JTBC’s Weekly Drama “Family by Choice” Faces Challenges with Low 2% Viewership Ratings

Launching on October 9, “Family by Choice” tells the poignant tale of three young adults who come together after a decade of being a family and another ten years of missing one another. This series, inspired by the Chinese drama “Go Ahead,” features performances by Hwang In-youp, Jung Chae-yeon, and Bae Hyun-sung, presenting a refreshing romantic narrative.

“Family by Choice” represents JTBC’s first weekday drama released in two months and introduces a new viewing schedule, airing two episodes back-to-back on Wednesdays. This shift marks JTBC’s return to a once-a-week drama format, last seen with “Schoolgirl Detectives” nearly a decade ago.

Historically, dramas that air once a week have faced challenges; for instance, last year’s MBC series “A Good Day to Be a Dog” peaked at a mere 2.8% before tumbling to 1.5%. Other productions, including KBS2’s “Imitation” and JTBC’s “Nevertheless,” lingered around the 1% mark, while SBS’s “Penthouse” experienced a decline in viewership during its third installment. The only notable success in this category has been “Hospital Playlist.”

Audiences frequently bypass once-a-week dramas due to their slower storytelling, driving a trend towards binge-watching. To address this issue, “Family by Choice” strives to boost viewer engagement with its unique strategy of broadcasting two episodes consecutively.

During the press event, director Kim Seung-ho expressed, “Considering the everyday aspects of the narrative, I believed it would be beneficial for viewers to enjoy two episodes back-to-back on Wednesdays. This format allows us to quickly present the continuation of the story.”

In its opening week, “Family by Choice” garnered ratings of 2.1% and 2.2% for its first and second episodes, respectively. Although these numbers are decent for JTBC this year, they still fall short of anticipated benchmarks. By the 11th, the show was positioned 9th on Tving but failed to secure a spot in Netflix’s top 10, which is disappointing for its intended viewer demographic.

The drama has a limited rebroadcast schedule, available only three times on Saturdays—twice during the late night and once in the afternoon at 3:40 PM.

For a series that airs weekly, the absence of strong word-of-mouth can significantly impede the potential for rating recovery. With its soft coming-of-age theme, “Family by Choice” is up against more formidable genre dramas, leaving its future outlook quite uncertain.

Source: Naver

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