When the Stars Gossip with Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin Premieres to 3% Ratings on tvN with Mixed Reviews
So When the Stars Gossip is finally here and so far I am perplexed and confused but kinda intrigued. The big budget and big name cast drama was on premiere limbo for over a year after completing primary filming due to the cost versus potential returns conundrum and I still think it really hurt this project because a lot of the momentum and excitement from K-drama fans dissipated during the long wait. The drama premiered this past weekend on tvN with streaming on Netflix and the cable ratings were a rather low-ish 3.324% and 3.883%. The reviews are mixed as well and I totally understand why. The story is odd to say the least and there isn’t a single engaging character (yet), and the plot elements that lead to why male lead Lee Min Ho as an OB/GYN is traveling to space with Gong Hyo Jin as the mission commander is dumb as bricks to say the least. Their chemistry is also not there through episode 1 which I watched. BUT, all that aside the drama is gorgeously filmed and the space travel scenes are nicely done, and I find the weird tonal shifts curiously fun to watch. I will check out episode 2 and see if my initial impression to keep watching holds up.
It might not everyone taste but damn the opening rating is really bad for 2 top star lead. Usually 2 top star lead will open with high rating and went down if the story or the drama got bad review. I think this drama is gonna stuck with the rating bcs the review is pretty from knetz and I don’t see the buzz from this drama as well except for the ost (thanks to BTS jin)
*the review is pretty bad from knetz
Lee Min Ho has really lost his boyish charm from his younger days. Now that he is older and more mature, it’s almost impossible not to notice that his acting is limited. He just lacks credibility in bringing out his character.
You right. I watched by curiosity the first episode of when the stars Gossip; I am not really excited . There is no thrills , I feel a lack of charms between the two leads which is not linked to their ‘mature beauty’ but to an absence of depth ? I mean the type of crush I feel immediately for the couple like in ‘MrPlankton ‘ or for ‘ the phone rings ‘
I think Lee Minho is best paired with Song hye ko in the movie
I knew ratings would be low when the teasers have low views on TvN Drama YouTube channel. The previews for the next episode only has a few thousand views after 1-2 days. Usually very popular dramas will have a few hundred thousand views a couple hours after its released. TBH, I don’t think LMH is an actor Koreans really look forward to watching.
I can’t say I’m surprised about the ratings. Firstly, Korea has never done sci-fi well. Secondly, I watched the first 2 episodes and whatever they’re trying to do here isn’t working AT ALL. It’s trying to combine wacky rom-com, medical drama, space documentary and chaebol cliches into one show. And it’s just as ridiculous as how it sounds on paper. I don’t see the chemistry between the leads either. Unfortunately, I foresee this being another Jirisan.
At least Jirisan ranged in the 8% which is quite high for. Cable drama. Right now even if WTSG doubles, it’s still lower than Jirisan’s lowest numbers. Yikes.
Didn’t you call lnd a flop when it ranged at 8%
🤡
LND scraped towards 8% in the last episode. Jirisan premiered to 9% and did not drop below 7% in its entire run. Go back to grade 4 and learn what “ranged in the 8%” means.
So again, let me call LND the flop that it is.
It would be great to just kill Gong hyo Jin in the 3rd episode, and replace Song hye ko then.
I’m travelling and haven’t seen it yet but the only reviews I’ve read are from Knetz. And I wouldn’t call it mixed. It was quite unanimously negative on several aspects including the weird direction, questionable acting and wtf story line to go with the issue of Sci-fi not being a popular genre.
I agree with Koala though, a lot of the buzz for this drama basically dissipated after the very long post production / struggle to find a network. I distinctly remember this along with Queen of Tears being 2023’s flagship dramas. Both were delayed, but in the case of QoT, it was due to an actress change and the delay was by a couple of months. Not over a year so they kept their buzz intact.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen much conversations in insti for WTSG until the day of premiere and 3% for a 50M budget drama with top stars is quite dismal. Week 2 is the make or break for ratings. If they can’t get it over 6%, this is going to be a flop bigger than Arthdal and Bulgasal.
The ratings isn’t lowish. It’s straight in the gutters… I really liked the first two episodes tho lol. I can totally see how it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but I found it hilarious at parts. I am however a little disappointed with the chemistry of the leads. LMH has always been a toss up, but GHJ has never looked bad with her ML. I genuinely can’t remember her not having chemistry so I am hoping she can work some magic soon.
I absolutely love PD Park Shin Woo’s style. It’s very distinct and unique and I particularly loved Jealousy Incarnate and IOTNBO’s graphic direction. The way he uses animation and imagination is quite intelligent and imo, he’s one of the most talented PDs in kdramas along with Lee Eung Bok. But I can also see that knetz just don’t like it. Every drama he does, there’s complains on his style and the ratings suffer for it. So far, I suppose the hesitancy to invest in the drama is making sense.
Bang on with Park ShinWoo PD’s direction and knetz take on it. Reading through their reactions, there was the one scene with the ballerinas in the water?? It got so many wtf reactions. He might just be more OTT suited.
It is ultimately a love story, regardless of the setting or why. So it depends on the chemistry of the 2 leads. Gong hyojin has chemistry even with a brick so issue is lee minho isn’t it? Also is it necessary to set this in space?
Unpopular opinion lmh rightly gets alot of stick for his acting as he plays similar characters, I get the same feeling with GHJ, sure she’s good at chemistry but shes like Ryan Reynolds.
I don’t like Gong Hyojin either (or Lee Min Ho). She’s an automatic avoid for me EXCEPT for whatever reason with Dokko Jin.
