Solo Dodo

I look at it from a lot of different perspectives: Plot development, act breaks, episode length. There are real-world reasons why different series have different lengths & structures. What to me is most important is working as well as possible within the constraints.

Global streaming companies like Netflix make their money from subscriptions, so shorter seasons are preferred.

Dramas from local broadcast networks like SBS need more episodes because they earn money from commercial breaks. But the streamers such as Netflix need content (much more than they can produce themselves), so they partner with the local networks. That's what happened here.

SBS is broadcasting Phantom Lawyer in SK on a twice-weekly basis. In the old days, they would have dragged it out, showing only one episode per week. But because of a deal with Netflix, they sped it up. The more popular a show, the more locals watch & the more money SBS makes from ads. Netflix is paying them for global distribution rights, which lowers SBS' financial risk should the ratings drop. But Netflix has to wait until after each episode has already aired on SBS in SK before they can make it available online. The protects SBS so SK viewers who want to watch the latest episode right away need to do so on their network.

Netflix-produced shows have shorter seasons which are released all at once, not over time. The same goes for other global streamers (called OTT in industry-speak) like Amazon Prime & Disney+. They all typically have fewer episodes than the local broadcast networks. Sometimes each episode is of a longer length, so that the overall season of an 8- or 10-episode OTT drama has the same overall length (in minutes) as a 16-episode local broadcast network series.

Some dramas are co-productions (like Crown Prince which is co-produced by MBS & Disney+) fall somewhere in-between. The OTT pays more money to get involved in the production. These shows usually have larger budgets and are popular both locally and globally. CP has 12 episodes of a slightly-longer duration of approximately 75 minutes each.

You'd think it'd be obvious that blocking the rating of episodes prior to release & series before completion would be a no-brainer! But we've got to have a discussion about it. And still nothing is likely to change. I cannot think of any good reasons why this is THE unanswered question going back probably to when MDL first launched.

It's been a long time coming, and yet such a big part of what makes this script great!

It really was. And you did exactly what I would! May this fuel you through your next study binge!

That is THE unanswered question going back probably to when MDL first launched. I cannot think of any good reasons.

I'm just thankful that he does not resent his sister for his mother's death (unlike their father.)

You'd think it'd be obvious that blocking the rating of episodes prior to release & series before completion would be a no-brainer! But we've got to have a discussion about it. And still nothing is likely to change.

Disney+ then streams the episodes globally to their subscribers, and host the series for years to come. (Also pirate services stream it on the internet, but that's another story.)

Disney+ original series (where they don't partner with a domestic broadcast studio) are typically shorter—8 to 10 episodes. This is likewise true for Netflix. And original series tend to drop all at once. The OTT streaming services do not have any financial reasons to release episodes over time as do the broadcast networks (again, for the purpose of running commercial breaks for paid advertisements.)

The domestic broadcast networks get a lot of money from the OTT streaming companies, which partially offsets their need to run ads, which explains how seasons have become shorter with fewer episodes. And the OTT services get content from the broadcast networks. (And they can't get enough of it!) It's a negotiated compromise between the two types of content providers.

True. I'm just amazed by the fact that she was literally scouring the land for suitable candidates and 2ML was literally in her circle the entire time, yet entirely overlooked. And I doubt she was considering his "5 year term" drawback then.

Thank you. I concur with all four points.

True dat!

OTT = Over The Top, refers to any streaming service like D+, Netflix, etc. The term originated from the little boxes that sat atop a tv set during the infancy of the technology. Now it's either built-in to the TV or part of your Wi-Fi internet.

And Streaming just means it is digital internet, where you watch while it downloads. Again, this is an old term originally intended to differentiate the technology from other media such as DVDs and BluRay discs.

Broadcast refers to the original networks (how it used to be) way back when TV stations used radio waves to send signals to homes who had antennas on their roofs. This started to transition to cable TV in the early 1980's (wires replaced airwaves), then eventually everything migrated to the internet.

Crown Prince is a production by a collaboration between a global OTT Streaming service (Disney+) and a domestic Broadcast Network (MBC) in South Korea. This collaboration explains why we get only two episodes per week, instead of all at once.

MBC owns the rights to South Korea, and it is in their best interest to air only a couple episodes per week. (In the old days we'd only get one episode per week!)

This allows them to build up interest over time and maximize their profits from running advertisements during commercial breaks. The time clock at the top of this page counts down to when the episodes begin to be broadcast by MBC in South Korea. International viewers have to wait until an episode has completed before Disney+ begins to stream. This is by contract between the two partners. If Disney began to stream early, MBC would lose viewers who would instead watch it elsewhere. They still lose viewers who watch it later, but retain first-viewing rights. The more popular the series, the more likely Koreans will watch it on MBC than on D+.

OK. Ignore the lecture if you want—it's kinda long but I think it is interesting, so I'll type it all out in my next reply.

I expect the Disney product placement team reached out to a number of automobile manufacturers and Huyndai/Genesis didn't bite, but Mercedes did. The crocs placement is probably causing a buzz in the industry becuase it was likely very effective because it is so funny, precisely because it was so unexpected!

Subway paid extra for their script treatments. A little obvious, but very well executed.

I was surprised by ep 5's fried chicken scene 'cos it played exactly like a product placement, but there was no brand! So that scene is just funny as it is, but might have been originally intended as an advertisement. The only global chicken brand I can think of is KFC (owned by Pepsi), but I dunno if they have any presence in SK like they do in Japan. (Going back to Genesis—maybe they don't have the global reach to justify placement.)

Oh you just had to go burst that bubble, didn't you! Lol. This is why I prefer to skip the previews—it's either spoilers or else complete misdirection! But this drama had to attach essential epilogues at the end, so what am I to do?

It's worth noting that the PM never even came to mind during ep 1 when she was searching far & wide for suitable candidates. He was so far within her friend zone that she didn't even consider him as a man!

Me too, but that last cliffhanger—Oh my! 😳

And meanwhile he was probably thinking it'd be worth resigning to be her boy toy!

I wouldn't say contempt—or insulting. I see it more as a playful exaggeration. Flirtatious, even. No harm, no foul.

I've put all of my other dramas are on hold. Nothing has any flavor, while this series is still running.