Song Hye Kyo and Jun Ji-hyun’s names don’t guarantee a high rating anymore, the “Tae-Hye-Ji” tag doesn’t work anymore.
As the rating of “Mount Jiri” and “Now We’re Breaking Up” are both sluggish, the “Tae-Hye-Ji” tag doesn’t work anymore.
Kim Tae-hee, Song Hye-kyo, and Jeon Ji-hyun are called the “Tae-Hye-Ji” trio which stands for the three representative beauties of the entertainment industry. These are actresses who have the star aura, outstanding beauty as well as their excellent acting skills. As such, the three actors are also receiving a lot of expectations and attention, but their reputation has been shaken recently.
Among “Tae-Hye-Ji,” actors Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun still cannot show off their formidable power as much as before in their currently airing work. The two are each other’s rivals at the moment as both are appearing in dramas that air Saturday evening, but surprisingly, they still lose the No.1 spot in terms of the viewer rating of that specific time slot.
First, Jun Ji-hyun tried to dominate the viewers’ heart once again through tvN’s weekend drama “Mount Jiri” which first aired on the 23rd of last month. The name of writer Kim Eun-hee, who wrote “Signal” and “Kingdom,“ and director Lee Eung-bok, who directed “Goblin”, made people highly expect a legendary combination of the hottest writer, director, actor. Its previous work “Hometown Cha Cha Cha” ended with the highest ratings in the final episode, which meant a natural influx could be expected.
At first, these expectations were intact with the ratings. In the first two episodes, it recorded a double-digit audience rating (10.7%). Jun Ji-hyun was highly expected to release another hit, but the show immediately fell down to a low rating of 7-8%.
After that, Song Hye-kyo has started her chase as well through SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Now We’re Breaking Up”.
Song Hye-kyo, who returned to the small screen after two years, chose a melodrama once again. It was a risky challenge as she faced criticism that it was a “boring” choice even though it meant she could show a safe and familiar appearance to the viewers. In response, Song Hye-kyo was confident, saying, “It will be different from before because I’m more mature now during the filming of this melodrama,” but viewers still cannot find a clear difference from her previous works.
Nevertheless, expectations for actor Song Hye-kyo remained, and the series announced a fresh start with a viewer rating of 8% for the first broadcast week. However, the rating has been on the decline for two consecutive weeks and is trapped in the 7% range.
Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun’s names don’t guarantee a high rating anymore, “The Red Sleeve” is leading
It is MBC’s Friday-Saturday drama “The Red Sleeve” that exquisitely dug a gap during the sluggish performance of the two aforementioned stars. Started on the same day as Song Hye-kyo’s “Now We’re Breaking Up” and even aired at the same time slot, the show obviously got less attention beforehand, but a twist is happening after words start to spread about this drama.
“The Red Sleeve” started with a rating of 5% in the first week, which might have been pushed back by the other two dramas, but jumped to 7% in just a week. On the 26th and 27th of Nov, it ranked first in the same time slot with 8.8% and 9.4%. Combining all weekend dramas, it is the second-highest record after KBS2’s “Gentleman and Lady.”
“The Red Sleeve” is joined by actors Lee Joon-ho and Lee Se-young, as well as actors Lee Deok-hwa, Park Ji-young, and Jang Hye-jin. Although there are a large number of great actors, it was difficult to expect a high result when their rivals are the stars Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun. However, it is the work itself that is able to reverse this.
Recently, a feast of colorful stars returned to the TV drama shows’ area. Earlier, actors Jeon Do-yeon, Ko Hyun-jung, and Lee Young-ae returned one after another, but even those who were called the “viewer rating guarantee checks” could not even smile as their performance was underwhelming. It is now proven that the success of a drama series can no longer be guaranteed just by the value of its cast’s name.