[HanCinema's News] MBC Dramas Remain Stagnant in Weak Drama Market

A month ago, when "The Golden Spoon" aired its second episode, there was hope that the fantasy class contrast drama could make for an unexpected hit, due to a significant improvement to 7.4% ratings after a 5.4% debut. While this couldn't compare to the performance of its predecessor of "Big Mouth" in the timeslot, "The Golden Spoon" had room for improvement. As of the tenth episode, however, this improvement hasn't materialized. "The Golden Spoon" had only 5.6% ratings.

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The story is much the same elsewhere at MBC. "May I Help You?" has brought the network back to the Wednesday/Thursday night timeslot, the first for the network since "On the Verge of Insanity" in 2021 ended with ratings of 4.3%. But in its opening week, the fantasy errand drama "May I Help You?" only had ratings of 3.7% and 3.9%. These humanistic titles are not failures. However, they also aren't doing much to excite viewers writ large.

The situation at MBC is bringing to mind why many Korean broadcasters had been cutting back on scripted television dramas in the first place, with distribution companies being emboldened by some noteworthy successes earlier in the year. Yet these may have been abberations- or perhaps the crossover genres simply haven't been unique enough. "Under the Queen's Umbrella" has also been stagnant in its second week, but its latest ratings of 9.5% push it ever closed to the 10% mark.

The bigger problem for MBC may just be a lack of international appeal. "Shooting Star" at tvN earlier this year was a ratings failure closing at 1.5%, yet has seen new popularity thanks to its release in many international Netflix markets. "Little Women" also continues to be popular on the streaming platform. Yet MBC dramas, tied as they are to Disney+, are difficult to gauge in terms of international popularity, furhter hindering the network's relevance compared to tvN.

Written by William Schwartz