End of the Year Drama Challenge – 2022 Edition (Part 1)

We did this last year, so here it is for this year — End of the Year Drama Challenge - 2022 Edition — in an editorial. Starting as a Twitter challenge in 2020 by Annie, I have started the polls based on Annie's challenge to collate the responses, with a mini-drama wrap-up forum-style based on the poll results in 2021.

A big thank you to Cho Na for agreeing to work together on this editorial, and also to fellow MDL users for your active participation and comments in the polls to make this wrap-up more meaningful. And of course, thanks to Annie for starting and continuing this End of Year (EOY) Twitter challenge for 2022.

What to Expect for the 2022 Edition

The editorial is split into 2 parts for a more thorough look into the poll results. This Part 1 covers Day 1 to Day 15 of the polls, while Part 2 covers Day 16 to Day 31 of the polls.

As with the 2021 Edition, 

• Polls are created for the daily challenges (where possible) designed by Annie; 
• Each MDL user has only one response (vote) per the challenge; and
• The wrap-up is done based on the overall poll results that closed on 15 Jan 2023, 23:59 (UTC).

Of note, Annie has reviewed some changes to the daily challenges, so not all the daily challenges are exactly the same as the 2021 Edition.

For the wrap-up, similar to the 2021 Edition,

• While the focus and ranking for each poll will be on the dramas aired in 2022, shows that aired pre-2022 will be highlighted and mentioned where appropriate;
• Dramas that completed airing in December 2021 will also be ranked together with dramas that aired in 2022, to give these dramas enough airtime for viewers to watch;
• As each voter only has one vote for each poll, voters and votes are used interchangeably as appropriate in the editorial.

In addition,

• Movies will be deliberately excluded as this is a drama challenge; 
• Dramas with different seasons aired in the same year 2022, and thus having different drama titles may be considered the same drama based on the nature of the poll; and 
• MDL rating, ranking, and popularity used in this article are extracted on 16 Jan 2023 (UTC) and may differ from the real-time rating, ranking, and popularity at the point that this article is perused.

MDL 2022 Top Ranked and Most Popular Dramas

Before going into each poll, here’s a look at the 2022 Top Ranked and Most Popular dramas according to MDL users.

A total of 1,412 dramas were released in 2022 and completed airing on 16 Jan 2023 [filtered by Dramas, Release Date of 2022 only, and Status: Completed (as of 16 Jan 2023 (UTC))].

The MDL 2022 Top 25 Ranked Dramas consist of 15 Korean dramas, 8 Chinese dramas, and 2 Thai dramas, while the MDL 2022 Most Popular 25 Dramas consist of 21 Korean dramas, 3 Thai dramas, and 1 Chinese drama. Play these BINGO sheets to find out how many of those dramas you have watched and if you are more of a Top Ranked or Most Popular drama watcher.

Day 1: First Drama Completed in 2022

^{55* titles | 185* votes}

* Excludes 1 Korean movie (1 vote) as this is a drama challenge.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 7 votes each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• Unsurprisingly, the Top 5 spots are taken by dramas that ended airing in December 2021 - January 2022, and these 5 dramas received almost 53 % of all votes.
• Topping this poll is the Thai drama Bad Buddy. This drama which started airing in October 2021 and ended in January 2022, was a hot favourite in the 2021 EOY polls. It has also become the first drama completed in 2022 for almost a quarter (25 %) of the voters.
• Interestingly, other than All of Us Are Dead and Sassy Beauty (1 vote) which aired in January 2022, 4 other 2022 dramas that ended airing in and after March 2022 is the first dramas completed in 2022 for 8 voters, perhaps because they are new to watching Asian dramas. The nominated drama with the latest airing is the Taiwanese drama My Tooth Your Love (1 vote) which aired in the last quarter of 2022 on October 14 – December 29, 2022.
• The oldest drama in this poll is the Korean drama Emergency Couple (2014), followed by Chinese dramas Foresighted Liu Bo Wen (February 20 - July 20, 2015) and Cao Cao (September 7- October 1, 2015) (all with 1 vote each).

