It’s still the hot topic du jour in K-drama land and The Red Sleeve Cuff remains at the top of trending topics even two weeks after it ended. But a K-ent reporter is calling out MBC for just sucking at the airing management of it’s biggest hit prime time drama in 3 years, not since Terrius Behind Me (My Secret Terrius) in 2018 did a drama break double digits in ratings. MBC added a one-episode extension but in the last two weeks of airing decided to air back-to-back new episodes rather than letting the drama extend the viewership. It could have delayed the premiere date of Tracer one or even two weeks but it instead aired Red Sleeve as if it was trying to squish in all the time allotted. It also didn’t prepare a special episode airing before the finale, which used to happen to hit dramas and allowed viewers to spend more time with the show and the cast. Instead after the drama has finished MBC is commissioning a special 1-hour variety with the cast airing Lunar New Year which the interest may have waned by then, rather than striking while the iron is hot. My only thought is, how is anyone surprised to hear how awful MBC is at organization, planning, and promotional strategy. Half of the low ratings its dramas have gotten these past few years falls on the network for sucking at promoting it since the quality is there. Now I hope MBC doesn’t beat the Red Sleeve horse to death to squeeze out any last drops of promos.
MBC mismanages dramas, no doubt, but I really don’t think this is that big of a deal. Ideally, they would have delayed Tracer but maybe that would have been difficult since it is aired simultaneously on Wavve? The Red Sleeve got high ratings even with the double episodes and a Lunar New Year special seems reasonable.
I do agree. I can’t get over TRS and I love it from the bottom of my heart. I have been following it since day 1 and I truly believe that this drama deserved better from MBC. They did them dirty.
1) should have been at Leaaast 20 episodes. Although it didn’t feel rushed, which I believe was the director’s talent, it could have eeaaasily been 20 episodes.
2) It aired the last 4 episodes, 2 episodes each back to back on Christmas eve and first day of NY when everyone is busy with holiday events. They literally shot themselves in the foot.
3) No special planned even though its popularity skyrocketed starting week 3.
4) DAESAAAANG, DAESAAANG, DAESAAANG, Lee Jun Ho/Lee Se Young or BOTH should have gotten it!!! Even a top star said it.
Actually PDnim has asked MBC for 20 episode so they could show sandeok family life.But MBC rejected it saying that who watch 20 episodes drama nowadays.
WHA-AT????!!! We could have had SanDeok family life??? That was one of the things I so badly needed to see in the finale! There were many lovey-dovey scenes in the novel, including with the young crown prince Munhyo. But his only drama scene was dying! Screw MBC! Who watches a 20-episode drama? Lame excuse!
I blame the writer partially as well. Knowing in the beginning that she only had 16 episodes (before the later addition), she should have tightened up the writing and focused less on the draggy push and pull plotline between San and his grandfather and the fairy palace nonsense. If she’d made him king earlier… Sigh.
Argh, I was finally getting over this drama. Now what? Screw MBC!
Much as I yearn to see the sandeok family life but maybe its a blessing in disguise. As it is, its already too painful with all the family’s demise. It will be even harder to let go…
Yisan with 77 episodes also didn’t show the family life…very brief.
While I agree that 20 episodes would’ve been ideal, it’s on the writer to adapt the story and fit everything. The show in fact went through a very repetitive and barely relevant segment before the king’s death, they could’ve slashed that a bit and let the story flow better. It was so funny when one episode ended with them happy about the baby and as soon as the next episode starts the kid is like 5 and dead kjdfnljkfgdfg What kind of transition is that ???? This show had its amazing acting and beautiful directing to thank for its success, cuz the writer certainly doesn’t deserve accolades.
@magnolias
Exactly! The writer really messed up and should shoulder most of the blame. And I hear she was one half of the writing mess that was Ruler. Go figure. She had no business winning that best screenplay award at the MBC Awards with her half-baked writing. She was lucky to have competent actors and directors to ride on their backs and cover up her faults.
MBC mismanaging dramas is nothing new but lets be honest KBS isn’t any better. Both channels suck at promotions and have been stuck at the bottom of the barrel for a good reason. Only TVN and SBS know how to promote the hell out of their dramas which why even mediocre dramas do well on those channels.
…..no daesang for this drama?! WHAT.
