The highly criticized When the Stars Gossip, known as a "50 billion won failure," has finally ended, but its shadow still looms over tvN's new drama The Potato Lab.
According to Nielsen Korea on March 2, the first episode of The Potato Lab recorded a 1.7% viewership rating.
In comparison, When the Stars Gossip started at 3.3%, dropped to a record low of 1.8%, and barely managed to end at 2.6%. With such a shaky start, can The Potato Lab break free from its predecessor’s unfortunate fate?
The Potato Lab is a healing romantic comedy that takes place in, well, a potato lab! The story follows Mikyung (played by Lee Sun Bin), a woman whose life revolves around potatoes, and Baek Ho (played by Kang Tae Oh), a cold-hearted perfectionist who suddenly enters her world.
Their whirlwind romance, much like a spiral potato skewer, brings unexpected twists. The cast also includes Lee Hak Joo, Kim Ga Eun, and Shin Hyun Seung.
The drama has gained attention as Kang Tae Oh’s comeback project after his military discharge. Since completing his service in March last year, Kang carefully chose The Potato Lab from multiple offers, taking on the role of So Baek Ho, the director of organizational innovation at Wonhan Retail and the temporary head of the potato lab.
Meanwhile, its predecessor When the Stars Gossip was supposed to be a massive hit with its grand-scale space romance featuring Gong Hyo Jin and Lee Min Ho.
The drama, which took five years to prepare and cost over 50 billion won, was filmed over a year from 2022 to 2023. But despite the hype, the outcome was disastrous.
The ratings started at 3.3% and peaked at 3.9% in episode 2, only to plummet to 2.2% by episode 3. It reached an all-time low of 1.8% in episodes 5 and 7. Even the second-to-last episode struggled with just 1.8%, and the finale barely recovered to 2.6%.
Because of this, The Potato Lab now faces an uphill battle. When the Stars Gossip struggled against competing dramas like SBS’s Love Scout and JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok, as well as their successors Buried Hearts and Undercover High School. The new drama has inherited this tough time slot, making things even more difficult.
But there’s still hope! tvN’s weekend dramas often see a viewership boost on Sundays, and fans are already loving the refreshing chemistry between Kang Tae Oh and Lee Sun Bin. Plus, Kang Tae Oh’s return with a more mature image and refined acting is expected to attract more viewers.
The big question is—can The Potato Lab create its own success, or will it be another victim of When the Stars Gossip’s curse? Only time will tell!
Source: [1]
