First of all, sorry if you find this ask silly 😅🥹
Ossan's love Thailand is flopping badly (both in terms of ratings and trending...no buzz...nothing...basically a washout 😔) and I wouldn't have bothered but CatForCash, FirstKhao's upcoming show has the same director as OLTH 😫😩....I've also learnt that My Love Mix Up was also got huge flaks from both the fans of the original and fans of GeminiFouth. None of this seem very encouraging at this moment. 😕
Hi anon. I'm sorry in advanced for my rambling messy thoughts. But you did ask 🙂↕️
I guess it depends on what you mean by flop. OLTH X/Twitter trend is decent between 350-380k each episode (and let me remind you, this is way more than Only Friends trends (with count post between 180-280k per episode apart from the finale, which reached 465k) - if this was aired in 2024/2025 - will Only Friends be considered a flop?
I am not discounted the fact that yes - the recently completed ThamePo reached 2.65M Tweets for the finale and Pluto 5M Tweets...and of course, THK finale reaching 1.6+M (may I also point out despite THK success, their finale fan party did not sold out, unlike ThamePe, Pluto, MLMU, OFTS finale events). I also don't think THK fan meeting at Manila is sold out either...
Also, MLMU (which you mentioned receiving flaks from fans) reached 1.13M+ Tweet and reached No. 2 as the most popular series on Viu when it was airing, just below 4Minutes).
However, the biggest problem I have with X/Twitter trend nowadays, I am not even sure what is considered "genuine engagement" anymore... - half of the tweets on X with the desired # and KW are nonsense (the posts range from random games and affirmative, repetitive message to "boost" the trend) - nothing meaningful pertains to the series etc.
Now, going back to OLTH, EarthMix has a decent fanbase in Thailand (and Asian countries) in general - and the series are actually doing great for the targeted audience - which is, people who like the specific kind of genre and Japanese humour (over the top, slapstick comedy). It is also the only Thailand series that reached No 1 in TELASA (Japanese streaming platform) for "International TV drama/Asia" category.
I personally like OLTH, Earth's comedic timing is great and as usual, his chemistry with Mix (and even the boss!) are amazing. The production is polished and there are meaningful messages being conveyed beyond the slapstick comedy. But the reality is, this specific genre is never going to be everyone's cup of tea (and I suspect with at least 1/2 of the GMMTV audiences being teenagers/early 20s - it is not something they will resonate with strongly when compared to let say....a fictional boy band with their leader having a sweet romance with a handsome video director).
As for your comment about P'Au (the director for OLTH and MLMU) - this is also the same director who directed the massively successful My School President (MSP) that put GeminiFourth in the spotlight (and turn them into the darlings and princes of GMMTV). He is also the protege for P'Aof and assistant director for all of P'Aof projects including ATOTS, 2gether the series, Last Twilight, Bad Buddy (all of which are award-wining series).
I admit MLMU is not my favourite series of P'Au (it has nothing to do with the actors/actresses - they were marvelous). I got irritated instead by the excessive ads and colouring of the series (which I am told is meant to mimic Japanese soft aesthetics). P' Au did better with OLTH for this while he adapted the need to incorporate ads better in MSP.
And that brings me to another point - both MLMU and OLTH are Japanese adaptations, which means they are already something for original fans of the series to compare with - some fans will never be happy with remakes no matter how good these might be. I think this is more true for MLMU than OLTH, although the latter still got some flacks from original fans who complained about specific scenes that got cut/dialogues being modified etc.
As for Cat for Cash, one thing I am not worried about is FK will always deliver with their acting and chemistry. What I am concerned about are fans on X/Twitter putting their expectations on what they want the series to portray (hello? they haven't even filming, I don't even think the script is fully finalised?). However, an original script means P'Au and his team can have full creative control and hopefully brings it to even greater heights (like he did with MSP).
As for trending or "hype" during Cat For Cash - look, FK fans will be tuning in no matter what. Even the fans who are skeptical about the concept (based on the trailer), will at least be curious enough to stick for 1-2 episodes because it is FK playing the lead roles (and hopefully by then, FK and the storyline will be enough for people to stay tune). What I suspect FK are doing is trying to appeal to the more domestic market in Thailand/SEA because their current fans are just more international (which is good for them but that means they are less likely to get brands etc wanting to endorse/sponsor the boys in SEA).
I am also going to point out, FK fans are terrible at this trending business. I suspect without Joong's fanbase (in particular Joong's Trend Twitter, who I have to admit run the whole boost trend during THK so efficiently that I have to give them a massive salute), the trend for THK will not be as successful....most FK fans are less likely to use the # or KW once the episode/event finished (and from what I have learnt - the trend is calculated at the 24 hours mark). I have seen FK fans on Twitter taking the initiative to encourage other FK fans to use #/KW more effectively but the results so far have been mixed.
After all the rambling above, anon, let's just wait and see. FK have been amazing at picking up the project that highlights their acting chops since they have been partnered up (personally, I also think it was smart of them to choose a soft, sweet romance as their next project because most of the other CPs chose "heavy/intense" projects - like FB and their spooky, haunted storyline, PP with mafia storyline, BounPrem with their dark, gothic vampire story, GemFourth with a religious theme, JoongDunk with their mystery/crime detective story.
However, I will not be surprised if CFC trend will be at most, on par with OLTH - because well, firstly, it will only be FK fans and like I say, if you want to see numbers akin to THK (at the very least), you will need an admin like Joong's Trend Twitter who are online 24/7 days organising the whole "boost" trends effectively.