I get why fans are annoyed at MBC really, I agree with them. The production and cast did an amazing job, the leads really carried it so well too. But then MBC has a pattern of messing up when it comes to acknowledging their hit sageuk dramas, they did it with Rebel back in 2017 and now they’re doing it with TRS.
(But seriously it was so good and Junho/Lee Se Young’s chemistry was ?????? I was blushing in some parts from them just looking at each other from a distance. I’m glad Jang Hee Jin got love for her performance too, she fits all kinds of sageuk roles like she was born to play them)
Jang Hee Jin is a talented actress and beautiful . She was good in “The village Achiara’s secret” . I don’t know why actresses like her never got lead roles . The same for Han Go Eun .
Same she’s so beautiful and charismatic but she’s been in second lead/supporting roles forever, and she’s good even in messy dramas like Scholar Who Walks the Night. It’s a shame because she really has the kind of talent that can elevate even a messy script as long as her role isn’t written as a hate figure.
They had to give it to Nam Goong Min . After all he decided to air in their flop channel and almost gave them a double digit rating. And seeing how he is a senior actor, it was obvious why they went with him.
Let’s hope if Baeksang has to nominate only one from mbc, it should be Junho.
As for female lead, I am pretty sure Seyoung will get nominated. When i watched red sleeve for the first time, in the initial episodes it was difficult for me to warm upto Seyoung’s acting although she impressed me in the later episodes.
But now as I am re watching the drama , i realised how wrong i was. Seyoung has been great since day one. It’s prob because her ordinary character of a palace maid got overshadowed by the grandeur of the crown prince’s character , that’s why i couldn’t notice how subtle and amazing she was in her portrayal despite so many restraints.
It’s ok.. keep milking it.. cos Im thirsty for more of Red Sleeve cast. Hahaha.
Agree. milk all you want! Lots of TRS fans still having bad withdrawal including me and need more. So actually, MBC is doing somthing right and making amends for those fans.
I’m still pissed they haven’t released the bgm ost! It’s been weeks ?
The OST is now on Spotify! And they’ve included all the background music.
Ahhhh, thanks for letting me know!
Koala ,just a bit of correction, it’s the highest rated MBC drama in the last 6years after “She was Pretty”.
Mbc really messed it up. According to the director, if they had gone for the usual 20episodes, then they could have shown more abt the couple’s happy married life with their kids. But mbc said “who watches 20 episode dramas”. Ugggh i am so mad.
Also, had they not aired the episodes simultaneously, the ratings could have easily crossed 20pc. People stayed up untill 1 am just to watch the finale. That alone shows how popular this drama was.
Highest since She Was Pretty?! That drama was from 2015! Wow they weren’t joking when they said TRS revived MBC ratings from the dead, damn.
But it still makes me happy to hear. I don’t think anyone expected TRS to be such a hit, it aired during months when there were so many other hyped dramas on air, but a dark horse hit is always good news!
It’s hard for “Tracer” to air after all that ; It’s like the drama doesn’t exist . But The Red sleeve Cuff was a beautiful journey but i can’t still rewatch it as i may begin to cry and january is already a depressive month . And yesterday ,a national chanel aired Xavier Dolan’s movie “It’s only the end of the world” in memory of Gaspard Ulliel !Such a charismatic and good actor .
Tracer looks good but nobody took it for translation. So it’s why it’s discret but the ratings were good.
I noticed that . Don’t understand why it’s not translated ? The cast may be not with popular actors but they aren’t unknown either Im Si wan , Go Ah Sung ( i like her in Radiant Office and Life on Mars , i recommand both dramas ) and THE veteran Son Hyun Joo . Tax evasion an interesting subject , OXFAM published this week an alarming report .
Tracer is an original Wavve drama that was supposed to only air exclusively on Wavve’s local OTT. Wavve is not like local OTT Korea TVing or Coupang Play which provides subtitles for global audiences. It seems that in this case, MBC didn’t want to miss the quality of the cast and production so it was too forced to air Tracer even though Wavve released 2 live episodes a day every week which meant it would be a one-episode rerun on MBC on the Saturday night slot.
Tracer is so good! The whole cast is great.
Im Siwan is underrated.
I have enjoyed The Red Sleeve and the same for Tracer.