“Please just stop making this kind of genre…”
Disney+‘s biggest K-Drama release of the year, Tempest, has fallen short of expectations—with industry insiders calling it a “major flop” considering its significant production budget—and viewers are now discussing what went wrong.
According to Good Data Corporation, Tempest struggled in comparison to other K-Dramas, as it trailed behind Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, Queen Mantis, and even You and Everything Else (which got its own “flop” talk).
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Disney+ had placed enormous expectations on Tempest, so its underperformance is leaving the streaming platform’s Korean content strategy in a shake-up. Carol Choi, the head of Original Content Strategy for Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific, had stated that Tempest is “a project that excites and intrigues Disney teams around the world.”
Yet, facing repeated criticism that “There’s nothing to watch on Disney+,” the platform continues to lose subscribers in Korea.
That all said, Korean viewers themselves are discussing the reason Tempest flopped so hard despite starring two A-list actors, Kang Dong Won and Jun Ji Hyun, and initially building such high anticipation for its premiere.
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Most agreed that the leads, in fact, were all that Tempest ultimately had to offer, as its plot, direction, and even its choice of streaming platform undermined its performance.
- “Honestly, the only reason people even watched that much was because of the leads… The story was just… sigh…”
- “The plot felt cheesy and outdated. I only finished it because of Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won.”
- “I dropped it because it was boring, but my friend who likes Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won watched it all.”
- “I had a feeling it would be old and cringe even before it started.”
- [Unrelated Comment]
- “Well then, they should’ve kept Kang Dong Won’s character alive…”
- “If it had been released on Netflix, the outcome might’ve been different. Maybe the problem was the Disney+ platform.”
- “I actually loved it, but that’s only because I like good-looking people.”
- [Deleted Comment]
- “There was no chemistry… Usually, even if a series gets super boring, people can at least squeeze something out if there’s chemistry.”
- “Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won ended up being a no no.”
- “I only watched it because of Kang Dong Won and Jun Ji Hyun.”
- “It was boring, but I still watched it.”
- “Please just stop making this kind of genre… The whole secret agents and trouble in Korea or whatever? It’s always the same old.”
Read more:
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