thank you for this comment srsly. and drama fans arent the only ones to do this but its infuriating every single time it happens. I'm ambivalent about both Doctors and BM but its pretty obv why the former is more popular than the latter. plus BM is essentially a procedural where if u dont have much interest in medical mysteries, there is definitely not enough OTHER things happening unrelated to medical shit to hold a viewer's interest. whereas Doctors mainly uses its hospital as a backdrop than anything else. from what i've seen ne way. i'm not even knocking either drama, since i have my issues with both. and am not a fan of medical genre in general but people acting like BM is somehow masterpiece theater to Doctors' trashy reality tv show is so absurd to me???
BM isnt /that/ great to deserve this much defensiveness and ofc people would rather watch a fun love story with a winsome heroine and an attractive male lead (kim rae won does nothing for me but i am a minority in that respect haha I love PSH tho.) whereas Jang Hyuk's hero is obv not as "swoony" and gonna be honest but Park So Dam or at least her chara in BM is just lacking on so many levels.
and tbh i think the drama getting cut down can only help its quality. just cut down on the case of the week shenanigans and bam ur good. (I can go into a whole other rant about DOTS and IRY and all the elitist foolishness that went on there but i'll refrain haha)

Tai.

I agree with everything you said. BM is a creative, new approach to kdramas...but I've been watching American and British medical/crime/psychological thrillers for yearssss and BM can't even be compared. However, kdramas can do slice and life and romance really well, and make it entertaining, whereas other international shows can't.

As for the defensiveness, it's pretty obvious it's a mixture of three things - one, people genuinely liking the BM genre better, which is fine. Two, pity staning because the ratings are so atrocious. Three, people not being able to handle the fact that "subpar" "overrated" romance, slice of life drama, starring PSH, of all people, is beating ifan favorite Jang Hyuk, and "Chungmuro Darling" and supposed "Monster Rookie" Park So Dam. Apparently because she was in that one KDW movie and some indie/prestige projects in Chungmuro, we ALL need to proclaim she's an amazing actress and not completely and utterly overhyped and overrated...But, I digress.

If the ratings were closer together, and PSH wasn't the lead in Doctors, there wouldn't be such over the top comments.

Also, full offense, if people really think BM is an underrated masterpiece that will go down as one of the best dramas in recent memory...They should work on getting some better taste.

Let's not forget: as international fans, we have the privilege to watch our shows when and where we want to, without having to adhere to the broadcasting schedule. There have been months were I was only watching Wednesday/Thursday dramas-- but ALL of the W/T dramas. Audiences viewing on the television have to make 1 choice about what they want to see FIRST, and that's the one that counts.

Further, many viewers of BM would agree that the 1st 4 episodes could be frustruating and that the drama really gained momentum in the 3rd week. As someone who watches all of my television through the internet, I have can give a show 2-3 weeks to grab my heart-- the Korean audiences who make up these polling numbers are in a different position.

yisoon.

Right. And maybe, well not maybe, but the case is that korean audiences are tuning into Doctors a lot more than BM.

Also, a note for international audiences.

People have been saying that BM is a "runaway hit" internationally, basically insinuating it's more of a hit internationally than Doctors.

It's harder to gauge, but Doctors has been sold to over ten countries...and I have no clue how many BM is sold too.

Also, if we want to look at something like Viki....for a drama people claim is so well loved over Doctors. BM has about over a thousand ratings, and around twenty thousand followers on viki...Doctors has close to four thousand ratings and over sixty thousand followers.

So....umm...yeah.

"Also, full offense, if people really think BM is an underrated masterpiece that will go down as one of the best dramas in recent memory…They should work on getting some better taste."

Now, now. Who is being a hollier than thou, condescening jerk ?

Big hug to you m'lady/m'lord who mentioned FX's The Americans here! I literally live for series like it (& Breaking Bad, Mr. Robot, etc) - the kind which masterfully explores the complexity of humanity and poses thought-provoking question on what is it really to be good/bad as a human being AND is produced in the highest quality. They came with a price though; I find questioning humanity a little bit depressing if overdone ^^" So that's why I came to watch and enjoy kdramas like Doctors every now and then (even DoTS ehem) in which I seek some kind of light in all their dreamy fluffy pretty fairytale glory to balance the dark. Well I'm a Jedi like that.

But then, I stumble across Beautiful Mind. ldk about "better" (I personally hate this particular word tbh), but I find the approach in acting, characterization, and writing indeed very "different" from most kdramas in a way that delightfully resonates with my taste. Most importantly though, flawed it may be, for me it surprisingly manages to provide not only that kdrama-esque light I seek but also a quite thoughtful and grounded insight on human complexity, thus giving me an experience I almost never had before. This being a mere generic medical procedural drama fortunately never crosses my mind.

tldr.
1. Just because two things are different doesn't mean that one has to be better or worse than the other.. or that you must hate one to love the other.
2. Fans of BM, i second all these arguments on the fact that Korean audiences are not solely the one to blame. I know we're in a lot of pain, but gushing on other's fortune will never heal it. Let's just focus and count on our beautiful Wi-Fi couple for that OK? *winks*
3. I too have watched lots of series from all over the world for years, so yeah it's not like it's the best ever, but I hella love BM. It makes me happy. It's also been through a lot lately with the cut and all, so give it a lil break would you guys? Pretty please..?
4. On a hopefully more cheerful note, I hold both Jang Hyuk & Kim Raewon responsible for climate change bcs to me they're both so darn hot. Don't ever make me choose, it's a crime.

Peace, chingu. There's already too much bloodshed in this world as it is.

Thanks for proving my point about BM fans haha....damn, the truth really does hurt.

@nara
If you haven't heard of it already, I also warmly recommend the TV series Black Mirror (showing the chilly combination of extremes in human emotion and technology) and Humans (searching for the human in the machine).

@YBM you watch Black Mirror too? omg apparently I'm not so alone in the world after all.. ^^ anyway I haven't heard of Humans so I just checked it out and it looks amazing! It is so in my watch list now, thank you so much for the recommendation :D

@ReallyBadDrama I actually was among the many who were extremely appalled by the first 4 episodes and seriously considered dropping it then. I decided to give it one more week though and I'm so grateful I did. If a drama could have redemption arc, BM does and it slays. Right now it is nothing like it was before. I warmly suggest giving it another chance, perhaps then you may see why the rating doesn't continue to fall and fade into oblivion (indicating some people stay watching and supporting it) like you said (this is my first JH drama btw :D).. but of course it's your choice. Peace :)

*@PBY oh my I'm sorry idk what's wrong with me ^^"