Possible extension for Personal Taste
Producers for MBC’s Personal Taste are currently in
talks to extend the drama another four episodes, bringing the total to
20 rather than the scheduled 16.
A source with MBC’s drama department stated, “We are sounding out the
issue of an extension cautiously. In the event the cast members agree
to the extension, we are looking into four more episodes. This will be
decided within this week.” A different source within the same department
said, “We haven’t decided whether to extend the drama so we don’t know
how many more episodes there will be. The production company is also
deliberating whether to extend or not.”
Getting the exhausted actors onboard for an extra two weeks has been
indicated as a prime issue, as they may not feel up to more all-nighters
and hectic shooting schedules. Also, actor Kim Ji-suk
is scheduled to enter army service just four days after the intended
finale. The production will have to figure out how to manage without
him, or work something else out.
The drama is managing with ratings numbers that are okay, but not
great (low- to mid-teens). Still, in context the performance has been
relatively strong, and this is the station’s highest-performing show in
this slot since 2008, considering that MBC has had failure after failure
(numbers-wise; I’m not talking quality here) in the Wednesday-Thursday
race. (You can read more in this post, which details
the trend.) As such, there’s some hope that Personal Taste
may begin a revival for the broadcaster.
Furthermore, Lee Min-ho is once again attracting
buzz for his performance, and as with his star-making turn in last
year’s Boys Before Flowers, he’s setting fashion trends (for
Jin-ho’s breezy, office-casual stlye) and getting more CF deals as a
result. As the romance with Sohn Ye-jin heats up,
viewer responses have been generally favorable.
Personally, I could swing either way on this. My default setting is
to oppose extensions, because even a well-paced and skilled drama may be
derailed by sudden changes. I can think of tons more examples of dramas
that were hurt by extensions than were benefited by them; if it neither
hurts nor benefits, I’d call it a victory. (One pretty benign example: Dal
Ja’s Spring.) Personal Taste is rather breezy and I’m
content with its writing, so it could pull through… but I’m reminded of Pasta,
on the other hand, and certainly wouldn’t be crushed if they kept it to
16.
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