Ratings in the 1st% range for 'Doctor Shin'... Has Lim Seong-han's magic reached its expiration date? [Kim No-eul's Sunset Note]

*This content was translated by AI.

Has the expiration date for Lim Seong-han (PBE) writer's melodramas finally come to an end? Despite the bold premise of brain change, the new work 'Doctor Shin' is struggling to avoid poor performance.

The TV Chosun Saturday-Sunday drama 'Doctor Shin' (script by Lim Seong-han, directed by Lee Seung-hoon), which premiered on the 14th, is a medical thriller about a genius doctor who challenges the realm of God and a woman who loses her soul after her brain is suddenly damaged. With only five episodes remaining until its conclusion out of a total of 16 episodes, the series is nearing its end.

'Doctor Shin', the first medical thriller drama by writer Lim Seong-han, drew attention even before its broadcast by tackling the unprecedented theme of brain change. In the drama, Shin Ju-shin (played by Jung Yi-chan) appears as a world-renowned brain surgery expert who dares to challenge the forbidden realm of God.

According to a press release released by 'Doctor Shin' prior to its premiere, the drama originated from writer Lim Seong-han's question: 'When we love someone, is the object of our love their soul or their body? If another soul inhabits the body of the person we love, what should take priority?'. This bold setting of swapping brains sparked both interest and concern.

In the drama, top actress Momo (played by Baek Seo-ra) falls into a coma following a scuba diving accident, while her fiancé Shin Ju-shin struggles desperately to save her. At that moment, Momo's mother, Hyun Ran-hee (played by Song Ji-in), chooses to transplant her own brain into her daughter, with Shin Ju-shin performing the surgery. The fact that Momo, the protagonist, falls into a coma before even building a connection with viewers, and that her mother's brain is transplanted into her daughter's body, is indeed a bold setting characteristic of writer Lim Seong-han.

Afterward, an endless and incomprehensible narrative unfolds. Hyun Ran-hee desires her future son-in-law Shin Ju-shin, and this leads to a series of confusing situations involving multiple characters such as Ha Yong-jung (played by Ahn Woo-yeon), Geum Ba-ra (played by Joo Se-bin), and Kim Jinju (played by Cheon Young-min).

Until now, writer Lim Seong-han has earned the moniker 'Lim Seong-han Magic' through scripts that break conventional drama grammar. Through previous works, he has repeatedly presented absurd settings such as soul separation, possession, and death while laughing. Although these plots lack logical coherence, they have gained popularity as stimulating dramas that viewers watch for their sensational appeal.

However, the new work 'Doctor Shin', released approximately three years after the 2023 conclusion of TV Chosun's 'A씨두리안', has been unable to avoid a decline in ratings. According to Nielsen Korea, the ratings started at 1.4% for the first episode but dropped to 0.9% by the fifth episode. Although they recovered to the 1st% range after the sixth episode, the ratings have remained stagnant around 1%, continuing to struggle. Given that writer Lim Seong-han previously achieved a peak rating of 57.3% with MBC's 'Report Again and Again' and set the highest-ever drama ratings record for TV Chosun with 'Marriage Contract Divorce Composition', the box office failure of this 'Doctor Shin' is expected to remain a painful outcome.

So, what is the reason why 'Doctor Shin', which has generated a 'meme' for every work by writer Lim Seong-han, has been ignored by viewers? The most significant reason cited is viewer fatigue with Lim Seong-han's unique grammar. The cumulative fatigue among viewers has grown due to plots that push forward sensationally without logical coherence, and the writer's distinctive character relationships and unique dialogue are also criticized for being out of step with current trends.

Genre dissonance cannot be overlooked. While 'Brain Change' succeeded in generating buzz, it is seen as one of the reasons viewers turned away that, despite being marketed as a medical genre, it essentially contains the continuous romantic entanglements that writer Lim Seong-han has repeatedly presented, offering no real differentiation. For viewers expecting the thrill of a genre drama, the series is a continuous string of settings that can only lead to disappointment.

'Doctor Shin' has only five episodes remaining until its conclusion. Having long passed the halfway point, there are no signs of recovery. Therefore, 'Doctor Shin' must gather the 'energy of the universe' to ensure that remaining viewers do not abandon the series.

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*This content was translated by AI.