Doctor Slump is unlikely to be renewed for Season 2 by JTBC, for multiple reasons, none of them related to the romantic-comedy’s quality. Despite being extremely well-liked among fans and critics and performing well each week, the show is likely to follow a common trend among romantic K-Dramas, which are rarely renewed.
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Doctor Slump Unlikely To Be Renewed By JTBC for Season 2
At the time of writing, there has been no official confirmation from either Netflix or JTBC about Doctor Slump Season 2, and this is unlikely to change (unless it’s to officially announce a cancellation.)
It’s worth highlighting that the K-Dramas that air on Netflix, while billed as original to the platform, are shows from Korean television that Netflix has global distribution rights for. This is why they tend to end as cynically and obviously a lot of Netflix’s in-house productions, begging for another season with a non-ending. Renewals aren’t unheard of in Korea, but they are significantly rarer than in Western TV.
This is reflected in so many of these shows being billed as a “limited series”, in other words a one-and-done season that is never intended to be continued. Recent K-Dramas including My Demon — also extremely well-liked — and The Bequeathed are similar examples.
Romantic Comedy K-Dramas Are Rarely Continued
Romantic-comedy K-dramas only tend to get one bite of the apple, and there are various reasons for this. One is that the story tends to wrap up throughout the season, leaving little scope for more. Often the rom-com genre will have a clear beginning, middle, and end, each with very expected tropes to navigate along the way, and to extend the story can often feel forced, unnatural, or contrived.
Rom-com remains one of the most popular genres among K-Drama fans by far, and a consequence of this is that the standard has to be extremely high to move the needle. That means getting the best talent on board, which can be expensive, especially if further seasons are required. Actors also often want to move on after a project or have contractual obligations elsewhere, so it can be a problem for a series to keep a grip on their cast for a long time. Often, it could be considered that it’s better to have one great season of a show that is much loved and complete, rather than trying to stretch the premise and story out, diluting what originally made it great.
Another point of consideration is that many K-Dramas are based on existing materials, like webtoons, and there isn’t enough source material to justify more of the story. This is not the case in Doctor Slump, which is an original storyline and production, but it does factor into the general rarity of renewals in the K-Drama world.
What Could Doctor Slump Season 2 Be About?
Doctor Slump mixes the central romantic premise between the two leads with a medical drama, but on a thematic level, it’s really about mental health. The hook that brings the male and female lead together is based on both of them reaching their lowest ebb through circumstances outside their control and finding support and healing in one another. This framework radically reduces possible avenues for Season 2 to explore.
If a second season were to happen, it would have to contrive new obstacles for Ha-neul and Jeong-woo to surmount, which would feel forced given how much they have already been through. Season 1 follows the trajectory of their healing, alongside the growth of their romantic relationship, so a second season would have to completely reset everything, even having them break up or encounter something that completely wrecks their mental health after a season spent learning to deal with personal crises.
If there’s any show utterly unsuited to a renewal, it’s this one.
Doctor Slump Average TV Viewership Ratings
Doctor Slump has spent six weeks in Netflix’s non-English TV Top 10
Doctor Slump ranked ninth in Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category after two days of its release and did well in 11 countries. In its second week, the series improved, becoming number one in the category. It also made it to the top of its chart in nine countries: South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, and was listed in the top 10 in a total of 31 countries.
According to Wikipedia, Episode 1 of the show saw viewers coming in at 0.938, and as the show continued, there was a steady increase, until it hit Episode 5 and Episode 6, where ironically it had a bit of a slump. However, it would get back on track by Episode 7, and by the Episode 10, it would hit a ratings high of 1.984.
Although results for Episodes 15 and 16 are still to come in, the average viewership of the show comes in at around 1.339. These numbers come from Nielson Korea.
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