No!

There are some exceptions like Age of Youth. Ji-Won was my favourite character and the second season was focused on her, so I was happy (except the end... why writer?) or Stranger (Forest of Secrets), a lot of people prefered the first one, but I prefered the second one, I found it more realistic.

But otherwise, I don't think second seasons were really necessary and brought something to the original story or characters, for example The Good Detective, Voice, Hospital Playlist (except for their songs).

After the news of Arthdal Chronicles second season, I'm kinda afraid that they didn't give up for Vagabond or L.U.C.A...

But to be honest, sometimes I would like a spin off. So not a second focused on the main leads but focused on others characters like
- My Unfamiliar Family : Choo Ja-Hyun (as Kim Eun-Joo) and Kwon Yool (as Yoo Min-Woo) ;
- One Spring Night : Lim Seong-Eon as the oldest sister being a single mother ;
- Be Melodramatic : Jeon Yeo-Bin (as Lee Eun-Jung) and Son Suk-Ku (as Kim Sang-Soo) being in Europe and Morocco together.

Otherwise, Signal, I don't need a full season, but just a conclusion.

Nay! @kurama already covered pretty much all I'd want to say.

My only other issue with second seasons is that they encourage the thing I hate most - open endings. In a traditional kdrama the last episode had a certain finality to it (very aptly called Final on DB recaps) and you knew you'd get closure one way or another.

Now I have to watch S2 of Poong (or at least the beginning of S2) to know what happened on the cliff. And for those who think I can just choose not to watch, you clearly don't know the pains of a kdrama completist 😭.

I hate seasons. I prefer to move on to the next drama rather than have to remember the plot and characters until season 2. Second seasons are only justified if ratings were a hit (Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim, The Good Detective) even if most don't need them (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, The Uncanny Counter). They should never be planned from the start when it isn't even know if the drama would be a success (Poong the Joseon Psychiatrist) and certainly not when the drama wasn't a success (Tale of the Nine Tailed?). While we've come to expect it from Netflix Originals, the worst offenders are the shows that end on cliffhangers hoping they'd be renewed for a second season (looking at you, Vagabond).

One for the things that I didn't bother about kdramas was the absence of second seasons. They don't bother me. But, second seasons are something kdramas don't have the culpability for, at least for now. Of all the second seasons I've watched in Kdramas, the only one that lived up to the first season is Stranger/Forest of Secrets. I haven't seen any of the Voice franchise so I can't say about that but having 4 seasons could mean it's doing a good job? And for a show like Adamas, with what was delivered and teased, a second season nice seems safe. Out of shows having the nature of this two mentioned, a second season is a season two much. We are already wishing there was an episode cut but alas! Voila! A second season? How?

We have some shows that didn't live up to the hype of the first season for example TGD 2. I didn't watch 1 but I'm not all that impressed with 2. So sometimes cases like this makes us wish they just ended it as a kdrama.

In all. I'm not opposed to multiple seasons. I'm used to multiple seasons. Still, kdramas need to get it right to a good degree if ever they want to branch into multiple seasons. Equally, I would love and prefer that they stick to a mono-season as they've been doing all this while.
I do want them to acknowledge that point where they know when to stop a show if ever they want to go multiple seasons so it doesn't become a season too much.

I think it depends on the show and the time frame between the two seasons.

Let’s Eat had three seasons but each was contained in itself so could be seen as a stand alone. The common factor was the main character going out for meals but he moved jobs or location so there was a new set of people and it was a different theme in each season. I see Hospital Playlist in the same way the key characters and hospital were the same but they developed more in terms of the side characters and relationships. So like ER it could continue with several seasons and be fine as there are different stories told.

The two season format doesn’t work when they try to carry the story on between the two seasons so you have to watch season two to get closure for the issues in season one but the gap is too long so you can’t remember the finer details of the story. For me Yumi’s cells season one is an example of being left hanging between seasons. Season one ended and I was just staring at the screen thinking what kind of an ending was that? Season one would have worked better for me if the initial season tied up the loose ends then season two was fresh start with the next phase off her life with work relationships etc. Poong is going to be an example of not being able to remember the finer details but worse is the element that didn't work for me in season one, palace politics, is being carried into season two so it already means my frustrations will carry into the new season.

