Kim Yeon-koung, a former national volleyball team member, drew attention with the MBC variety show ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung’. Provided by MBC

With cast departures and program finales, the year-end variety scene is grim.

Accordingly, the broadcasters’ entertainment awards, which should have been cheerful, festival-like events, are no exception. The annual criticism that it is ‘same old, same old’ feels almost like a relief this year. With flagship shows losing cast members and long-running programs ending, the networks are facing headaches with no easy answers.

At SBS, the newly launched ‘Our Ballad’ is the only show that has broken through, while ‘Shoes Off, Dolsing Fourmen’, which aired for four years and five months, is set to attend the awards after being canceled, an unfortunate situation.

‘Dolsing Fourmen’ featured ‘dolsing’ celebrities Jae-hoon, Lee Sang-min, Lim Won-hee, and Kim Jun-ho as MCs, openly discussing marriage, divorce, and dating, and it seemed poised to stand alongside ‘My Little Old Boy’ and ‘Same Bed, Different Dreams’, both on air for nearly a decade, as a flagship variety show.

SBS variety show ‘Dolsing Fourmen’ will end on the 23rd. Provided by SBS

However, when Lee Sang-min and Kim Jun-ho announced their remarriages, the show was hit hard by questions over its identity and is ending with the broadcast on the 23rd. As a result, the ‘SBS Entertainment Awards’ on the 30th is expected to become the ‘retirement ceremony’ for the show. In 2023, KBS2 program ‘Hong Kim Coin’ faced a similar situation, drawing public criticism of the network, and attention is on what kind of atmosphere the ‘2025 SBS Entertainment Awards’ will create.

At KBS, with no standout new variety shows this year, comedian Jo Se-ho left the flagship program ‘Two Days and One Night’ amid allegations of ties to organized crime, leaving even the once-solid lineup of long-running shows on shaky ground.

Jo Se-ho stepped down from KBS2 variety show ‘Two Days and One Night’ after allegations surfaced of connections to gangsters. ‘Two Days and One Night’ broadcast still

According to KBS on the 15th, cast members from several long-running shows, including ‘The Boss Has Donkey Ears’, ‘New Release Pyeonstaurant’, and ‘The Problem Children in the Rooftop Room’, were nominated for the Grand Prize at the ‘KBS Entertainment Awards’ to be held on the 20th. ‘Two Days and One Night’, which has run for 18 years through season 4 and has seen both its cast and the program itself win the Grand Prize, did see Kim Jong-min make the shortlist again for the first time since his 2016 win, but it appears unlikely to shine.

At MBC, Park Na-rae announced her departure and suspension of activities from ‘I Live Alone’, which is in its peak after 12 years on air, and from ‘Save Me! Holmes’, now in its sixth year, amid recent allegations of power abuse, dealing a major blow.

Park Na-rae left the MBC variety shows ‘I Live Alone’ and ‘Save Me! Holmes’ amid controversy over alleged power abuse and more. Provided by MBC

In particular, ‘I Live Alone’ is so popular that most of its cast win in major categories every year, and core members Jeon Hyun-moo, Park Na-rae, and Kian84 even won the Grand Prize in succession. However, as the allegations involving Park Na-rae have broadened to include embezzlement and violations of medical law, and with performer Key also mentioned in connection with the alleged medical law violation, it has become a sensitive subject for the spotlight.

In this situation, Kim Yeon-koung appears poised to become a breakthrough for MBC.

‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung’, which ended last month, is a variety show chronicling the challenge of former national volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung to become a coach. The struggles of Kim Yeon-koung, released pro players, and semi-pro players to found the new volleyball team ‘Wonder Dogs’ delivered fresh fun and proved a hit.

Broadcast still from MBC variety show ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung’

Player Inkushi, who excelled on the show, joined a pro club afterward, and as of the 9th, official program merchandise also began selling on a fashion platform. Scenes that showcased ‘Coach’ Kim Yeon-koung’s appeal have been repackaged into short-form videos and are still being talked about, with calls for season 2 continuing to pour in.

Kim Yeon-koung also heightened anticipation by announcing via her YouTube channel on the 11th that she will attend the ‘MBC Entertainment Awards’ on the 29th. She said that ‘Wonder Dogs’ had been invited to the ceremony and revealed that she had even been nominated for the Couple Award, drawing laughs.

As such, attention is turning to whether the rookie that burst onto the scene, ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung’, will become the key to saving the ‘MBC Entertainment Awards’.