In the past, the way entertainment programs gained popularity was simple.
[“How about the combination of the nation’s MC and the chief producer?”]
First, before airing, they would attract initial viewers through cast members or viral articles.
Then, they would satisfy expectations in the first episode while creating curiosity for the second episode, keeping audience ratings up.
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds back then either.
But now, it’s become even harder.
The first reason is that there’s a tendency for the cast in entertainment programs to become too predictable.
You could immediately feel this when looking at common entertainment shows.
The ages of those in the so-called youngest line are usually at least in their 30s, and at the youngest, late 20s.
This suggests that the broadcasting industry is experiencing a phenomenon of stale talent.
However, bringing in regular people isn’t easy either, making it difficult to find fresh faces.
Secondly, in today’s diversified mainstream era, it’s not easy to catch the public’s interest with typical viral content.
Sitting in front of the TV for a complete episode isn’t as common anymore.
Especially for the new generation, they often watch highlight clips edited on platforms like YouTube first and then look for the full video afterward.
As evidence, TV program ratings have been trending downward day by day.
And Hyun-woong Lim, the main producer overseeing the total direction of [Jodal Season 4] following Season 3, faced similar struggles during the editing process.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Season 4 is doomed to fail.
With simultaneous airing on Netflix, it’s not easy to flop either.
And since the previous season was a megahit, there would inevitably be a trickle-down effect.
However, paradoxically, his main concern was the pressure stemming from the megahit Season 3.
“It’s not going to be easy to do as well as Season 3… Ha-ah.”
With the higher-ups in the company having big expectations, he couldn’t shake off the sense of pressure.
“Let’s think it over again.”
Hyun-woong Lim visualized the current situation in his mind.
First, the cast.
Aside from a few participants making a comeback, each of them is a charming rookie trainee.
But the problem is,
“None of the contestants have the same impact as before.”
He needed participants to draw attention before the airing.
And in the previous Season 3, there were plenty of them.
“Three out of the four major entertainment agencies are participating.”
That’s why, despite being a newcomer, they were able to attract significant public interest by promoting the slogan “unprecedented” based on the four major agencies.
And finally, in episode one, Do-hee Lee exploded that anticipation.
“When you think about it, the show had to get good ratings, there was no way it couldn’t.”
That was the problem.
The higher-ups wanted more than that this time.
“Well, this time only one out of the four, Zy, is participating, and the participant Baek-hwi is just a first-year trainee… They couldn’t even be the center for the title track. And you want to involve Do-hee with this? No way. That’s not happening.”
Of course, if they could just draw attention once, the participants would not be lacking in keeping the ratings going. While they weren’t at the level of the previous season, they had gathered capable trainees.
If they could just grab attention once, they were confident they could boost ratings through editing.
“In the end, it seems like we’d have to tie it to season three to attract buzz…”
Next, Hyun-woong Lim imagined an interesting clip that could entice viewers.
“This is quite decent.”
Hyun-woong shifted his gaze to the YouTube window on the monitor.
[JUSTDOL Season 4 [First Look] _ Wait (Rush on U) Performance]
The performance of the title track from [JustDOL Season 4] is receiving a lot of attention even before it airs.
This was a prologue that had never failed since season one through season three, so there was no way it would fail now.
Just take the stage of the title track ‘Fallen’ that was pre-released a month before [JustDOL Season 3] aired; Do-hee was the center girl and got all the attention, right?
And there was also an enormous amount of mentions for the trainees from the four major agencies.
-Whoa, who’s the handsome wink guy?
└I heard he’s from Zy, but I don’t know his name yet.
-The ending fairy in the second row is totally my style! What’s her name?
└That’s Topist Si-hwan, apparently!
-Whoa, I love the center!
“However, it seems like the mentions are still lacking compared to season three.”
That’s when the editing room door opened.
Turning his head, he saw the assistant director standing there.
“Producer, the Director wants to see you.”
“…Alright.”
Hyun-woong left the editing room and walked toward the Director’s office, wondering what the Director wanted to discuss this time.
After all, this Director was the one who arbitrarily reduced the number of members in the season three project group from eleven to seven.
