MBC Wed-Thurs New Drama Oh My Ladylord Trends Downward into 1% Ratings as K-critics Pin the Blame on Lee Min Ki Losing his Mojos
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Prime time dramas for the big three networks have been on the low side for years, but being in the 4-6% range is still a big difference then the 1-2% range. MBC‘s new drama Oh My Ladylord (Oh! Master) has the worst drama title in recent memory and even fresh out of the gate it’s started low only to go even lower. The first episode was 2.1%, 2.6% and the most recent low was with episode 5 at 1.3%, 1.6%. Critics and the public doesn’t expect singer turned actress Nana to carry the drama which rested with male lead Lee Min Ki, the veteran and the bigger name power. His last two dramas were well received, Because This is Our First Life with Jung So Min and the drama remake of The Beauty Inside with Seo Hyun Jin. He had great chemistry with both leads but from all accounts (critics and viewers) there is zero OTP chemistry in this drama. Critics says he used to be called “Mr. Chemistry” but wonder if his mojos are gone. He can’t get the ratings or give audiences that dugu dugu heart beat reaction. Critics do agree that the plot for this drama is old school with nothing fresh so the only way it would work is for the two leads to generate amazing chemistry and visuals to keep viewer interest. Lee Min Ki and Nana look great onscreen no doubt but they “their chemical reaction is zero”. Also his character here is quite similar to his First Life character so to watch him play basically the same type of roll feels redundant and boring. MBC is quite disappointed as this was their first drama in that time slot in three months after working hard to bring something that would return viewers to the channel but alas it didn’t happen.
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I’m happy that i’m not the only one who find that the couple has no chemistry . They do have good looks individualy . Nana had chemistry with his co lead in Into the ring but for me she’s not a material lead , not yet . As Lee Min Ki , he is like Park ming Young recently, playing the same character in dramas with just different names . I dare say that Lee min ki seems not even enjoying doing this drama ! Sad , i dropped after ep 1 . About chemistry, i watched a Fun restaurant episode with Yoon eun Hye visiting Kim Jae Wook and they were sparkling ! Just my opinion .
Lol, I watched Funstaurant too! Kim Jae Wook can have chemistry with anyone and anything.
I think the plotline to this drama is incredibly flat, there’s nothing there to work with to spark intrigue. Its like squeezing water from a stone, even the best actors need character motivation for it to work.
I find Nana to be a strong actress too, shame this didnt work out but LOL at the article claiming LMK lost his mojo after one drama flop. Come on!
@Alvina , agree Kim Jae Wook can have chemistry even with a floor lamp ! Theses days when an actor make a flop he has to rebounce quickly as there are strings of “rookies” waiting . Sad but true unless you are popular as Suzy, Park Shin hye , Park Min Young, …or a superstar a la Song Hye Kyo .
Oh crap. Been meaning to watch this but I kept putting it on the back burner. This doesn’t sound good. And that peach bottom controversy? Lol. But is it fair to pin it all on him? Shouldn’t it take two to tango in the chemistry dance?
Man, 2021 hasn’t been fun in dramaland at all. Aside from Vin (currently also on the back burner for a bit), the drama offerings for this year so far have ranged from mediocre to pure sh/t. Hope the second half of the year will be better.
“take two to tango” Yes! I see one particular party get blamed whenever chemistry is an issue in a drama. The blame lies in the casting people who couldn’t bother to do a screen test to see if there was any sizzle.
Nana did Memorials which did solid average 3% and got good review with only her pulling majority weight of the drama though. This show just isn’t clicking. Not bad, not spectacular…not offensive and not creative. With everything that has gone down, this is exactly what the viewers deserve in South Korea.
2%-3% on KBS is not solid. It’s embarrassing. Unfortunately, it’s not the K-viewers that will suffer because this drama sucks. Plenty of other options to keep them going. It’s the network (MBC) that’s been up shit creek for awhile now and has been desperately looking for that one drama to be the paddle they need to get outta dodge.
Anyone watching “Hello Me”, is it any good? I’ve really not been in the mood to watch violent or dark dramas but it seems they get most of the attention these days. I don’t think it has much to do with LMK, even good rom-coms get low ratings but most kdramas are mediocre and it looks like that’s the case here.
It makes me sad but I think we’ll eventually get like 1-2 rom-com kdramas or even less a year as the local audiences’ tastes have changed. I gravitate more towards older korean shows and american shows these days because there more lighter in nature. Anyway, just my perspective.
I recommend you to watch cdramas. They make a lot of rom com dramas nowadays. Some super cheesy but some are really good.
Watching rattan and hello mr Gu
I enjoyed hello me, started out weak but picked up after the 5th episode.
Also on an unrelated note, is it true Shin Hye Sun is still receiving hate in Korea for Mr. Queen? Can anyone give any recent updates about it, as in from the last week or so?
She received an offer to star in a new film called Open The Door. So that’s a pretty good development for her.
They occasionally still try to cancel her but given her actual unquestionable acting prowess and non scandalous work history in industry, it’s failing. All her endorsements remain with her, she landed a new film and is part of a new skin care CF.