The charm of a Korean drama story is that it is a complete beginning, middle and end. This format is tried and true.

There is a significant difference between a "show" and a "series." A series is upfront about having multiple seasons and/or episodic complete stories within a season (such as a US sit-com). In this Korean entertainment globalization, the second season is being announced after the show ends . . . which kind of defeats audience expectation for a conclusion. It feels like a bait and switch move to punt the conclusion down the calendar in a subsequent season.

One season is enough. Duh!
Any writer who needs another season to complete his/her story is not good enough writer 🖐

I'm not opposed to multiple seasons. It depends on the genre. Rom-com's should always be one and done but multiple seasons can work for thrillers and procedurals or even the more soap-operish makjang's. The problem with multiple seasons, of course, is that they are dependant on ratings when they should be dependant on the material.

No. My main reason of getting into k-drama is their 16 episode one season format. They do pretty good job and I get my closure. Even if I don't get it, it's investment of 16 hours not hundreds.
The multiple season format makes me tired and we rarely get a complete story. Most of the time we are left hanging.

I am fine with multiple season format only and only if creators have fully visualized story in mind and they get to stick to it.

I am not fine with spending hours and hours of my time on a story which is not going to pay off in the end. Our time is too precious.

I don't think there is one right answer. I love the self contained 1 season for some, but a series or continuation might be great also. This year I really enjoyed the 2 seasons of Yumi's Cells and I would happily watch another season should it happen. I also enjoyed all 3 Penthouse seasons. However, Let's Eat had 2 great seasons, but the 3rd was quite the let down. I can't think of an example in K-dramas, but there are many shows like Seinfeld in the US that had a really clunky beginning and low ratings that turned into a great success as they moved forward. So, giving a show a little time to blossom could give us some really good entertainment. I'm pretty open minded about this, but the saying "Jumping the Shark" does come from an American TV show (Happy Days) that overstayed its welcome.

I do not think seasons are really necessary unless the story is rich with lots of characters having their own side plots, but subsequently get tied into the main plot and helps to progress the narration as a whole.

With the above said, none of the kdramas need a seasonal arrangement even with the ratings or cast popularity because eventually they all end up falling a prey to their own tropes or dissatifactory conclusions, thereby ruining the characters which we had liked in earlier seasons.

Nay for me too...
I didn't know Uncanny Counter will have another season.
Some series which always left with open ending, I thought this is normal in Kdrama production. Kingdom isn't having their closure, didn't know Vagabond will have 2nd season too.
Personally,I didn't watch more than 1 season of Kdrama. The US series already took tonnes of my time. I preferred it is ended in one-go.

Perhaps some exception is made if they planned from the beginning. That I can understand and bear with it. This is why I never watch Hospital Playlist (although it has a great review), Yumi's Cell, Dr. Romantic Kim, Penthouse, etc.

One thing I love about Asian dramas (k and c) is that they have a definitive end. One season, one story - THE END. I love that. I know I have to invest 16 hours and the story will be over. So, yeah, I hate seasons.
Sometimes, its ok if they keep the essence and spin off a new story with same characters. As long as season 1 is self contained and I have no reason to watch S2 unless I want to, I am ok with it.
I would rather have dramas that are 12 eps! lol. even 16 feels like a stretch these days.

Nay

A firm No to more than one season. It has been one of the reasons I love kdramas so much. One and done should be the way.

Part of the reason I started watching kdramas is because the idea of enjoying a full story arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end was--and is-- so appealing to me. It allows me to sit back and trust that the writer knows exactly where they want to know and how they'll get there. They're not writing on the fly (most of the time, anyway) or being careful to leave loose threads that they can pull later if the network orders more episodes.

In an effort to cash in, many American shows have continued on for season after season. And in most cases, it would have been so much more satisfying to tell a one-season story and then get out *before* characters are forced to act in ways that don't make sense with what you've learned about them prior to that point, and ever more shocking twists are necessary to keep viewers tuning in.