Day 2: Favourite Actress Discovered in 2022

^{42 people | 258 votes}

(M) Main role, (S) Support role, (G) Guest role.
The remaining nominations have 1-16 votes each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• Though their debut years vary quite a bit, all of the Top 5 actresses in this poll had roles in some of MDL Top Ranked and Most Popular dramas in 2022.
• Topping this poll is the very productive South Korean Seo Hye Won with 6 dramas aired in 2022. The 29-year-old actress debuted in 2018. While she only had Support or Guest roles in those 6 dramas, her frequent airtime and her portrayal of different roles for different dramas in 2022 helped her gain widespread recognition, especially as the feisty, fashionable, and Konglish-speaking cousin of the second female lead in A Business Proposal (check out a fan-made YouTube video of the Queen of Konglish here), and the female lead’s swindler friend who pretends to be blind and plots to become the missing daughter of the Jin Family in Alchemy of Souls. Do you know that she also had a cameo in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, as the mistress of the cheating husband in Episode 11?
• 2nd and 3rd placed South Korean Jo Yi Hyun and Chinese Zhao Lu Si are the youngest actresses among the Top 5 and both debuted in 2017. The former helmed only 1 drama (All of Us are Dead), while the latter helmed 3 dramas (Who Rules the World, Love Like the Galaxy, and Hu Tong) in 2022. Zhao Lu Si wowed me with her versatile acting – from the damsel-in-distress Princess in The Long Ballad (2021) when it screened on Netflix in 2022,  to the sassy kickass Princess in Who Rules the World.
• 4th and 5th placed are South Koreans Kim Tae Ri and Jung So Min. Both had one drama (and one movie) each in 2022, and both of them debuted 7 or more years ago but became more recognized in their roles in the 2022 dramas.
• Of note, South Korean extraordinary Attorney Woo (Park Eun Bin - 16 votes) and Assassinator Naksu-Jin Bu Yeon (Go Youn Jung - 14 votes) are 6th and 7th place in this poll.
• The highest-placed actresses who are neither South Korean nor Chinese are:
  • Thai actress Tu Tontawan Tantivejakul (7 votes) is the female lead in the 2021 Thai remake F4 Thailand: Boys over Flowers and appears in the 2022 most anticipated Thai drama 10 Years Ticket.
  • Japanese actress Yagi Rikako (4 votes) with Support and Guest roles in 3 dramas in 2022.

Day 3: Favourite Actor Discovered in 2022

^{64 people | 629 votes}

(M) Main role, (S) Support role, (G) Guest role.
The remaining nominations have 1-25 votes each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• This "Day 3 - Favourite Actor Discovered in 2022" poll has the highest number of votes (629 votes), followed by the prior "Day 2 - Favourite Actress Discovered in 2022" poll (258 votes).
• Mirroring the 2021 Edition, this 2022 Actor poll received more than double the votes compared to the 2022 Actress poll (629 vs 258 in 2022 and 590 vs 204 in 2021).
• The Top 5 actors here are generally younger and debuted more recently, compared to the Top 5 actresses in the earlier poll.
• Topping the list is 24-year-old South Korean Lee Jae Wook who debuted in 2018. His role as the formidable mage protagonist in the Alchemy of Souls netted him 150 votes or almost 24 % of all votes, and almost double that of the 2nd placed actor. Did you know that he had initially turned down this role as he was worried he might not pull off this role well?
• The male leads for Thai BL drama My School President came in 2nd and 5th. Thai actors Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul and Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak, both 18 years old, debuted in 2021 with guest roles in Bad Buddy before taking lead roles in 2022.
• 3rd placed is 20-year-old South Korean Choi Hyun Wook who caught the viewers' attention in Twenty-Five Twenty-One and had gone on to gain recognition in Weak Hero Class 1.
• 24-year-old Chinese actor Dylan Wang, came in 4th, with his recent role as the Devil in Love Between Fairy and Devil. He also has a drama that is still airing in January 2023 from December 2022.

Day 4: Favourite Original Song from a 2022 Drama

^{31 titles | 162 votes}

Includes 1 drama (2 votes) that completed airing before December 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 10 votes each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 spots received almost 65 % of all votes, have an MDL rating of at least 8.5, and are among MDL's popular dramas. 
• Topping the list are two contemporary Thai BL drama Bad Buddy and My School President with a total of more than 40 % of all votes. Of note, Bad Buddy topped the same poll in 2021 with 21 % of all votes as well.
• The remaining three spots are taken by highly rated and popular dramas - Korean drama Alchemy of Souls and Twenty-Five Twenty-One, and the only Chinese drama that made the Top 5 spots, Love Between Fairy and Devil.
• Are the songs from Thai dramas more catchy and thus resonate more with viewers? Does OST play an important part in the popularity and rating of dramas?

Day 5: A Visually Beautiful 2022 Drama

^{27 titles | 178 votes}

Includes 4 dramas (1 vote each) that completed airing before December 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 9 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 dramas received more than 65 % of all votes for this poll and consists of a mix of 2 Korean dramas, 2 Chinese dramas, and 1 Thai drama.
• 3 of the Top 5 dramas (1st placed Alchemy of Souls, 3rd placed Love Between Fairy And Devil and 5th placed Love Like the Galaxy) are ancient costume dramas, with elaborate costumes, sets and/or have fantasy and xianxia elements with spectacular cinematography and mesmerizing CGI that marvel viewers. 
• As a musical drama revolving around magic, 4th placed The Sound of Magic is both a visual and audio feast with whimsical fairy tale CGI and cinematography.  

