"The Penthouse 3", "Hospital Playlist Season 2", "Nevertheless", One Episode Per Week Dramas

Popular dramas are being broadcasted one episode a week.

Advertisement

Considering the production environment, the companies intend to increase the level of perfection and present a new model for broadcasting companies.

SBS drama "The Penthouse 3" which has emerged as the most talked-about drama, confirmed its first broadcast on June 4th. Unlike the first and second seasons, it plans to visit viewers on Fridays, once a week.

tvN's "Hospital Playlist Season 2" will continue to be a once a week drama following season 1. It will premiere on June 17th and will meet viewers every Thursday equally.

Since the past, domestic dramas have been based on two days weekly programming, including Monday-Tuesday, Wednesday-Thursday and Friday-Saturday dramas. Recently, a series of popular dramas made by season are making a move to break the inertia.

tvN's "Hospital Playlist" which achieved good results by trying to have a once a week schedule last year, has become a stepping stone to this attempt.

Director Sin Won-ho, who was in charge of directing at the time, said at a drama production presentation, "Most of the dramas are broadcasted in two episodes, and they used to be effective. Even now, all dramas are fiercely competing. In the meantime, considering the soaring production costs and the changing labor environment, I wondered if it would be possible to broadcast a drama once a week", he said. "I carefully planned it with the idea of changing the production environment and viewing form by presenting a new model".

In the end, "Hospital Playlist" had the highest viewer rating of 14.1% at the time, which was a successful conclusion. It was an example that dramas could be a hit even by being broadcasted once a week. It is said that it has brought a new wind to improving the production environment of dramas.

Thanks to this, there are also dramas that try to organize one episode from the beginning even though it is not a seasonal drama.

KBS 2TV's "Imitation", which first aired on May 7th, is broadcast once every Friday. In line with the era of the 1 million idol entertainment exam, it draws an idol tribute book that supports all stars who dream of being real.

JTBC's new drama "Nevertheless" which will premiere on June 19th, has been scheduled as a Saturday drama. It's a drama about romance between a woman who wants to date even if she doesn't believe in love and a man who wants to date even if it's annoying. It stars actors Han So-hee and Song Kang and is based on a webtoon of the same name.

The production team of "Nevertheless" said, "To save the fun of the original, we decided to organize 10 episodes of fast development and broadcast it only once a week".

On the other hand, some say that the weekly programming is still not familiar to viewers. For viewers who are accustomed to the two-week programming, there is a concern that the first episode may not lead to steady viewing beyond frustration.

However, the broadcasting environment is changing. Drama and entertainment programming strategies will naturally follow. It is certainly a desirable trend for the fixed organizational customs to change little by little. Attention is focusing on whether dramas scheduled once a week will be able to turn viewers' minds slowly with a stronger degree of perfection.