[HanCinema's News] "Little Women" Proves to Be Sole Bright Spot for tvN With Autumn Dramas

September saw an expansion for tvN in scripted dramas, with the cable network ambitiously deciding to run four instead of its previous number of three. But the ratings results for September have not been what the network was hoping for. Where "Adamas" ended with 3.358% ratings and "Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist" ended with 5.099% ratings, three of tvN's four new dramas are struggling to meet even these relatively modest standards.

Advertisement

"Mental Coach Jegal" had ratings of 1.817% in its October 3rd episode, the seventh overall. "Blind - 2022" had 2.847% ratings on October 1st for its sixth episode. Lastly, "Love in Contract" had 3.584% ratings in its most recent episode on September 29th, the fourth. All of these drama have had static or slight declines in their performance since their premieres in September. Despite their fairly staightforward genre concepts of sports, thriller, and romance respectively, all have attracted little interest.

But the fourth tvN drama of note from September, "Little Women" has actually outperformed even its predecessor. "Little Women" had ratings of 9.701% for its tenth episode on October 2nd. While "Little Women" hasn't always had a consistent performance, its predecessor "Alchemy of Souls" only managed to achieve a ratings high of 9.295%. And "Little Women" has accomplished all of this despite having a premise that's a bit arcane to describe.

A nineteenth century novel fused with a present day corporate drama is not, after all, a clear selling point. But the quality of "Little Women" as a production has overcome this. The show has been buoyed by its excellent performance on Netflix, consistently ranking as the most popular drama on the streaming platform in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam in recent weeks.

Novelty, rather than concept, appears to be emerging as the main strength for South Korean dramas both domestically and abroad. While all drama production naturally hope to gain viewers as time goes on, most are reluctant to attempt to do so without a clear hook. "Little Women" has emerged as a strong demonstration on sisterly family dynamics as an underserved theme in scripted media one that tvN, which has long marketed itself as a brand for women, would do well to note.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"Little Women" is directed by Kim Hee-won-II, written by Jeong Seo-kyeong, and features Kim Go-eun, Nam Ji-hyun, Park Ji-hu, Kang Hoon, Jo Seung-yeon, Gong Min-jung. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/09/03~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:10 on TVING, tvN.