That said, there are definitely shows, including kdramas, that have a premise lending itself well to multiple seasons or, at the very least, two good ones. Typically these are mystery or character-driven dramas that rely on a rotating cast of secondary characters who need no more than one or two episodes to shake things up and then move on. A great American show that did this well for a while is "Moonlighting" and with the exception of the final season which was overseen by a new production and writing team, I thought "Gilmore Girls" stayed fresh and interesting all the way through. As far as kdramas go, a second season of "DP" seems like a valid creative decision to me, but of course, that show's first season was only eight episodes. I was on-board for a second season of "Love Alarm," too (and again, the first season was short), but sadly, it didn't live up to the quality of the first.

The decision to greenlight an additional season of "Tale of Nine-Tailed" and "Poong" (the first of which I watched all the way through and mostly enjoyed; the second one I watched a few episodes and thought it was fine, but my attention wavered too often for me to finish it) makes no sense to me. Both were serviceable dramas without the heft or dramatic urgency or complicated plot necessary to justify additional seasons. And neither was a huge ratings hit, either. Was anyone really clamoring for more? I'm at a loss to figure out the logic here.

Season 2 for K dramas ? No. The writing is too weak. Way too predictable with tropes, ( filler episodes,4-6 too many). If you can’t wrap the story up in 10 episodes, there is a problem .

The Japanese have found a knack for multiple seasons and make it work. Better writers ? Perhaps. I think it’s a smoother storytelling style , time management and directors.

something something as a general rule of thumb, no, but it depends what the story needs most to be the best possible version of itself but kdramas have a really good thing going for them with a single story told in a shorter amount of episodes and should be working to perfect that format (e.g. by continuing to cut more and more dramas back to 12 episodes) and one of the reasons I left occidental tv was bajillion seasons, I've never known a show to need over 3 maximum, but ya know, ratings and views and money and oversaturating the market on purpose and also not truly realising or understanding the potential of your own format and content, and what actually makes it good when it is good because you do not having enough writers who care enough about their work as a skill and craft to perfect it and constantly improve it stuck in an Industry that globally has a misplaced artistic philosophy so something something

Speaking as someone who actually called for and got a second season of WELCOME TO WAIKIKI that second season was a true disappointment- and an embarrassment for me personally.

Why? because it really wasn't a true second season. Only one of the six main characters returned- and what we got was essentially an attempt to re-tell the story of the first season, rather than a continuation of a story that was actually suited to a second season.

Most of the time, rather than a second season I think that a spin-off story would work better- because we had some very interesting side characters.

I think it depends. Generally I’m a hard no because I like stories to end (open endings are ok, I have an imagination) but there are occasions where a second season can work - eg I feel like Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim can find some new students to mentor and it’ll be fine. I also don’t mind if it’s always planned that way so it’s more part one and part two and everyone knows from the start that’s happening.

What I don’t like is when things are either changed after the fact (so it wasn’t intended to have a second season but they got part way through and thought this is doing well, let’s awkwardly create some drama that sets us up for season 2) or they were going to have season 2 but for whatever reason it’s not going to happen (lower reception than anticipated, pandemic) so we’re just sitting on a cliffhanger.

So basically I think it’s about expectations? I don’t want to be hit with a “but wait there’s more!” when I think everything is wrapped up; and I don’t want to get to the last episode and get a “surprise! It’s not over but you will have to wait [indeterminate period of time] for part two.” In general I would prefer everything to be one and done.

Most of the time, it's nay for me. I mean, sometimes even 16 eps is already too long and draggy for those dramas, I couldn't even imagine what would they fill the 2nd season with.

And then there is a rare species like Forest of Secrets, in which I'll welcome however many next seasons they are willing to produce.

Honestly for me it really depends on the show and its story arc.

If its announced while S1 is airing:
-tbh it kills the vibe as youre anticipating a cliffhanger

If it ends on a cliff hanger:
-For me, S2 would really have to nail it such as the pacing, chemistry between actors, storyline etc to live up to expectations given by S1 because its very easy to fk it up and bore a person who maybe already sat through 16eps (or less) and already had high expectations for it (ahem love alarm ahem)

No matter how much I love a certain show and would kill to see my faves again, never drag out a story when its already perfect and should end there.

I'm not opposed to 2nd seasons in theory, but the ones I've seen are weak. (Hospital Playlist, Good Detective) They rely too much on the goodwill of the successful first season, and expect that to do most of the work. "That gang's all back together!" Those good vibes only last for so long. You need a good story to justify the second season's existence.

