Issue Focus

“Season 10 Is Possible”: Korea’s Multi-Season Drama Playbook

This article illustrates how Korea’s strongest drama IPs are evolving into long-running franchises—

showing global buyers that episodic, character-driven storytelling can scale across multiple seasons

with stable audience retention and strong transmedia potential.

♦  Hit IPs Driving the Rise of Multi-Season Dramas

      • SBS’s Taxi Driver series achieved 16% and 21% in earlier seasons, returning with 11.6% by episode 4 of

          Season 3 within two weeks

      • Director calls it a mega IP capable of reaching Season 10, citing strong worldbuilding, vigilante justice

         appeal, and easy mid-series viewer entry

♦  Established Titles Expanding into New Seasons

      • tvN’s ‘Signal’ returns after 10 years with Season 2, while SBS’s ‘Good Partner’ (17.7% peak) and tvN’s

          ‘Shin’s Project’ move into additional seasons

      • Common strengths: iconic protagonists, tight universes, loyal viewer bases, and episodic formats that

          support sustainable franchise development

♦  OTT Platforms Accelerating the Season-Based Model

      • TVING’s ‘Yumi’s Cells’ prepares Season 3, Netflix’s ‘All of Us Are Dead’ produces Season 2, Disney+’s

          ‘Made in Korea’ confirmed Season 2 pre-launch

      • Exclusive IPs drive subscriptions through high-fidelity CG, webtoon adaptations, and global casting

          strategies that reinforce Korean episodic competitiveness

♦  Structural Challenges in Long-Running Series

      • Multi-season dramas face rising expectations and narrative fatigue: ‘Dr. Romantic’ S3 peaked at 16.8% vs. S2’s 27.1%

      • Producers emphasize longevity depends on expandable IP and fresh story arcs— even global hits like

          ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Sweet Home’ lost momentum by S3

Source

Yonhap News Agency. (2025.12.1)

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20251130027500005