Aww helloooo to you too~ *hoping that Weasel's weaselly talents saves him this season*

I am not a fan of Hyun Bin. Even though I diligently followed it live, I thought CLOY was not among the best dramas I watched recently. That show mainly held up because of Son Ye-jin's pitch perfect comic timing. HB was the weak link, IMO.

OMG! The irony! I just commented about binge-watching Heartless City and how its stopping me from going all in for Stranger rn lol.

Ooh, w/o using spoilers in what way was Stranger better? Very curious b/c all I hear regarding Signal for the most part is critical acclaim (Since the female writer has been getting big offers since).

Signal has higher rating on Tvn and mydramalist than FOS. Despite average rating of over 6% and not much buzz, Fos won Grand prize both at Seoul awards and Beakseang.
I really like Signal and think its high quality drama. I remember I wanted to rewatch Signal but couldn’t go pass episode 4 (that was before Fos). I am now on my third rewatch of Fos and still find it exciting. Despite fully know the story, I still enjoy every scene and find that aha moments when I understand why character said and acted certain ways on my rewatch. It’s like fine wine but it asks for 100% of your attention.
It’s more of the personal taste and I understand why some people find Fos too slow. Signal has faster pace but looking back it can be a bit soapy for some. Story: there are a lot of talkings ( apparently even more talking in season 2 according to the actors) but every conversation has a meaning. No unnecessary subplot, twist was not for cheap thrills but add layer to the character. Apart from the main characters, I don’t remember about the supporting roles from Signal but in Fos, characters are multilayered including supporting roles. You get to know the motive behind very suspects making it more connected and memorable. Acting wise: Signal has strong acting from the leads (Average performance from second ML for some and I don’t remember the rest of the casts) Fos has top notch performance from every actors. They are perfect choice for their roles, nuisance but powerful acting. They might appear talking slowly but carry intensity. The gesture, tone in their voice and even switch of the eyebrows or clenching of the jaw, very subtle but you notice and kind of understand their thought process. It’s praised as “the league of its own” as it’s not your typical kdrama. Minimal action scenes, no sad background story, no romance, no dramatic crying scenes but somehow it manages to tug your heartstrings.
Give it a try and you might like it as much as signal 😁

@blacksesame has given an excellent response. I'll add very little. IMO, Signal was essentially a procedural with some 'time travel' thrown in. It was well produced with some good performances, and is an overall 'good' show, but not great - at all. Even in the genre, I'd say it's only an above-average show, not among the best ones out there. I don't know about ratings or recommendations, since I watched and assessed both without knowing their relative popularity.

In contrast with Signal, Stranger had just one long, solid story arc, with a few middle arcs, but never did it descend into procedural territory - this already makes it stand out in its genre. (as @epyc2010 points out)

You cannot identify a particular actor as its particular strength, in all fairness. Stranger has a fine ensemble cast combined with tight writing - all the actors are totally believable, and you suspect most characters at some point of time.

The writing doesn't spoon-feed you, it doesn't treat the audience as stupid, but at the same time, doesn't make it overly obscure as to be incomprehensible.

And as pointed out, Stranger holds up phenomenally well on multiple rewatches! I think I'm on my third full rewatch right now. At this stage, you know the story, you know the crook/s, you know the dialogues by heart even, but newer details keep popping up - it's like a favourite book or dish that each time you savour afresh, a new flavour is discovered.

@blacksesame and @pickleddragon Thanks for the detailed responses! Much appreciated! IA that Signal got a lot more talk because it had higher ratings, more action, and an added time travel aspect to gauge in viewers. Anyways, I hope to start FOS soon!

I can say that while I just can't remember anything about Life except the fact that JSW was in it, I'm sure that LJH (1984) is just great in every role. *blushing*