Looking back, I first tried ChatGPT in 2023. I remember being so disappointed, thinking, “This is terrible, why is it so wrong?” But in just a few years, the game has completely changed. Things evolve daily, and new innovations keep popping up. It is hard to even guess how far this will go. Meanwhile, at the same pace, traditional broadcasting and TV are crumbling. Major variety show ratings are hovering around 3 to 4 percent. It would be great if they could find a way through OTT platforms, but that is not easy either. The bigger problem is the complacency of just standing by and watching.
It reminds me of those old neighborhood mom-and-pop shops that lost their customers as convenience stores popped up one by one. It is like an elderly couple staring blankly at dusty shelves. Luckily, they own the land, so they won’t be kicked out immediately, but they seem to lack the courage, energy, or will to close shop or change their business. I feel like a local resident who visits just because I have been a regular for decades. No matter how bad business is, shouldn’t they at least dust the shelves, turn on the lights, and figure out how to stock items you can’t find at a convenience store? Even if they eventually close, shouldn’t they at least hear people say, “It is a shame that place is gone”?
These days, terrestrial variety shows, especially talk shows, are exactly like those dusty shelves. As major entertainers move to YouTube, talk shows are now dominated by the platform. If I had to pick the most entertaining talk show across TV, OTT, and YouTube recently, it would be the episode of Yoo Jae-suk’s channel ‘Pinggyego’ featuring actors Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Nam-gil, and Yoon Kyung-ho. Despite being nearly two hours long, it easily surpassed 13 million views. With PPL attached and a lean production team, the efficiency couldn’t be better. That day, even the so-called ‘keyring’ members who usually support Yoo Jae-suk weren’t needed.
MBC’s ‘Radio Star’ and the now-ended SBS ‘Dolsing Fourmen’ had something in common: a structure where four hosts chat with a few guests, and the thing I hate most, reading questions from cue cards. Because there are so many people, the conversation often fails to blend and gets interrupted, and some guests even end up acting as mere background scenery before leaving. While broadcasters claim they are struggling financially, I wonder why so many hosts are necessary. Looking at the production environment of ‘Pinggyego,’ isn’t one person enough?
In the case of ‘Dolsing Fourmen,’ it started by showing the daily lives of divorced men but eventually settled into a talk show. Perhaps it was because it cost less to produce and was easier to make. Its successor, airing on Monday nights, is ‘Ani Geunde Jinjja!’. Since its first broadcast in February, it has reached 14 episodes. If they were going to do this well, why did they cling to ‘Dolsing Fourmen’ for so long? It is a shame they dragged it out for over half a year and endured so much criticism when they could have cleanly wrapped it up around the time Kim Jun-ho and Lee Sang-min were getting married.
The show is divided into two parts, and since different worldviews, situations, and roles are given depending on the guest, it likely takes much more effort to produce. Still, from the production team’s perspective, it must be fun to create. Lee Su-ji, who built her skills through Coupang Play’s ‘SNL’, leads the situational plays. Since unexpected situations occur frequently, quick-witted ad-libs are essential, and Tak Jae-hoon is the best in the industry in that regard. Watching them naturally brings a smile to your face. On top of this, the bright and flexible wild card, EXO’s Kai, is a total game-changer. Sitting calmly among older members like Lee Sang-min, Tak Jae-hoon, and Lee Su-ji, who belong to different genres and could be intimidating, he drops a comment here and there without any sign of nervousness. This innate variety sense is not something that comes from practice or effort.
The quality inevitably varies depending on the guest, but the identity of the program became clear in the 10th episode with Shin Dong-yup. As a master of situational comedy, Shin Dong-yup set the context, and the 11th episode, featuring actor Kim Sung-kyun and comedian Yang Sang-guk discussing Gyeongsang-do dialects, was just as funny. The setting that day was gangsters, and Yang Sang-guk hit the nail on the head with one comment: “Since when do gangsters have scripts?” He is right. It is strictly a situational play, yet they are filming with scripts open during the actual broadcast, not even during rehearsals. Even after a major overhaul and a new sign, it seems Lee Sang-min and Tak Jae-hoon still view it as a talk show. It is like they were given tailored suits for a new start, but they showed up wearing walking caps.
I had a chance to talk with Lee Sang-min when he returned through Mnet’s ‘God of Music’. I felt that his perspective was different because he had experience running a large business and planning. I wonder where that fierce determination went, the one who used to shop at fish markets at dawn to cook and wander abroad with very little money. Just as ‘Dolsing Fourmen’ eventually settled into a talk show, this rare attempt could also fade away like a bubble. The current four members are a combination that can sing, dance, and act. If utilized well, wouldn’t a project like MBC’s ‘How Do You Play?’ be possible? To compete with the soaring popularity of YouTube, a predictable talk show where people just sit and chat won’t cut it.
‘Ani Geunde Jinjja!’ has completed its remodeling after much thought and seems to be gaining momentum. If that is the case, what plan does ‘Radio Star’, which has a similar structure, have? As a viewer who has watched every single episode since it started as a 5-minute corner in ‘Golden Fishery’ in 2007 and witnessed the discovery of numerous stars, I just feel frustrated. If you have no plans for a full renovation, please at least dust the shelves and rearrange the display.