Clockwise from top left: Alchemy of Souls, Love Between Fairy And Devil, Love Like the Galaxy: Part 1, The Sound of Magic

• I have not watched 2nd placed Vice Versa, a contemporary Thai drama, and browsing through the photos on the MDL drama page, it is hard for me to understand its visual charm. Perhaps those who have watched and/or voted for this drama can clarify the visually beautiful aspect of this drama.

Day 6: A Drama You Dropped in 2022

^{48 titles | 139 votes}

Includes 10 dramas (total 13 votes) that completed airing before December 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 7 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• While all the Top 5 dramas in this poll are Korean dramas, there is a mix of dramas with ratings ranging from 7.6 to 9.0, and the total votes received are less than 38 % of all votes for this poll.
• Topping this poll is a highly-rated Korean drama Through the Darkness (17 votes) which has almost double the votes of the next-placed dramas (9 votes each). This intense drama that recreates true serial killer cases encountered by Korea's first criminal profiler, Kwon Il Yong, is perhaps too raw to bear for many voters.
• The other drama in the "Thriller-Mystery-Drama" genre, Big Mouth, is 2nd placed with 2 other dramas. From the MDL reviews, this drama started well but messed up and failed to deliver as it progressed. 
• Besides also 2nd placed Extraordinary Attorney Woo (9 votes), other popular or highly ranked 2022 dramas voted in the full poll are: Love Between Fairy and Devil (3 votes), Reborn Rich (3 votes), and Alchemy of Souls (2 votes (S1) + 1 vote (S2)).
• Park Min Young's two romance dramas made the Top 5 - 2nd placed Love in Contract and 5th placed Forecasting Love and Weather.  Many watched the dramas for her but ended up utterly disappointed with the execution and lack of chemistry between the leads. 
• In addition, remade dramas  Flower of Evil (a Filipino remade of a highly ranked Korean drama of the same title) and Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - Part 1 (a Korean remake of a Spanish drama) are among the dropped dramas in this poll; both with 2 votes each.
• Do you agree with this list? Are there any dramas in this list that you would recommend giving a second chance and re-pick up from the dropped list? Are remade dramas usually not as good as the original drama? Is there a remade drama that is as good or even better than the original drama?

Day 7: Favourite Character of 2022

Includes 5 dramas (total 7 votes) that completed airing before December 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 9 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• Due to the poll limitation to Shows and People only, this poll is on the 2022 drama with one's favourite character. Hopefully, in time to come, the MDL poll feature will allow the polling of drama characters, since MDL has drama character pages and some drama characters are larger than life and really talk-worthy. 
• The Top 5 dramas in this poll are all highly rated with a rating of 8.4 and above and received more than 60 % of all votes.
• Korean dramas dominated the top 4 spots in this poll, led by Sh**ting Stars (38 votes), and followed by Alchemy of Souls (33 votes) Extraordinary Attorney Woo (20 votes), and Twenty-Five Twenty-One (12 votes).
• I have not watched Sh**ting Stars, but Alchemy of Souls and Extraordinary Attorney Woo which I have watched, have some of the most wholesome, kind, and affable characters such as the Four Seasons of Daeho (Lee Jae Wook, Seo Yul, Park Dang Gu, and Jin Cho Yeon), Mudeok and even the Crown Prince, Park Jin, Maidservant Kim, and Master Lee from Alchemy of Souls, and autistic savant Woo Young Woo, her boyfriend Lee Joon Ho, and mentor Kang Ki Young from Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
• Who do you have in mind for the drama that you have voted for?

Day 8: A 2022 Drama with an Interesting Story

^{28 titles | 166 votes}

The remaining nominations have 1 - 7 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 dramas in this poll received more than 65 % of all votes, and consist of 2 Korean dramas and 3 Thai dramas.
• Korean dramas flanked the Top 5 with Alchemy of Souls (35 votes) leading and Extraordinary Attorney Woo (10 votes) 5th placed. The former, set in a fictional world with soul-switching mages, has an intriguing plot and a cliffhanger ending, as it was slated for a Season 2 that has also completed airing on January 8, 2023. The bite-sized court cases of the latter provide interesting stories to look forward to for each episode.
• Thai BL dramas are placed 2nd - 4th. Interestingly, 3rd placed Vice Versa involved body swaps, similar to the soul switching in Alchemy of Souls.
• Do body swaps/soul switches provide for an interesting story as characters fumble and pick up radically different lives?  Do Thai BL dramas have really interesting and compelling stories and plots?

