Before it even premieres, MBC’s new variety show The Secret Friends Club it generated enormous anticipation. The reason? A stellar cast with BLACKPINK’s Jennie, Dex by Single’s HellChoo Sung-hoon, Noh Hong-chul and Lee Soo-ji.
For Jennie, this marked her first appearance on a Korean TV variety show in two years: immediately raising expectations. However, despite the high-profile training, ratings were lower.
Strong cast, weak ratings
The program’s chase-style missions have drawn comparisons to the legendary variety show Endless challengea format long associated with producer Kim Tae Ho. Still many spectators felt The Secret Friends Club failed to recreate the genuine tension and excitement that defined its predecessor.
Reactions online were harsh:
- “It’s hard to believe they gathered such big stars and still made something so boring.”
- “Kim Tae Ho seems to have lost his touch.”
- “It seems like a watered down version of Endless challenge.”
- “The editing is tension-free, there’s no thrill.”
While some viewers said Episode 2 was slightly better than the firstdisappointment remains widespread. Episode 1 posted a 2.1% rating, dropping to just 1.6% in Episode 2, less than half the 4.4% rating achieved by its predecessor. The King of the Masked Singer. For the Sunday prime time slot at 6pm, hovering around 1% is considered disappointing.
Will Jennie be able to “save” the show?
Despite the show’s lackluster performance, Jennie ranked eighth in last month’s TV personality rankings — making her the most talked about member of the cast.
Some argue so Jennie is effectively “bringing” the publicity for the program, even if ratings remain low. This sparked debate: Is Jennie’s star power waning or is the show itself simply failing to deliver?
To change things up, the producers announced a wave of A-list guest appearances starting with episode 3, including Jung Hae-in, Go Youn-jung, Park Myung-soo, Hong Jin-kyung, Kim Do-hoon, Chef Yoon Nam-no, Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young, Lee Sun-bin, Kwanghee, and Kang Hoon. MBC hoping that the addition of high-profile guests and stronger comedic chemistry will boost ratings and revive momentum.
Jennie’s undeniable global influence
Ratings questions aside, Jennie’s status as a global icon remains hard to ignore. Debuting with BLACKPINK in 2016, she quickly rose to fame with hits like “Boombayah,” “Whistle,” “DDU-DU DDU-DU,” “Kill This Love” and “How You Like That.” As the group’s lead rapper and lead singer, Jennie has become one of the most recognizable faces in K-pop.
Her 2018 solo debut “SOLO” made her the first female K-pop artist to surpass 300 million streams on Spotify at the time. Beyond the music, she earned the nickname “Human Chanel” as the luxury brand’s global ambassador and established herself as a fashion and culture influencer.
Recently, Jennie launched her own label, ODDATELIER, to manage her individual businesses: further cementing his independence as a global star. His first full solo album, RUBYhas attracted worldwide attention over the past year.
As criticism mounts, attention now turns to whether The Secret Friends Club can break the 1% barrier and stage a significant return. Will faster editing and more dynamic storytelling restore excitement? Or will even Jennie’s global star power prove insufficient to save the show? For now, the debate continues, not just over ratings, but over the expectations placed on one of the biggest names in K-pop.
Sources: kenh14
