this station.
Backstreet Rookie
Adapted from a popular webtoon, starring two famous actors, Kim Yoo Jung and Ji Chang Wook, but Backstreet Rookie is nowhere near a hit.
Although the highest rating of 9.5% is not bad, considering the popularity of the leading cast and the favorable time slot, an average rating of 6.3% is still a disappointment.
Not only failing to impress the audience with its storyline, the drama even received a warning from the Korea Communications Standards Commission and drew heavy criticism from the public over inappropriate and suggestive scenes.
Perhaps the only memorable part about Backstreet Rookie is the visual combination between Kim Yoo Jung and Ji Chang Wook.
The King: Eternal Monarch
The King got off to a good start with a 2-digit rating and even reached 11.6% in episode 2, but the ratings only went down from there and dropped to the lowest level of only 5.2%.
The average rating of this SBS’s drama is 7.7% – a number way below expectations for a series with a high production cost of more than 30 billion won, penned by famous screenwriter Kim Eun Sook and led by Kim Go Eun – Lee Min Ho.
The international audience’s reaction to the drama was a bit more positive, but that’s not much compared to the huge investment that the station and the producer have put in the production.
Despite magnificent investment, confusing script and acting with low chemistry between the two leads are the reasons why “The King: Eternal Monarch” became a “flop” blockbuster. 2020 was indeed a year that SBS suffered a lot.
Now We Are Breaking Up
Before its broadcast, “Now We Are Breaking Up” received a lot of anticipation from the audience as it was the comeback drama of Goddess Song Hye Kyo after 3 years. People can’t wait to see if the Korean top actress can regain the popularity that she gained from “Descendants of the Sun.”
Unfortunately the answer is no. Compared to “Backstreet Rookie” or “The King: Eternal Monarch,” “Now We Are Breaking Up” wasn’t as much of a blockbuster. However, it is still a key project of SBS as it is scheduled to air on Friday – Saturday, its most popular time frame and is promoted quite aggressively.
Its promotion campaign or Song Hye Kyo‘s reputation could not make up for the lacking content of this drama. Its highest rating of 8% and lowest of only 4.9% in episode 13 are too disappointing numbers. There’s no doubt that “Now We Are Breaking Up” is one of the least successful SBS dramas of 2021. It also earned the title of “the most failed drama in Song Hye Kyo’s career.”
The achievements of these three dramas can be considered successful if they are broadcast on other smaller stations such as JTBC or MBC, but it’s a shame that they are under SBS.
In general, in 2021, this station has made a lot of progress, when there is only 1 “flop” drama compared to 2 of the previous year. Hopefully next year SBS will have no more failed dramas.
Source[1]
