Ratings Report: ‘Women of the Movement’ Ends With Decreased Audience, ‘Ghost Doctor’ Continues To Strive
Women of the movement/ABC
Broadcast: At the heart of all film and television is a story, whether true or not, audiences can connect with characters from the camera lens. Women of the Movement is a historical drama miniseries that is based on Emmett Louis Till who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The series centers on Mamie Till-Mobley, portrayed by recent Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren, who spent her life seeking justice for her murdered son Emmett, played by Cedric Joe. With the sixth and final episode released on January 20, 2022, audiences were able to watch Marissa Jo Cerar’s interpretation of the fight that would eventually help spawn the civil rights movement. In a time when it’s vital that we accept the past, this series is needed. While this event occurred in 1955, it remains relevant to our present. Unlike other series, ABC aired two episodes at a time alongside news specials on Till ensuring that there was real-time education on the subject. The season premiere opened to a 3.12 million viewership count, but progressively lost audience members showcased in its 2.95 million viewership count on the finale. Competing at the 8:00 PM slot with Young Sheldon, it seems as though this series could not bring in more audience members as many of the demographics stayed the same for its run. Time will tell if this series will be picked up for a second series but considering that ABC promoted this as a limited series with a set ending, it does not seem plausible.
Kings of Napa/OWN
Cable: After the success of the four seasons of Claws on TNT, Janine Sherman Barrois is back with a soap opera that is executive produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Warner Bros. Television. The Kings of Napa follows a vineyard owned by the African American family Kings in Napa Valley, California. However, after the death of Reginald King, played by Isiah Whitlock Jr, his three children must adjust to their newfound positions in his empire. Starring Ebonée Noel, Karen LeBlanc, Rance Nix, Yaani King Mondschein, Devika Parikh, and Ashlee Brian this series brings a fresh perspective to the small screen. With the pilot released on January 11, 2022, this show is still fresh but did increase its viewership from 250,000 to 280,000 the next week. It premieres on Tuesday nights at 8:00 PM on OWN. While this show is not reinventing the primetime soap opera genre, it does showcase Black people in power which is hard to come by on the small screen. With 5 more episodes to come, one can only guess how successful it will be.
Our Beloved Summer
Streaming: K-Dramas continues to gain traction internationally. Following his performance in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, Choi Woo-shik stars in Our Beloved Summer as Choi Ung. This romantic comedy series is directed by Kim Yoon-jin and streams on Seoul Broadcasting System as well as Netflix. The mix of beautifully composed shots and lingering subplots playing out throughout the course of its season is leaving its mark on viewers. It revolves around Choi Ung (Woo-shik) and Kook Yeon-soo (Kim Da-mi) who made a promise to never meet again after their breakup. However, fate brings them together as their high school film goes viral forcing them to deal with a plethora of feelings in front of the cameras. While at first glance, it may sound cliché, this show strategically uses the camera to dive into the emotions between the couple. Its final two episodes aired on January 24th and January 25th, 2022, wrapping up the series. It currently is still sitting on Netflix’s top non-English television series at number 5, increasing from number 7 the previous week.
Ghost Doctors
International Series: Starring Rain and Kim Bum, Ghost Doctor is a South Korean television series directed by Boo Seong-cheol. It revolves around two doctors from vastly different backgrounds, who at its core are complete opposites. Through an unexpected case, Rain’s character Cha Young-Min possesses another doctor’s body. It premiered on tvN on January 3, 2022, and airs on Mondays and Tuesdays in the 8:30 PM time slot. With the show just releasing episode 8 of 16 on January 25, 2022, the ratings are progressively increasing. For South Korea, it has increased from 5.462% to 6.597% from January 18th to 25th. It remains number 1 nationwide, and one can contribute some of the success to Rain who has many accolades under his belt for his music and acting. Ghost Doctor seems to be attracting more audience members through its humor, sarcasm, and chemistry between the two leads.