I find second seasons frustrating because of the uncertainty. If a show thinks they'll get a second season and then their ratings aren't good enough, we're all left hanging story-wise. And if they are doing unexpectedly well with ratings and they announce another season partway through or right at the end of the first, it complicates the ending that they planned out. Both of these situations are totally frustrating to me, and one of the main issues I see with tv elsewhere. (Pushing Daisies is such a fantastic example of a tv show that broke my heart with all of the uncertainty surrounding it.) That's why I agree with other Beanies that things like procedurals and more episodic dramas are better candidates for a second season than romances or coming of age stories or mysteries. You can tell a complete story, and then if things go really well and you want to do it again, you can tell more stories in the second season.

The thing that I think drama-makers are missing is if I watch a drama I really love, it doesn't make me want to see a second season of it. It makes me want to see something similar, or something that gives me the same feeling. So if you made a totally amazing mystery series, don't decide to continue it. That's the worst kind of uncreativity. Let that one stand for what it is, and make a new totally amazing mystery series.

I agree with some other Beanies that I'm much more open to spin-offs. Sometimes there is a side character who seems to have such a rich story going on, but it's not the point of the drama and so (rightly) doesn't get a lot of focus. I think there are some total gems there waiting to be dug up if people start to look.

I also think the anthology series is an under-used format. That would allow you to have multiple "seasons" that feature different characters, different stories, but similar themes or genres. So you can tell a complete story each time, and you don't have to worry about getting the same people back again for a second season, but all the stories happen in the same "universe" with each other.

I'm kind of on the fence on this. Some dramas might seem to lend themselves well to 2nd seasons if the drama is based on compelling smaller stories in each episode (e.g. DP, Taxi Driver) that would continue with the same approach and cast in the 2nd season (although this still remains to be seen). Others have been disappointments in their 2nd season for me (e.g. Hospital Playlist), mostly because the compelling aspects of the first season have worn off and the impact can't be repeated. It's a mixed bag for me, but one 2nd season I'm eagerly waiting for is Alchemy of Souls, although my hopes aren't high.

I don't watch any series, because I don't like multiple-season concepts, and I watch k-drama because they finish up everything in an average of 16 episodes, short and sweet(I guess). But there is no sure thing here, sometimes it would be a good idea to have multiple seasons, like the "Hospital playlist", that drama was the exact kind of drama I would watch season after season. Meanwhile, I think it's important for the director/writer to be ready for the second season, because if not they may come very short on so many levels, and the audience is going to be disappointed, so I think it's not worth it, if you can't make a plot worth of another season, don't make more seasons!

I generally do not care for second seasons. K-dramas are appealing to me because of the single, complete story format most present. I suppose if I were to institute a paradigm for an ideal second season it would require: 1) a complete second story rather than a rehash or continuation of the first, 2) a unique perspective or differing point of view from the original, and 3) touchpoints to the original story without an overdependence on the prior viewing experience.

I feel like seasons 2 are for the international fans who have just come into kdramas and downt know how they work. Bless em but mini dramas are just that 16-20 episodes that make a full story and then we move on. If you want to relive it re watch it. You know. There are some drama the killed season two like Age of Youth and Queen of Mystery but thos are exceptions not rules. Please stop with season twos unless you show me in season one where you will take the story...and make it make sense, make sure you can keep the original cast and feel of season one. That's a tall order so just don't attempt.

I want a Season 2 of Law School but I know we’ll never get it and hoping Netflix leaves Writer Phoebe high and dry…no money for a Season 4 of Love featuring Marriage and Divorce. I was done when she was trying to kill off the best looking man on the show and his brother. That just passed me off to say enough and see why a major network fired her.

Netflix greenlighted aka approved and put up production$$ for Season2 of the Uncanny Counter but it’s never going to happen because of the ML bullying issue. So that’s that.

Adamas was definitely a case of came for the Oppa but they both ( twins) were fake! LOL

Hoping the next Season of Taxi Driver and last and third season of Yumi Cells is great

Let’s Eat Season 2 jumped the shark without most of the cast that made it good and I shook my head at the shameless sequels that followed of iterations…it was just wrong.