With the re-surge of COVID-19, the entire broadcasting industry was put an alert. Except for pre-produced dramas, all projects that are currently filming have temporarily suspended all schedules to prevent the spread of the virus. The same goes for entertainment shows. As television programming got messed up, several programs were either postponed or canceled. Let’s check out which programs have made headlines over the past week amid the crisis caused by the re-surge of COVID-19.
The Dramas on the 3rd week of August 2020
Even with the mixed reviews, Stranger 2 topped the popularity chart for two consecutive weeks. Flower of Evil, which reached the halfway, captivated the viewers with Lee Joon Ki’s ardent love and perfect visuals, continuing its uptrend to the second place. Attention was drawn to the upcoming schedules of To All The Guys Who Loved Me, which has only two episodes left, and its follow-up drama Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, when actors working on the projects were confirmed with COVID-19. Fortunately, there were no additional confirmed cases, but both dramas delayed their broadcasting schedules. When I Was the Most Beautiful, which advocated traditional melodrama, got off to a poor start with mixed reactions of “being dull” or “recalling past memories.”
Top 10 Popularity of TV Dramas
- tvN Stranger 2 (Share of Audience: 31.79) (-)
- tvN Flower of Evil (Share of Audience: 15.57) (▲1)
- KBS Once Again (Share of Audience: 14.29) (▽1)
- KBS To All The Guys Who Loved Me (Share of Audience: 4.15) (▲2)
- JTBC Was It Love? (Share of Audience: 3.57) (▽1)
- MBC When I Was the Most Beautiful (Share of Audience: 3.52) NEW
- KBS Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (Share of Audience: 3.3) NEW
- JTBC Graceful Friends (Share of Audience: 2.94) (▽1)
- JTBC The Good Detective (Share of Audience: 2.91) (-)
- KBS Into the Ring (Share of Audience: 2.59) (▲1)
Top 10 Popularity of the Cast in TV Dramas
- Lee Joon Ki, Flower of Evil (-)
- Jo Seung Woo, Stranger 2 (-)
- Moon Chae Won, Flower of Evil (-)
- Kim Bo Yeon, Once Again (▲5)
- Lee Min Jung, Once Again (▲1)
- Lee Sang Yeob, Once Again (▲1)
- Bae Doo Na, Stranger 2 (▽2)
- Lee Joon Hyuk, Stranger 2 (▲2)
- Im Soo Hyang, When I Was the Most Beautiful NEW
- Lee Sang Yi, Once Again (▲2)
The Non-Dramas on the 3rd week of August 2020
Call Center of Love once again topped the non-drama category with its summer special “National Call Center Daejeon.” How Do You Play? came in second as Refund Expedition became the hottest topic, following SSAK3. However, Lee Hyori’s “Mao” remark was severely criticized by Chinese netizens, making headlines. While BTS’s healing reality show In the SOOP BTS started off smoothly with 1.26% viewership (based on Nielsen Korea), I-LAND, which drew much attention last week with BTS’s appearance, saw a drop.
The Top 10 Popularity of TV Non-Dramas
- TV Chosun We Will Sing Your Requests �” Call Center of Love (Share of Audience: 5.09) (▲2)
- MBC How Do You Play? (Share of Audience: 4.43) (▲3)
- MBC The Masked Singer (Share of Audience: 3.96) (▲8)
- MBC I Live Alone (Share of Audience: 3.55) (▽2)
- JTBC In the SOOP BTS (Share of Audience: 3.24) NEW
- JTBC Hidden Singer: Season 6 (Share of Audience: 2.89) (▽2)
- Mnet I-LAND (Share of Audience: 2.85) (▽6)
- TV Chosun Mulberry School (Share of Audience: 2.78) (-)
- JTBC Knowing Bros (Share of Audience: 2.58) (▽3)
- SBS Running Man (Share of Audience: 2.34) (▽1)
The Top 10 Popularity of the Cast in TV Non-Dramas
- Yoo Jae Suk, How Do You Play? (▲17)
- Lim Young Woong, We Will Sing Your Requests �” Call Center of Love (▲7)
- Ha Ji Won, House on Wheels NEW
- ITZY, Weekly Idol NEW
- Jinsung, Hidden Singer: Season 6 NEW
- Lim Young Woong, Mulberry School (▲4)
- Go Eun Ah, Omniscient Interfering View (▲9)
- Young Tak, Mulberry School (▲19)
- Park Na Rea, I Live Alone (▲33)
- Lee Chan Won, Mulberry School (▲24)
This survey was released on August 24 by the TV popularity analysis agency Good Data Corporation after analyzing netizens’ responses, which were generated from news articles, blogs/communities, videos and SNSs for the 24 dramas and the 168 non-dramas that are on air or scheduled to air from August 17 through August 23.
