Lin Chiling's maiden J-drama may face cancellation

TOKYO: Taiwan model-actress Lin Chiling's maiden Japanese drama serial "Moon Lovers" suffered from dismal ratings in Japan and may face cancellation, reported Taiwan media.

The first episode of Fuji Television's highly anticipated romance drama "Moon Lovers", which also stars Japanese heartthrob Takuya Kimura, garnered ratings of 22.4 per cent when broadcast in May at the 9pm time slot on Mondays.

However, ratings dropped steadily until it hit a low of 15.5 per cent during the serial's fourth episode, a record low for a drama starring the ultra-popular Kimura.

Kimura's earlier drama "Hero" holds the record for being the highest rated drama serial in the same time slot with ratings of 34.2 per cent.

The Japanese actor is so popular in Japan that any drama he appears in was virtually guaranteed good ratings; however, it appears this was not the case for "Moon Lovers".

And by the end of the drama's fifth episode, trailers of the subsequent episodes were spotted being labelled as "previews of the final episode", a label that usually indicates a drama will end within the next two or three episodes.

This sparked rumours that Fuji Teleivion has decided to pull the plug and conclude the drama early, in seven or eight episodes instead of the usual ten or 12 for drama serials to free up the time slot.

If "Moon Lovers" does suffer this fate, it would be the shortest-lived drama aired during that time slot in the past two decades.

Citing the stellar ratings of Kimura's earlier dramas, many netizens blamed the drama's poor ratings on a bad script and Lin's acting.

Other than her stint in John Woo's "Red Cliff" films, Lin's forays into acting have been largely unsuccessful, with "Treasure Hunter" being panned by the critics and now "Moon Lovers" facing possible cancellation.

While many may question Lin's acting chops, few would dispute the fact that she has exquisite looks.

The Japanese media praised Lin, 35, for looking much younger than her actual age when she appeared at events in Japan to promote "Moon Lovers".

In addition, men's magazine FHM Taiwan recently named Lin the sexiest woman in the world for the fourth year running, with American singer Lady Gaga in second place, followed by Taiwan pop princess Jolin Tsai in third.

- CNA/ha

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1062057/1/.html

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