A week ago, 'Full House' premiered on Capital City TV and Zhedong TV, airing six episodes over three consecutive days. The viewership ratings surged from 1.13% to 1.75%, an astonishing increase that sparked a massive buzz among viewers.
This urban romance drama followed a comedic and romantic path. In Lu Chen's dream world, the original series marked the beginning of Korean dramas' shift from tragedy to comedy, becoming a landmark work in the genre's history.
The original series had premiered in South Korea with a viewership rating exceeding 34%, averaging 31.9% across its run, with a peak rating of 47%. It was subsequently broadcast in over thirteen countries, including China, the United States, and Japan, achieving remarkable success in each market.
Now, Lu Chen has completely reimagined the series, enriching the plot and characters, and even deepening and revising the male lead's personality. These changes completely addressed the original's flaws, elevating the drama's brilliance far beyond its source material.
With such confidence, Lu Chen boldly declared his ambition to "average three and peak at four"!
'Full House' lived up to Lu Chen's expectations. In just six episodes, it crushed Xiangnan TV's 'Vast Sea Of Love', showcasing an unparalleled dominance.
On July 29th, episodes seven and eight aired, achieving viewership ratings of 1.97% and 2.25% respectively!
This consistently terrifying upward trajectory was almost unheard of. Most TV dramas experience irregular fluctuations in viewership, making 'Full House''s continuous linear growth exceptionally rare.
By this point, even those prejudiced against Lu Chen had to admit his success. He had not only triumphed again but was also on track to set new records and milestones.
In South Korea, 'Full House''s viewership had already surpassed 30%, prompting KGS to intensify its promotional efforts.
Online, the drama's fanbase continued to swell. Its Wave Blog followers exceeded one million, while related forums and online communities remained buzzing with activity.
Lu Chen, playing the male lead, a mega-star, and Chen Fei'er, portraying the female lead, an online novelist, rode the wave of this TV drama to gain another massive surge in popularity. They became the undisputed most popular and best on-screen couple in the country.
The drama's meticulous shooting style, breathtaking foreign scenery, and intricately woven plot, combined with the charismatic and resolute male lead and the adorably naive yet beautiful heroine, created a heartwarming and romantic story that captivated audiences.
In stark contrast to the tragic melodrama of 'Autumn in My Heart', this TV drama aimed squarely at delivering joy and delight. The characters' witty and humorous dialogue, filled with memorable lines, quickly went viral online.
Viewers are the ultimate arbiters. With the remote control in their hands, they can switch channels instantly if a drama, even one with a hundred-million-yuan budget, a star-studded cast, and countless hours of painstaking production, fails to resonate with them. There's no room for sentimentality or loyalty; if it doesn't click, it's gone.
Yet these viewers were also the most selfless. When they loved an episode, they would eagerly recommend it to friends and family, even engaging in heated online debates with detractors.
The hyper-connected digital age made it incredibly easy for audience opinions to spread. Through WeChat, Feixin, blogs, and forums, a single person's view could instantly reach millions!
As word-of-mouth for 'Full House' continued to ferment over time, its rising viewership became inevitable, its potential seemingly limitless.
However, the rise of a successful project often comes at the expense of countless failures. The project 'Full House' used as a stepping stone was undoubtedly Xiangnan TV's 'Vast Sea Of Love'.
Ironically, Xiangnan TV had originally rushed to premiere 'Vast Sea Of Love' and directly compete with 'Full House' for ratings, aiming to crush the latter and prove itself the undisputed king of the summer season.
'Vast Sea Of Love' had a strong debut, and its production quality was actually quite decent. However, as a derivative tragedy riding the coattails of trends, its greatest tragedy lay in choosing to go head-to-head with 'Full House'.
Xiangnan TV remained oblivious to the shifting tastes of viewers, stubbornly clinging to the belief that they could replicate the success of 'Autumn in My Heart'. They blindly trusted their own infallible promotional hype, arrogantly refusing to acknowledge Lu Chen's 'Full House' as a formidable rival.
In their eyes, 'Full House' should be the one avoiding 'Vast Sea Of Love's' spotlight, not the other way around.
But the market ruthlessly taught them otherwise, slapping the faces of those who had hyped 'Vast Sea Of Love' while disparaging 'Full House' again and again!
On July 30th, 'Full House' aired its ninth and tenth episodes, achieving viewership ratings of 2.75% and 2.96% respectively!
The highest rating was just 0.04% shy of breaking the 3% mark!
Meanwhile, in South Korea, 'Full House''s viewership ratings had surpassed 35%, confidently striding toward the 40% milestone.
Before even half of its episodes had aired, 'Full House' had already become a phenomenon.
It firmly held the top spot among all television programs airing concurrently, leaving other dramas far behind. It had essentially secured the summer ratings crown, and barring an unprecedented upset, its position remained unshakeable.
In stark contrast, 'Vast Sea Of Love''s viewership plummeted to around 1%, which was a truly humiliating figure.
While the early episodes of this Xiangnan TV flagship drama showed some promise, its true nature as a melodramatic soap opera became glaringly apparent by the mid-season. Unable to escape the shadow of 'Autumn in My Heart''s formula, the plot offered little to anticipate, leaving viewers feeling like they were chewing on wax.
The fact that it managed to cling to a 1% rating was solely due to the support of fans of the idol stars in the cast.
Online, particularly on Wave Blog, the primary battleground for drama promotion, posts hyping 'Vast Sea Of Love' dwindled dramatically. Anyone with a shred of sense knew the drama was beyond salvation; continuing to pour marketing funds into it would be sheer folly.
Within the industry, the starkly contrasting performances of the two TV dramas sparked a surge of rational discussion.
Why had Xiangnan TV's "magic weapon" for dominating the market failed? How could such a dramatic shift from tragic melodrama to romantic comedy consistently win over audiences? Had domestic TV dramas reached a critical juncture where innovation and change were essential?
All these questions warranted deep reflection.
Amidst this industry-wide introspection, Lu Chen's status quietly soared. As the male lead, screenwriter, producer, composer, and other key roles behind the phenomenal hits 'Autumn in My Heart' and 'Full House', he had yet to achieve the full gravitas of a true industry titan. Nevertheless, his popularity and reputation now placed him among the elite.
Most importantly, he was still young… remarkably young.
Youth meant limitless potential for the future!
(End Of This Chapter)
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