SLL-produced ‘Not A Hero, But’ (directed by Cho Hyun-tak, written by Joo Hwa-mi, creators Line & Kang Eun-kyung) and ‘Doctor Slump’ (directed by Oh Hyeon-jong, written by Baek Sun-woo) have been nominated for the Best Drama Series category at the 29th Asian Television Awards (abbreviated as ATA).

‘Not A Hero’ gained word-of-mouth at the time of its airing for its fresh subject matter and the actors‘ passionate performances that maximized the appeal of the characters, and it continued to receive favorable reviews until its conclusion. It proved its popularity by entering the TOP 10 of the global non-English category on Netflix for 7 weeks.

‘Not A Hero’ in particular was recognized for its artistic quality on October 6 when writer Joo Hwa-mi, who was in charge of the script, won the Writer’s Award at the Busan International Film Festival ACA & G.OTT, beating out many other excellent competing works. As a result, expectations for consecutive awards are also growing. Also, ‘Not A Hero’ was recently nominated for the Best Drama Series award at the AACA (Asian Academy Creative Awards), making K-dramas known for their excellence.

‘Doctor Slump’, which was also nominated in the same category, is a romantic comedy that depicts the ‘ruined lives’ of doctors in the biggest slump of their lives. It received a lot of attention, recording a peak viewership rating of 9.8% at the time of its airing. (Nielsen Korea, based on households in the metropolitan area) It also ranked in the top 10 of the global non-English category on Netflix for 9 weeks, receiving enthusiastic attention from fans around the world.

The 29th ATA will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 29th and 30th. ATA, which began in 1996 and is now in its 29th year, is Asia‘s most prestigious media awards ceremony, with a committee of around 60 members selecting the winners through strict screening.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter projecthong@donga.com