‘I wonder if he’s going to spout nonsense again or not.’
As he was lost in thought, he soon arrived at the Director’s office.
As I opened the door, the director welcomed me with a cheerful face.
“Hey! You’re here, Hyun-woong!”
Since the massive success of Season 3, the director has been acting chummy.
The director gestured for me to sit.
“Come on in and take a seat. Let’s have some coffee.”
“Coffee? Ugh… What are you planning to say this time?”
But being a corporate drone, I couldn’t show my feelings.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Have you been feeling overwhelmed lately? Your face looks pale.”
As I sat down, the director started rambling with empty words.
“Really?”
“Yeah! No matter how important it is, take it easy.”
After a few rounds of small talk.
Clank
The director set down the coffee cup they were sipping from.
Now the director’s expression turned serious.
“So, is the editing going well now?”
“Ah, we’re getting to the point.”
“Yes, the participants this time are decent enough, so I think it should be alright.”
“Hmm, if you think they’re decent, then they probably are.”
But the director’s eyes still seemed unsatisfied.
“Right. You should be aware that there are high expectations from above for this project group.”
I couldn’t possibly ignore that.
I was feeling the pressure because of it.
I might regret that Season 3 was a mega hit at this rate.
“Uh, well…”
“Right. They’re discussing using this group as a stepping stone into the entertainment industry, so it’s a very important project.”
Hyun-woong Lim listened quietly.
“We have to choose the right members. Oh, but that doesn’t mean I’m asking for manipulation, right? Like with Seasons 1 and 2, that would backfire. Right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But the broadcasting edits have to be provocative, right? And, of course, the ads would be great too.”
Hyun-woong suddenly recalled a few participants.
“Speaking of which, there were those participants who got into a fistfight during practice.”
Unlike the girls, conflicts arose directly when the boys practiced together.
Both of them were fine, so I was thinking of editing accordingly based on viewers’ reactions and portraying their growth story, but…
“Well… I understand. Let’s make it provocative.”
“Right, right. We absolutely need to pull good ratings…”
The director trailed off.
Jang was rambling nonsense.
“So, I’ve heard that the trainee from Zy is a childhood friend of a Seven member?”
Producer Hyun-woong Lim also thought it was a good topic to spark some interest.
Just mentioning it in the first episode would likely draw in decent ratings.
“Ah, yes. That will be mentioned too.”
“Make sure to tie it in a bit more.”
The director’s sudden declaration left me baffled.
“Uh…? You mean Do-hee?”
It wasn’t about feeling sorry for Do-hee or anything emotional.
‘Of course, she’s cute… but that has nothing to do with me.’
The important thing was that Seven was bringing in a lot of money for the parent company.
And now they want to tie it all together?
“The higher-ups are going to be heavily opposed, you know. Especially since Seven is doing so well right now.”
The director chuckled.
“The higher-ups have agreed.”
That was an unexpected reply.
“Seven? Right. They’re flying high. But there’s only about half a year left for them. How much more could they possibly bring in?”
Before I could even ask why, the director explained.
“Hyun-woong, this project group lasts for two and a half years. That’s much longer than the one and a half years Seven will last.”
The director made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
A gesture representing money.
“The duration is longer, too. Plus, boy groups have double the profit margins compared to girl groups. What reason would there be not to do it?”
Certainly, from a profitability standpoint, if [Aggressive Season 4] did well, there was no reason to hesitate.
But there was one hitch.
No matter how much the parent company, LE, stood in a dominant position, they couldn’t completely ignore the Big Four agencies.
“If Js, Zy, and Haru are all involved, there’s a chance it could become a problem…”
The director made an exasperated expression.
“So you want me to just touch Do-hee? Do you think they would hate that? Not at all.”
Then the director stood up.
“In fact, they’d probably be happy about it. There’s absolutely no reason for them to dislike it.”
He approached me.
“If you were them, would you want this next-gen competitor Do-hee to keep thriving?”
Then he patted Hyun-woong on the shoulder.
“So just go for it. Hyun-woong.”
After a moment of contemplation, the main PD nodded.
The truth of the matter wasn’t particularly important.
‘As long as I can draw in early attention, that’s all that matters.’
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