Star-studded 'Honeymoon Tavern' hits new lowest rating

Posters for tvN's variety show “Honeymoon Tavern” / Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

TvN's variety show “Honeymoon Tavern” is failing to win over viewers' hearts with its cliche-ridden concept, despite its star-studded cast that includes actors Kim Hee-sun, Teo Yoo and K-pop star Kai.

The show saw a 1.1 percent viewership rating with its latest episode on Monday, hitting its new lowest record since it began airing on July 12.

The show follows five hosts ― played by Kim, Yoo, Kai, Tak Jae-hoon, and Moon Se-yoon ― running an inn for newlywed couples in the remote Udo Island, located about 3.5 kilometers off the eastern coast of Jeju Island.

The purpose of the show is to capture the sea-breeze scenery of the island while offering a memorable experience to the couples who have been struggling to plan their weddings amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The show's producer Lee Woo-hyung described the show, “'Honeymoon Tavern' invites newlyweds, who went through a tough time to get married in this time, to enjoy food and drinks and to share their story (with the cast).”

“Viewers will be able to resonate with the characters and have a good laugh from watching the hosts and couples make jubilant memories together.”

The show started with high hopes, kicking off with a 2.5 percent viewership rating.

However, it soon fell short of the viewers' anticipation with many similarities to previous hit tvN shows like “Kang's Kitchen,” “Korean Hostel in Spain” or “Youn's Stay,” which aired earlier this year with an 11.6 percent rating. The ratings soon dropped below 2 percent and have been failing to pick up.

“The show has the format that we're already familiar with, mixing bits and pieces of other shows together,” a user wrote on an online community.

Unlike previous similar format shows that were hits, “Honeymoon Tavern” fails to show a distinctive roles for each cast member in running their own inn.

In “Youn's Stay,” for example, each cast member, led by veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, serves up specific roles in cooking and managing an overnight stay for foreign guests. They show a sense of professionalism, developing and learning the menu from a specialist, and setting guidelines for guests.

Whereas in “Honeymoon Tavern,” the cast make up the menu to serve the guest as they go, and come up with activities or features to add to their inn on the spot, which gives a ragtag feel to the inn.

Despite their skills in managing the inn, the show could still make itself interesting with the cast members having fun and interacting with each other and with guests. But their chemistry seems to be just starting to kick in.

Being only six episodes into its run so far, the show still has room to step up its game.

“Honeymoon Tavern” airs on Mondays at 10:30 p.m.