50 Billion Drama ‘Ask the Stars’ Sluggish
Gong Hyo-jin
tvN‘s first drama of the new year, ‘Ask the Stars’, is showing a contrasting trend with its early expectations, recording disappointing viewership ratings.
The drama garnered attention even before its broadcast due to the meeting of ‘Romance Comedy Queen’ Gong Hyo-jin, who is called a guaranteed viewership check, and Hallyu star Lee Min-ho, but contrary to expectations, it has failed to attract much attention.
‘Ask the Stars’, which first aired on the 4th, tells the story of an astronaut working in a zero-gravity space station and an uninvited guest who goes to space on a secret mission. Gong Hyo-jin plays the role of Eve Kim, a top astronaut, and Lee Min-ho plays the role of Dinosaur, an obstetrician and gynecologist who pays 70 billion won to go to the space station.
It started with 3.3% (Nielsen Korea) in the first episode, then dropped to 3.9% in the second episode, and 2.2% in the third episode broadcast on the 11th.
Even though it still has a long way to go after airing three episodes out of a 16-episode series, the shock is bound to be great considering that it is a weekend drama known as a ‘viewer’s turf’, and that a production cost of 50 billion won was invested into it.
In particular, its predecessor, ‘A Single-Log Bridge’, left something to be desired in terms of buzz, but it nearly doubled in ratings from 3.5% in the first episode to 6.5% in the second episode.
The disappointment is even greater when compared to competing dramas. SBS‘s ‘My Perfect Secretary’ went up from its first episode (5.2%) and surpassed 10% in just 3 episodes, while JTBC’s ‘Madam Ok‘s Story’ recently recorded 11.1%.
The unexpected classic is an impression that came from the sharply different likes and dislikes of the viewers.
Gong Hyo-jin and Lee Min-ho each have their own charms, but some say that their chemistry is surprisingly lacking. Some viewers also say that it is difficult to find the lively ‘roco charm’ of writer Seo Sook-hyang, who wrote popular dramas such as ‘Pasta’ and ‘Jealousy Incarnate’.
Also, as Korea’s first space office drama, there are criticisms that the computer graphics and narration used to express the state of weightlessness seem somewhat forced.
It seems that the drama is not receiving the proper broadcast effect in terms of buzz. According to the Good Data Corporation results, ‘Ask the Stars’ ranked 5th in the TV/OTT drama topicality survey. In the drama cast topicality rankings, only Lee Min-ho ranked 9th, and Gong Hyo-jin was not included.
Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com
