From warm meals to cold shoulders: 'One Meal Show' faces dilemma in changing era

A scene from JTBC reality show "One Meal Show" / Courtesy of JTBC

Observation-style entertainment that intimately showcased the daily lives of celebrities once captivated audiences, but that focus is now shifting and ordinary people are stepping into the spotlight.

JTBC's "One Meal Show," a sequel to beloved variety series "Let's Eat Dinner Together," which concluded in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has adapted to the change. Unfortunately, the show isn't performing well.

In "One Meal Show," hosts and chefs embark on spontaneous neighborhood visits, ringing doorbells at random, sharing the stories behind each door and crafting meals from whatever ingredients are inside the hosts’ refrigerators. Yet, in a recent episode filmed in Seoul's affluent Gangnam District, Kim Hee-sun, Tak Jae-hoon and chef Lee Yeon-bok found their welcomes far from warm. Despite hopeful doorbell ringing, many people shut their doors with polite refusals.

The KBS show "Heart on Wheels" rolls out a mobile convenience store stocked with essentials into rural villages, spending nights immersed in their stories. Despite its bold ambition to foster "communication with ordinary people," the show has struggled to connect, met instead with viewer unease and critiques of its tired concept.

For two consecutive weeks, the show has also struggled to engage ordinary residents, ultimately resorting to convenience store meals — a setback that cast a shadow over the program’s very premise.

Scenes from KBS reality show "Heart on Wheels" / Courtesy of KBS

Viewers voiced sharp rebukes, calling the show "outdated," with comments like, "Are celebrities entitled to expect open doors?" Others said, "Revealing one’s face and home makes them vulnerable targets" and "In today’s world, welcoming strangers inside has become nearly impossible."

The ratings of "One Meal Show" has fallen from a peak of 3.1 percent for the premiere to 1.9 percent for its fourth episode, which aired on July 31. This was lower than the stable ratings of its predicessor, "Let's Eat Dinner Together," which aired 164 episodes from 2017 to 2020 with ratings between 2.4 percent and 6.8 percent.

"One Meal Show" was also criticized for showing "glamorous" meals in wealthy neighborhoods like Seongbuk-dong in the first episode. Despite breaking down social barriers in the neighborhood, online discussion centered on curiosity about the opulent ingredients and the identity of the meal companions, rather than genuine engagement.

Critic Jung Duk-hyun noted that the original "Let's Eat Dinner Together" was very much an extension of the early spirit of other shows that went out into neighborhoods to discover 'hidden gems' within seemingly ordinary lives, with stories that brought genuine, heartwarming laughter.

"The concept was straightforward but powerful: Go to someone’s doorstep, knock, step inside, share conversations and join them at their dinner table, digging into their humble meals. It was inherently a celebration of everyday folks. Even the neighborhoods visited back then felt different — more grounded, filled with modest alleyways and a distinctly down-to-earth vibe. In contrast, 'One Meal Show' gives off a bit of a dissonant feel," he said.

Despite debates about crossing into private spaces and the troubles that public exposure might cause, the act of entering, sharing food and engaging created a true connection rooted in everyday communication. But times have changed.

"Privacy concerns have intensified, and now when chefs and celebrities show up asking people to open their doors because ‘We’ll cook you a meal,’ it no longer feels like sharing in an ordinary family’s dinner. Instead, it risks alienating viewers by offering a ‘special meal’ to the common folk — something that creates distance rather than closeness.”

Viewers also pointed out that the program only visits wealthy neighborhoods such as Seongbuk-dong, Yeonhui-dong, Eunpyeong Hanok Village, Hannam-dong and Samsung-dong,.

Similarly, "Heart on Wheels," which aimed for communication with ordinary people by bringing conveniences and stories to rural villages, has struggled with ratings as it feels like a mix of formats from other KBS reality shows like "1 Night 2 Days," and lacks distinctiveness.

Another critic, Kim Kyo-seok, said that while YouTube creators are successfully connecting with viewers through "real" stories of ordinary people, TV variety shows still struggle to find their footing. For example, YouTuber Ohdongji gained popularity online by purchasing lettuce from an elderly woman selling it on the street in the sweltering heat soaring up to 40 degrees Celsius, and by listening to her story — content that sparked significant attention on the internet.

"There is a trend of TV shows reviving old successful formats rather than innovating, such as JTBC reviving shows like 'I Can See Your Voice,' 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' and 'Salty Tour.' But with streaming platforms and YouTube expanding viewers’ choices for authenticity and scale, TV shows that rely on staged setups face difficulties in maintaining viewers," Kim said.