As 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin' concludes with praise as a well-made work, there is growing interest in whether the scheduling of the follow-up 'Casino' (scripted and directed by Kang Yoon-sung) will be a boon or a bane.
On the 28th, MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin' (written by Kim Bo-tong and Yoo Seung-hee, directed by Im Soon-rye and Lee Han-jun) ended with a nationwide viewership rating of 4.2%.
A comedic fantasy action drama about a labor attorney who sees ghosts and tackles labor issues, 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin' secured a dedicated fan base with the actors' passionate performances, solid content, and smooth progression. It was praised as well-made and also succeeded in boosting its ratings.
MBC has recently been struggling with low ratings for its Friday-Saturday dramas. Following the conclusion of 'Bunny and Brothers' at 0.8%, the two-part drama 'Director Maeng's Troll' ended with a rating of 0.9%, marking a shameful back-to-back finish in the 0% range for two shows.
In contrast, the competing show on the same time slot, SBS's 'Gwigung', achieved a peak rating of 9.7%, maintaining its position as the number one show in the time slot for five consecutive weeks.
Last year, MBC won the ratings battle against SBS's 'Revival of the Seven' with 'Investigation Team Leader 1958', but since then, it has lost to SBS for nine consecutive episodes starting from 'Our Home'. The show that broke this losing streak was 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin', which recorded a peak rating of 5.6%, surpassing the SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Our Movie' starring Namgoong Min and Jeon Yeo-bin.
As 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin' reclaimed the number one spot in its time slot, opinions on the follow-up 'Casino' are mixed.
'Casino' is an original series that was released on the global OTT platform Disney+ from 2022 to 2023.
In April, 53 members of the MBC drama department, including PDs, issued a statement opposing the unilateral scheduling of 'Casino' without the consent of the MBC drama headquarters.
They pointed out concerns about the infringement of production autonomy, disruption of the already confirmed scheduling of 'Judge Lee Han-young', decreased morale and trust issues among the production team, and budget management focused on profit. They also expressed concerns that "MBC might be turning into a re-broadcasting channel."
Despite internal opposition, MBC confirmed the scheduling. MBC stated that they want to "broaden viewers' content choices through strategic curation of verified works," citing the success of the special scheduling of 'Moving' as a basis. 'Casino' Season 1 (total of 8 episodes) is set to air every Friday and Saturday at 10 PM starting July 4. Season 2 (total of 8 episodes) will be fixed for every Sunday at 10 PM starting in August.
Since 'Casino' is a work that was already released two years ago, there are evaluations that "everyone who wants to see it has already seen it." There are analyses suggesting limitations in attracting viewers. It is also pointed out that editing some scenes according to broadcasting review standards may result in a less enjoyable experience compared to the OTT 'final version'.
It remains to be seen whether 'Labor Attorney Noh Mujin' can continue the ratings rebound it created, or if it will leave a decision that damages the trust of viewers and the industry.