Its far more lighthearted than I imagined it would be. Some chemistry building in Ep. 2.
I’m not convinced yet. At least, it’s original! But I’m not a fan of Lee Min-ho, he’s not bad but I don’t specially find him charming. I wonder how much of the drama will take place in space.
I guess I am in the minority here but for some reason I just don’t like Gong Hyo Jin and can’t watch her dramas. I have only ever liked her in Master’s Sun. LMH was my first ever Kdrama heartthrob so I am partial to him but I know I could tell there would be no chemistry with GHJ. I also felt the same about him and Kim Go Eun in the King.
It would be great if LMH is paired with SGK.
Yes, Lee min ho is best paired with SHK with this movie
For context, WTSG’s ratings are the lowest in a year. Not even Midnight Romance or Love Your Enemy had 3% ratings on a Sunday.
WTSG’s episode 2 rating of 3.883% was only slightly higher than the 3.7% drawn by the television airing of Moving, which was already available for streaming in 2023.
Even Mon-Tue dramas have had higher ratings debut than this drama. But I’m not surprised either since the hype build up from 2021-22 evaporated by 2023. The 2 years in between did not instil confidence in either the drama or the cast. The high production cost media play did not help either. Plus the sci-fi genre is not popular in South Korea especially space dramas such as The Silent Sea was also a huge flop. The chemistry is also not working in this drama yet but the floating around in zero gravity is not helping any swoon build up either.
I was floored by Won-gyeong’s 4.873% premiere rating (the best since Marry My Husband), considering that the leads are not really A-listers. Yeah, it really makes WTSG’s ratings even more disappointing. Maybe the viewers are just in the mood for sageuk this season.
Ep.2 is better than ep.1 with more substance in the context. Agreed with one comment above that the PD has a distinguished art taste and I like how he handled cameras and created cosmic cinematography. I also agree the plot started off a bit quirky, not sure about the direction where it would go. I hope the storylines will develop with more clear focus in next few eps. The hero and the heroine don’t appear to be typical OTP who have mesmerizing and rosy romance for you to root for. I trust GHJ’s acting and LMH has also grown more mature in his skills since I watched him in Faith and City Hunter long ago. I don’t expect to see sizzling chemistry between them. Rather, I hope the eps later on would unfold a more intriguing plot. Now it’s a bit chaotic here and there making me wonder what the deal is all about. And my attention was often drifted to how the actors floated under gravity loss. LOL. The filming set must be very expensive.
The drama isn’t for everyone. I’m not surprised the rating is low.
The medical-related scenes in the show are quite disappointing. They should conduct better research and consult experts on the subject. It really disturbs me to the core while watching episode 1. If the story weren’t so centered around medical professionals, it might not be as problematic.
The drama is overreaching. It’s a chaebol love story but they made a whole space theme just for the sake of unique backdrop without proper sci-fi world building.
Boring since the beginning. I had no expectation bcuz not a fan of both actors. LMH, despite his popularity in the past, wasnt on the same level as KSH snd SJK. It’s ok not to be ok and Arthdal didnt get high rating as people’s expectation (just around 6%, both were aired on tvn) but they did had solid acting and chemistry with co star.
Only 2 episodes, it’ll probably do better later.
Well it was SongYooKim trio for a reason. Too bad Yoo did what he did, hopefully he can bounce back once he’s done with rehab
Love the show.
Lee Minho is great.
I believe Lmh was in so much negative press personally that viewers are turned off by his lack of integrity. He hurt his standing as a classy man. But the movie seems beneath him to me. It may get better tho. He needs a solid well made film to retake his strong talent. He is human and he is just getting through this messy life right now. He will make a comeback eventually but needs to make better choices.
I’m sorry but I found it funny,I like Min Ho,he’s like a school boy and was frighten going into space, I will keep watching 👀
Watched first two episodes and loved both. Lee Min Ho is still as charming as ever and the rest of the cast brings interesting contrasts. This storyline will be fantastic, just hold your horses and don’t judge so quickly. Time will tell.
I am waiting the day that Korea will stop casting all this mediocre actors for leads because of their “looks” and not because of their acting.Many of them are in the industry 10 – 20 years and their acting have not improved.
I want to see when Korea will stop all this plastic faces as a nation and see real Korean natural people especially on TV.
Truly very dull start nd I don’t find any chemistry between the lead.the female lead looks very older nd find lee minho should now act like a mature person. When he behaves childish looks so pathetic
I’m perplexed by all of the negative comments. I thought it was funny; I hope it was trying to be funny. I like that it is different and not the typical romance formula. I also enjoy sci-fi so I want to see where the story goes. I will wait and see, but I enjoyed it so far.
For those who know about television it is very clear because it has a low rating. “The script is bad.” It doesn’t matter the age of the actors. We have seen series with older actors and they have a good hook. The actor of When the phone rings is 40 years old. The series from minute 3 had a hook. Despite the fact that this series has good scenography and photography, it fails in the main thing: a good script. In addition, there is no chemistry among the main actors.
I am a fan of Lee Min Ho and watched a lot of his dramas. I waited for this drama for so long and I am not sure if disappointed is the right word. I cannot see chemistry between the 2 leads. The FL is showing she is much older than the ML. The first 2 episodes don’t connect
LMH is best in Rom Com where he is playing a chaebol, so would it be right to say his acting is somewhat limited or has he been typecast as the poor little rich boy.
i love minho so much but this time i m disappointed very disappointed