The long-term reign of singer Lee Hyori’s “The Seasons” seems to have already come to an end
While Lee Hyori leads “Lee Hyori’s Red Carpet” (hereinafter referred to as “Red Carpet”), the fourth season of KBS 2TV’s music talk show “The Seasons”, attention is now focused on the launch of actress Lee Young-ae’s talk show.
On Feb 5th, KBS announced that they are planning a talk show featuring Lee Young-ae as the MC. If the program production is confirmed, it will mark Lee Young-ae’s first time as a fixed entertainment show MC since her debut. Regarding reports that discussions are underway to invite Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani, who is making a splash in Major League Baseball (MLB), as the first guest, KBS drew a line, stating that they are “baseless rumors”.
The issue arises from the possibility that this talk show could be scheduled as the successor to “Red Carpet”. Daily Sports reported that this talk show is being planned as the successor to “Red Carpet”. However, KBS denied any connection between the two shows. “Red Carpet” is the fourth late-night music talk show of “The Seasons” following “Jay Park’s Drive”, “Choi Jung-hoon’s Night Park” and “Long Day, Long Night with AKMU”. It’s notable that Lee Hyori attracted significant attention even before the broadcast as she appears as the solo MC for the first time in her 26-year career. Director Choi Seung-hee, who is in charge of directing the show, said “Previously, we always selected a successor MC in advance, but this time, we didn’t choose one just in case”, leaving open the possibility of Lee Hyori’s long-term hosting.
However, despite high expectations, the viewership ratings are disappointing. Starting with a rating of 1.9% (based on Nielsen Korea nationwide) on Jan 5th, “Red Carpet” dropped to 1.0% after only two broadcasts, and further plummeted to 0.8% in the fourth episode. It barely rebounded to 1.7% in the fifth episode. There’s hardly any difference compared to previous seasons’ ratings. Considering that late-night time slot broadcasts typically have low viewership, it’s somewhat regrettable that even with a top star like Lee Hyori as the main attraction, the show failed to deliver results.
It’s been just a month since “Red Carpet” started airing. The voices that were anticipating Lee Hyori’s long-term reign have quieted down, and the production team of “Red Carpet” has faced severe criticism. It remains to be seen whether Lee Young-ae, who is in discussions with KBS for a solo talk show, will become the new main character of KBS’s small screen.