Lol, i laugh with that “dugu dugu heart beat”
I was actualy looking forward for this bcoz i like them both. So far its so-so but okay type. Like, something u can drop and pick up whenever u have time and it won’t bother u. haha. but i do agree there’s not so much chemistry between the leads compare to their prev works. I still watch clips of beauty inside and btiofl. For nana, i like her with JKY in kill it.
This is the only kdrama I’m currently watching though. Others just doesn’t pique my interest.
I am watching it and not minding it. Its easy to watch and I find the leads OK
I would rather watch something like this then all the sci-fi stuff around.
People are hard to please.
I think the issue is the writting, there are so many tropes in the first 4 episodes and they bring nothing new to the story. I love cohabitation trope but there were truck of doom, a coma like it was nothing, the mother who solde the house, the actress followed by a crazy stalker, mother’s illness, love triangle, family connection, etc.
Beauty inside had Seo Hyun Jin and First Life had Jung So Min. Maybe audience would have tune in if it was a different actress since the story has nothing new to offer.
Suuure, let’s blame the actress! LOL, women are at fault at any situation, lolololol…..
Nana is a young, but solid actress that works with what she is given.
I don’t think @M was talking about skill but popularity. Most of the blame probably goes to the writing and genre but popularity counts so much in kdramaland. (I don’t think he’s been as popular since his enlistment.)
Note that this is only the second time that a primetime free-TV miniseries is getting 1% average ratings. “Oh Master” (I vehemently refuse to use that ridiculous international title) is currently at 1.9%, so I wonder if it will end up beating the 1.7% record of “Welcome.”
K netz have short term memory eh? When it comes to creepers? Lee Min Ki was accused of sexual @ssualt. He was dropped off of Tomorrow With You, but then got BTIMFL soon after. And was doing cable b/c of his scandal, notice how someone who was in demand in films (which is more respected) was absent. Now he’s back w/ a public channel, and honestly give Ji Hyun Woo the roles LMK should get. Hopefully now, this means he won’t be given a romance work anytime soon, unless the KJW drama happens. My Mister writer seriously you go from a masterpiece to this?!
@Pam , i remember very well that “incident” but din’t it turn to be consensual ? But when Park Shi hoo still have projects ( The mentalist ) what can we do ? When it’s a woman it’s different, Yoon Eun Hye blacklisted because of a plagia that wasn’t proven to be true , Park Si Yeon for using propofol ( Han jung woo was accused of doinf the same) , Lee byung Hun cheated on his wife but still working, if he was an actress he would have been treated as a whore and a persona non grata,… the list is long .
LMK said it was consensual, that he called/booked her for sex in the room salon. Still sleazy. But where it became trickier is, allegedly his friend had sex with the woman soon after, but LMK didn’t tell her or something. GROSS. Either way, he’s a sleaze ball. I notice in some of the Beauty Inside kiss scenes, he goes way too aggressive at times. Also allegedly, he was rumored to squeeze the FL’s chest, to check if her implants where fake or not in the For the Emperor. While it was a blind item, many say he was the co-star.
Unfortunately, if you’ve money/power even w/ heavy evidence stating otherwise, they’re deemed innocent which is how Park Shi Hoo, Lee Min Ki, Lee Jin Wook, and etc, are able to still work. Double standards. They should start from the bottom and work their way up, instead of being given chances when woman for the slightest things gets blacklisted. SMH indeed.
@Pam, thanks for enlighting me . As a non korean i didn’t know much about all, as international websites didn’t cover much the scandal .
@Pam, wow. Thanks for the info. To think I liked him in BTIMFL with my fave Jung So Min. Eeeeew. Any more sleazeballs like this in k-ent? I know Lee Jin Wook drama with HJW flopped coz K-netz didn’t like him. Wasn’t Lee Jun Ki cancelled after he was caught dating another actress same time he was starring in a dating show for single ppl with Park Min Young?
The whole issue was as expected very odd and hush hush. Anything that involves cases like that are usually hushed up, and dropped quickly either due to money or pressuring. Its distributing that the woman ends up getting sued and sent to jail, for stating the right thing. Allegedly (rumored) that he’s known for giving flowers/hitting on some idol members, but they decline whenever they see his name attached to it.
Ex. Lee Jin Wook’s case. Asian Junkie has all the news reports of his case, and the last report was disturbing. His accuser got sent to jail, no wonder more women are afraid to come out.
@Seomin I think all the sleaze balls other than the ones mentioned are online. I hear some things about Kim Rae Won allegedly (Blind item about an actor who yells at child actors), and some of the vids of him manhandling his female co-stars. Koreas defamation laws make it hard for anyone to come out. If you look them up, you’ll find the rumored ones and ones who were hit w/ lawsuits. It seems like everywhere/any industry, there’s bound to be bad eggs out there.
Lee Jun Ki was doing a variety show, and made a lot of people believe he and PMY had a thing. Of course, this was to promote the show/his image as a heartthrob. When news came out, he and his ex were together. People didn’t take it well, so the variety show’s episodes of him and PMY got canned. Despite, that its the political stuff (Doing a pro democracy film) that landed him on a blacklist. But he still did well w/ Lawless Lawyer, as Cable can take more heat.
