We discuss whether there will be a Season 2 of the Netflix K-Drama series The Good Bad Mother and its renewed or canceled status.
It’s hard to properly pinpoint a genre for a series like The Good Bad Mother, and that’s certainly no drawback. In a way, it draws from slice-of-life shows, focusing on things like the preciousness of life, the rawness of grief, and the almost desperate joy that can come with getting a second chance to undo misguided deeds.
But at the same time, this is a K-Drama laced with revenge and crime storylines, separating it from shows of the ilk of Reply 1988.
Continuing, what The Good Bad Mother does boast, in addition to its diverse storytelling, is truly noteworthy performances. Lee Do-hyun is magnetic as Choi Kang-ho, a prosecutor who, in the near ruthless pursuit of justice over his father’s death, gets involved in a car accident which sets his mental age back to that of a 7-year-old. His depiction of this grapples with so many emotions, all of which are seamlessly translated to the viewer.
Just as strong is Ra Mi-ran as Jin Young-soon, a mother re-shaped by the tragic death of her husband. Watching the pig farmer go from a strict mother to a vulnerable carer is genuinely striking and among the series’ highlights from a performance standpoint.
Ratings-wise, it’s clear viewers have enjoyed watching The Good Bad Mother too. The show’s ratings have grown impressively from week to week, peaking at 9.956% of Korea’s cable audience share as of episode 10.
Considering the series consistently scores highly on the Netflix global top ten rankings, too, there’s definitely a sizeable internal audience base to go along with domestic watchers.
Here at Ready Steady Cut, we gave season one of The Good Bad Mother a 4/5 rating, saying: “If you’re wanting something syringed with high-stakes emotion, though carefully smattered with slice-of-life style storytelling, The Good Bad Mother may be for you. At the very least, it will give you something poignant to reflect on.”
Will there be a Season 2 of the K-Drama series The Good Bad Mother – renewed or canceled status
Unfortunately, it does seem like The Good Bad Mother will be coming to an end once next week’s finale is over. Although there is no official word on the show’s renewal status, the story seems to be reaching its apex, and once wrapped up, it will be extremely difficult to take it in any new direction, particularly given Young-soon (a key component of the show) has a terminal illness.
This is obviously normal with Korean Dramas, which often never extend past their initial run. Those that do, like Alchemy of Souls, have clear reasons for a return, something The Good Bad Mother does not.
With that being said, this has been an extremely well-written show full of heart, emotion, and room for reflection, so it will no doubt be missed. So, with just one week left to go, it’s best to enjoy it while it’s here. And who knows, maybe we’ll end up shocked, and it’ll return.
