By Joyce J.Chansingh

The drama series drew flak for emphasising conflict between Singaporeans and foreigners, yet garnered top spot in MediaCorp’s 2011 annual list of top dramas of the year.

Now, what’s a drama without the drama? Just ask Love Thy Neighbour. Amid the hullabaloo over its scripted dialogue and representation of locals and foreigners, Ch 8’s Love Thy Neighbour which starred Felicia Chin, Shaun Chen and Hong Kong veteran actor Ha Yu attracted a whopping average viewership of 941,000 making it the most-watched drama of 2011.

Second on the chart of 2011’s most watched Ch8 drama was police drama series C.L.I.F starring Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu, earning an average viewership of 924,000. Also joining the ranks of dramas that had successfully crossed the 900,000 viewership mark were: The Oath, starring Christopher Lee and Jesseca Liu, and A Tale of 2 Cities starring Rui En coming in at 3rd and 4th placing respectively. On the Fringe, a popular youth-oriented drama that dealt with delinquency issues and the rise of juvenile gangs, and starred budding young local stars Edwin Goh,Ian Fang, Kimberly Chia and Elizabeth Lee, took the 5th spot. The well-liked drama was also most-watched drama on xinmsn’s Catch-Up TV, receiving 1.3 million streams during its run.

Ch8’s blockbuster drama series, however failed to live up to their hype and expectations. Devotion, a mid-year blockbuster series that marked Ah Jie Zoe Tay’s return to the drama scene and headlined by a strong cast of veteran actors such as Chen Hanwei and Terence Cao only managed to achieve a 9th placing with 829,000 average views. The same fate goes to A Song To Remember, a cabaret-styled period drama touted as 2011’s year-end blockbuster series. Starring Joanne Peh, Eelyn Kok and Qi Yuwu, the drama narrowly squeezed through the Top 10 ranks and settled for 10th placing with an average of 827,000 views.

On the other hand, still riding the wave of cult popularity was Taiwanese long-running drama Love, which maintained its dominance on the 7pm primetime belt chart on Ch8. scoring top spot with an average of 831,000 views. Local nostalgic drama Kampong Ties set in the 60s and 70s as well as the recently concluded martial arts drama Code of Honour took the 3rd and 4th placing respectively.

Ch8 Top 9pm Drama Average Viewership

1. Love Thy Neighbour 941,000
2. C.L.I.F 924,000
3. The Oath 915,000
4. A Tale of 2 Cities 904,000
5. On the Fringe 893,000
6. The In-Laws 878,000
7. Bountiful Blessings 848,000
8. Prosperity 843,000
9. Devotion 829,000
10. A Song To Remember 827,000
11. Be Happy 780,000

Ch8 Top 7pm Drama Average Viewership

1. Love 831,000
2. Night Market Life 772,000
3. Kampong Ties 750,000
4. Code of Honour 645,000

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in A Tale of 2 Cities 乐在双城, Code of Honour 正义武馆, EN, On The Fringe 边缘父子, Ratings 节目收视率, The In-Laws 麻婆斗妇, xinmsn.