Day 9: Oldest Drama You Watched in 2022

^{59* titles | 121* votes}

*Excludes 5 movies (total 6 votes) as this is a drama challenge.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 5 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 dramas in this poll are all Korean dramas and received about a third of all votes.
• The oldest drama nominated in this poll is the Japanese drama Hakusen Nagashi (1996) (1 vote, MDL rating 7.4), followed by the Thai drama Jao Sao Prissana (1999) (1 vote, MDL rating 7.1).
• Are there hidden gems in these older dramas that one should watch?

Day 10: Have You Rewatched a Drama in 2022

^{56 titles | 123 votes}

The remaining nominations have 1 - 4 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• For Day 10, voters are asked to vote for a drama rewatched in 2022.
• The Top 5 spots that received more than 35 % of all votes for this poll are taken by dramas that started airing in the three years prior to 2022 (i.e. 2019 - 2021), and consist of a mix of Korean, Chinese, and Thai dramas.
• BL dramas topped this poll with the Korean drama To My Star (2021) followed by the one-vote-shy Thai drama Bad Buddy (2021).  Bad Buddy is also the newest drama rewatched among the Top 5, as it completed airing in January 2022. Are BL dramas comparatively more re-watchable? 
• Twenty-Five Twenty-One is the most rewatched 2022 drama, with 4 votes. The most recent dramas that were re-watched in this poll are Extraordinary Attorney Woo (1 vote; Aired June 29, 2022 - August 18, 2022) and Immortal Samara: Part 1 (1 vote; Aired July 20, 2022 - August 17, 2022)
• The oldest re-watched dramas in this poll are Japanese dramas 1 Litre no Namida (2005) and Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007) with 1 vote each.

Day 11: A Drama That Kept You on the Edge of Your Seat

^{34 titles | 159 votes}

Includes 12 dramas (total 46 votes) that completed airing before Dec 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 8 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The two 2022 dramas that topped this poll involve some kinds of rescue operations.
  • 1st placed is the Thai documentary drama Thai Cave Rescue which re-enacts the highly reported, arduous, and miraculous rescue operations for a group of Thai boys and their football coach who were trapped in a cave in June - July 2016.
    
  • The next placed 2022 drama is the Chinese drama Reset about how a bus-load of passengers were saved from a planned bus explosion following a series of resets and attempts to trace the culprit after each failed attempt.
• The 2020 Korean drama Flower of Evil which topped the same poll in 2021 is again highly voted in this 2022 poll, just one vote shy of the top spot.
• Ironically or not, Korean drama Big Mouth which is 2nd placed in "Day 6: A Drama You Dropped in 2022" with 9 votes, received 11 votes for this poll.
• Of note, Alchemy of Souls and All of Us Are Dead missed just two votes each to get on the Top 5 chart, as both received 8 votes each.

Day 12: A Drama Friendship that Stole the Show

^{21 titles | 134 votes}

Includes 4 dramas (total 22 votes) that completed airing before Dec 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 10 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 spots consist of 2022 dramas (4 Korean dramas followed by 1 Thai drama) and received more than 64 % of the total votes for this poll.
• Korean dramas swept the first 4 spots, led by Twenty-Five Twenty-One. This coming-of-age drama of five high school friends of different personalities and backgrounds with their own stories offers life lessons on friendship, love, forgiveness, passion, and sacrifice.
• Coming in 2nd is A Business Proposal. The deep, boisterous friendship between the two female leads of different family backgrounds is one to be treasured.

Day 13: A Drama You Found Boring

^{39 titles | 188 votes}

Includes 11 dramas (total 29 votes) that completed airing before Dec 2021.
The remaining nominations have 1 - 9 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• Similar to the prior Day 12 poll, the Top 5 spots are led by 4 Korean dramas followed by 1 Thai drama but received less than 50 % of the total votes for this poll.
• Of note, the top 2 dramas Love in Contract and Through the Darkness with more than 25 % of all votes for this poll, also topped the "Day 6: A Drama You Dropped in 2022" poll with more than 18 % of all votes for that poll.
• In the 2021 Edition, it was noted that some dramas are exciting for some and boring for others as they appeared in the Top 5 for both "Day 11: A Drama That Kept You On the Edge of Your Seat” and this poll.
  • In 2021, Vincenzo and Squid Game, both tied for the 2nd spot for this poll are placed 1st and 2nd for "Day 11: A Drama That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat".
  • Of note, Squid Game continues to appear in this 2022 poll with 4 votes.
• In the 2022 Edition, while we do not have dramas appearing in the Top 5 of both the "Day 11: A Drama That Kept You on the Edge of Your Seat" poll and this poll, it is noted that Alchemy of Souls received 8 votes for Day 11 poll and 3 votes (plus another 3 votes for Season 2) for this poll.
• Unlike the other 4 dramas among the Top 5 that have ratings of 7.8 and above, 4th placed Woo Ri the Virgin is a few notches down with a rating of 6.6.