Notice how a lot of actors once they’ve a scandal, takes them a long time going back to Public networks, as they’re tax/gov funded which means people’s opinions matter more. Unless your Park Shi Hoo ew, who has a dad who has connections to KBS.
@Pam. Thank you! I really appreciate you responded to my query and let us know so much info. You are a legend. Do you have any info on those actors who evaded MS like SIG and YAI? Some critics said they used family/fame/money/connections to bribe the MS staff/doctors to avoid enlistment or to fake their injuries?
@Seomin Noted, and no problem! Regarding military service, it’s a very touchy subject there. Look at Steve Yoo, dude is now considered banned. If you forgo military service, your career will be affected heavily by it.
For YAI, he was always an award winning actor, and because he also does films (which can take more heat when it comes to scandals than dramas), he was able to continue working. I also think his public persona of being outspoken whether people like him or not, gave him a boost. But yeah, he said he was going to enlist and then he moved onto Chicago’s Typewriter (straight after he released his pics saying he couldn’t go to the military) which didn’t help him/nor the show’s ratings.
SIG’s case is similar but compared to YAI, he’s not an award winning actor despite having several hits to his name. He also said he had medical issues so he wasn’t able to go, and he took time off (2 yrs). He was going to do a film, but it got canceled due to Covid 19. tvN is a Cable channel, and SIG has a solid relationship with them so I guess they waited for him until the antis died down. Even then, I’m still a bit shocked that he was cast as the ML alongside PBY who is a big name on her own. Seems like people like him a lot to cast him.
Actors that are also non grata in the industry is Lee Jung-jin. He’s known for being snobby and very demanding, saying to the PD, you need to replace this actor b/c I don’t like them and whatever reason. So the PD said never to working with him again. It seems that if you show up to work on time, get along with the PD, and cast that people view that fondly and will want to work with you, which I guess YAI and SIG are?
But I also think connections matter, and money/power. Agency power (good ones) can do a lot for people so its that, and prior connections with PD/writer/cast help too. As for bribing, I’m not sure about that. In terms of bribing doctors, Ha Jung Woo had propofol case, and b/c of his connections/money, he was able to reduce/get out of it. So bribing isn’t out of the ? here. Ironic that their dramas situations do occur to celebs too, lol.
Oh hell. I didn’t know this happened. Or maybe it was bcoz i started following him after btiofl?
“My Mister writer seriously you go from a masterpiece to this?!”
This drama was written by the writer of Fated to Love You, not My Mister. But it’s still disappointing that the writing feels quite stale because the writer also wrote Soulmate which was refreshingly innovative when it aired.
It is ironic that a drama about a scriptwriter has such a meh script.
Don’t mean to spam this post! I like Nana a lot, and was hoping her and LMK would have been great. Sometimes what’s on paper shows something else. Hopefully the ratings don’t plummet beyond that. IQIYI put money in this drama, I believe, so MBC will have to air 16 episodes out so I don’t think they’ll cut the length unless I’m wrong.
As for the My Mister thing, I meant to clarify that the writer of My Mister’s next work has for now LMK and Kim Ji Won at JTBC next, and its like hmm really. I’m just shocked that a once in a lifetime drama writer, doesn’t have more bigger names/A List talent wanting to work with her. Confused. I expected Song Hye Kyo or on par with Lee Sun Kyun’s talent/work to be cast in her next work.
@Pam It was because the PD for that upcoming JTBC drama is the director of Detective K that KJW and LMK appeared in. Idk how much autonomy does writer Park Haeyoung have in casting but yeah hopefully it turns them off that this guy cannot even bring in ratings and not a Hallyu star either. I don’t mind KJW.
Wow, I for one am actually enjoying this drama, and actually see chemistry between Nana and LMK. they have this “grown mature vibe about them and its great. LMK is definitely succeeding on giving me dugu dugu heartbeat, he never fails. Nana is just swing me with her visual and her characters down to earth nature. Dony know if the rating will go up but I’m in for the ride, there’s too much thriller/dark dramas in K-ejt right now
I actually enjoyed this drama and the chemistry of the leads. It’s definitely the writing which is the big problem in this drama.
I’m not blaming any of the actors in this one. I think everyone is doing the best they can with a very weak script. I’m finding that dramas seem to feel like they have to do too much. The premise of this show was enough for me with Lee Min Ki’s character being a compulsive writer who is actually really nice but doesn’t put up with crap and a beautiful actress who isn’t a snot but wants to do a really good job–both playing against type. The way they come together and those challenges alone with her having the care for her mother as part of the mix. But then to add the illness of his own mother and the back story seems obsessive. Why do so many romantic comedies forget the comedy part and have to include tragedy?
It’s just a plain drama to me. Sometimes i feel something sometimes i get bored. For me LMK is best when he is portraying crime/thriller drama like the one he made with OCN The Lies Within and the movie Monster. He has the best acting portrayal on these two. But i also enjoy the collab with JSM the drama TIMFL.