Despite introducing cast as Jang Won Young’s and Yoo Ah In’s lookalikes, “Love Catcher in Bali” ended up as a failure

“Love Catcher in Bali” failed to attract viewers like other dating shows and recently wrapped up in silence.

Compared to other popular dating programs, such as “Heart Signal” and “Transit Love”, “Love Catcher” didn’t even appear in hot topics. Despite casting beautiful and handsome men and women with outstanding backgrounds, the recognition of the show itself and the popularity of the cast members were all poor.

“Love Catcher” is a program that is like a high-level mind game by dividing the cast members into two types, “love catchers” (good men and women who visit the love mansion with hidden identities to find their true love) and “money catchers” (those who seduce love catchers to win the prize money).

Following “Love Catcher” in 2018, “Love Catcher 2” in 2019, and “Love Catcher in Seoul” in 2021, the season this year was named “Love Catcher in Bali” as it allowed the cast to have a trip to Bali. In “Love Catcher in Bali”, new rules, such as “secret night” and “final days”, were launched, and overseas filming was conducted for the first time. However, viewers’ responses were not enthusiastic and the showed ended on January 13th without a hot topic.

Introducing the cast by referring to celebrities, such as “Jang Won Young’s lookalike” Hwang Soo Ji, “Han So Hee’s lookalike” Lee Yoo Jung, “Song Hye Kyo’s lookalike” Kim Hyo Jin, “Lee Hyo Ri’s lookalike” Choi Tae Eun, and “Yoo Ah In’s lookalike” Kim Yoon Soo, “Love Catcher in Bali” still failed to arouse public attention. In fact, despite having outstanding appearances, the members left no special impression.

In addition, there was no new and fresh content because the rules and the benefits were literally similar to the previous seasons. The only change was that the program moved its filming background from Korea to another country and let everyone have a short conversation with the money catchers. 

The fact that the long-awaited 1:1 dates did not proceed until the program went halfway was enough to reduce viewers’ interest. According to the nature of dating reality programs, subtle emotional lines of the cast members when it comes to 1:1 matching dates are normally the most attractive parts, however, “Love Catcher in Bali” didn’t give the cast a chance to show that. That’s why there was no environment to stimulate fierce competition throughout the program. 

Meanwhile, “Transit Love 2” gained more explosive reactions after each episode because it showed the psychological tension and complex emotions through the past relationships of couples that had broken up. Relationships and psychology are the most important factors for a dating reality program.

The excessive interference of the panelists, including Jeon Hyun Moo, Jang Do Yeon, Joo Woo Jae, Gabee, and Kim Yo Han, was also criticized. As the panelists’ studio commentary scenes were as long as the proportion of the cast members, it broke viewers’ immersion into the couples’ stories.

In particular, the panelists seemed to be in a hurry to express their personal opinions, such as branding certain cast members as money catchers or openly saying that they would like certain cast members’ identities to be revealed.

There was another reason for the creaking. It was pointed out that the sudden cancellation of the scheduled episode (episode 4) broke the viewing flow. The cancellation of the broadcast without proper announcement was enough to be criticized by fans in a situation where it had not yet gained recognition.

“Love Catcher in Bali”, which did not meet expectations, only proved that “No younger brother matches his older brother”. If the next season is produced, it seems necessary to make a change that can captivate viewers.

Source: Naver