Day 14: A Writer or Director Who Caught Your Attention

^{37 titles | 114 votes}

The remaining nominations have 1 - 4 vote(s) each | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• This poll has one of the fewest voters, with a total of 114 votes.
• Topping this poll with over 25 % of all votes received is South Korean Screenwriter Park Ba Ra, with her debut drama Under the Queen’s Umbrella. The new Screenwriter caught viewers’ attention by immaculately fusing Joseon palace politics with humour and modern elements, such as mothers fussing over their kids’ education, making it a highly entertaining drama, that also depicts a mother’s unconditional love, courage, and resolute to protect her kids.
• Next are 4 Thai Screenwriters / Directors.
  • 2nd placed Bee Pongsate Lucksameepong, Screenwriter, debuted in 2012. A decade on, 2022 is a very productive year for him, with 5 dramas airing in 2022, including Bad Buddy, KinnPorsche, Vice Versa, and My School President.
  • 3rd placed Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana debuted as a Film Screenwriter and Director in 2004. As a trans woman, her films focus on issues of gender and sexuality in Thai society. She has gone on to work on dramas. Her recent dramas include Not Me and Forbidden. A high achiever, Nuchy is a Thai independent Film Director and Co-Founder of G Motif, one of the largest video production companies in Thailand. As of November 15, 2020, she is also the 8th President of the Thai Film Director Association and an internationally award-winning Director.
  • 4th placed Au Kornprom Niyomsil started as a Screenwriter in 2014 and has gone on to become Assistant Director for Bad Buddy and Director for My School President in 2021-2022.
  • 5th placed Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol, nicknamed Aof, is a Director, Screenwriter, and GMMTV's Senior Director of content production. In 2022 alone, he is the Producer for 8 Thai dramas including My School President and the currently airing 10 Year Ticket.
• Tied at 5th spot with Aof is South Korean Director Kim Hee Woon. Debuted in 2014, she directed Soundtrack #1, which is slated for a second season in 2023, and Little Women. She was the Director for Vincenzo which came in 2nd place in the same poll in 2021.

Day 15: Favourite Drama Poster of 2022

^{21 titles | 180 votes}

The remaining nominations have 1 - 7 votes each. | Click the hyperlink at the daily challenge title for the full poll results.

• The Top 5 dramas for this poll received more than 79 % of all votes for this poll.
• Topping this poll with almost 30 % of all votes is Under the Queen’s Umbrella. With a poster caption that reads “The Queen, who has the fastest footsteps in all of Joseon, has arrived!”, the poster immaculately depicts that beneath the regal and dignified facade of the Queen of the nation (as shown in the top half of the poster), is the very down-to-earth, hands-on mother who is always on the run for her kids (as shown in the bottom half of the poster).
• While 2nd placed Alchemy of Souls almost tripled the 3rd placed drama with more than 23 % of all votes, I personally do not find anything interesting for this drama poster, as with the 3rd and 4th placed dramas.
• The 5th placed dramas caught my eyes instead. I have watched none of those two dramas, but reading the synopsis, I find that both drama posters have creatively conveyed the drama synopsis.
  • Filipino drama The Broken Marriage Vow is a story about a woman scorned and how a seemingly perfect home gets shattered by broken trust and infidelity, bringing forth catastrophic effects into the lives of the couple, their son, and everyone else involved. Its poster shows the female lead’s shattered photo with a red rose bearing a man’s face (likely her husband) in the foreground covering an eye of the female lead, and an eye of another man’s face (likely her son) peering from behind her neck.
  • Thai BL drama 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us explores trauma and family melodrama through the story of how a single mother manages her teenage son who experiences his first love with her old guy friend. I thought its a black and white poster of the mother lying down holding a crystal ball with a vertical line (180-degree longitude line) running through the middle of the poster, succinctly illustrating the trauma and helplessness the mother faced.

Epilogue

This is it - Part 1 of a two-parter wrap-up editorial on the poll results of the
End of the Year Drama Challenge - 2022 Edition.
Do you agree with the poll results? Why or why not?

Please look out for Part 2 which covers Day 16 to Day 31 of the polls!