After watching the first live broadcast, Natalie made an important decision.
There's no reason I have to be the one who backs down.
Seeing Yu Myeong and Selina perform together had shaken her to the core.
She had managed to suppress her desire during both Arizade and Pandora, but after watching them perform in a true two person play, that desire swelled until it could no longer be contained. It burst free.
I want to act with him too!
The feeling was beyond her control now.
She challenged Derek directly.
"[I've changed my mind. If we both want to act with him, shouldn't we just let him decide?]"
"[Natalie, what's gotten into you? I told you I'd cry if you did this.]"
"[Cry if you want.]"
"[You joined Casting Boat because you wanted to work with me. You're not even going to consider my feelings anymore?]"
"[No. I want to act with him just as much as I want to act with you now.]"
"[Oho... You do realize you're putting yourself at a disadvantage, don't you?]"
Derek had begun by pretending to whine, but before long he leaned comfortably against one armrest, clearly amused.
Ignoring the Well, look who's grown some backbone look he was giving her, Natalie stood her ground.
"[Who knows? We won't know until we try.]"
Their standoff eventually escalated into an emergency meeting.
George, Eva, Dennis, Susan, and Emil.
The judges and the production leadership gathered to discuss the direction of the final live broadcast all over again.
"[Our original plan was to have the final two contestants, then pair Derek with Yu Myeong and Natalie with the other finalist. But honestly, from the production team's perspective, I like Natalie's suggestion too. Having the finalists choose one of the two greatest actors for the last stage would feel pretty fresh.]"
"[Come on, Dennis. The viewers are expecting me and Yu Myeong together. I already spoiled it for them.]"
"[Well... having the spoiler overturned would be a twist in itself...]"
While Dennis and Derek continued their back and forth, Eva finally spoke.
"[Why don't we just do all of it?]"
"[Excuse me?]"
"[Right now the live format is one improvisation followed by one prepared performance. What if, for the third live show, we drop the improvisation entirely and instead do four performances? Derek with Yu Myeong, Natalie with Yu Myeong, Derek with the other finalist, and Natalie with the other finalist.]"
Dennis' eyes lit up.
That's brilliant.
The ratings would probably hold even without changing anything. But right now, viewers are no longer watching for the competition. They're only looking forward to great acting. If we introduce a rivalry between Team Yu Myeong and Natalie and Team Yu Myeong and Derek, we'll restore that sense of tension...!
There were just two problems.
Could Eva really produce four scripts?
And would Derek and Natalie be willing to prepare two separate performances each?
"It's a great idea, but... can we really get the scripts ready? We don't even know who the other finalist will be yet, so we can't build a script around them."
"Honestly, I couldn't do it alone. Writing even two polished scripts is pushing my limits."
"And yet you suggested it... Does that mean you already have an alternative in mind?"
"Dennis, you've heard of Entertainment Studies, haven't you?"
Eva's alternative was Writer Yuk.
She explained in detail that, through a certain connection, she had gotten to know the head writer of Yu Myeong's previous drama. They had been discussing scripts extensively lately. The woman possessed exceptional talent, and their writing styles were remarkably similar. If TW was willing to sign her as well, Eva wanted to collaborate as a writing team.
"Both of us write fairly quickly. If we work together, I think we can finish all four scripts. Yu Myeong is definitely making the finals anyway, so we can complete his two scripts in advance. As for the remaining finalist, we'll prepare several different options. Once the second live show determines the final two, we'll stay up all night and finish the last two scripts."
Yu Myeong would reach the finals.
Everyone in the room treated it as an established fact.
Strictly speaking, they shouldn't have, but preparing contingencies for something so overwhelmingly obvious would have been a waste of time and effort.
Seeing that he liked Eva's proposal, Dennis glanced toward Natalie.
"I love it!"
She answered immediately.
Finally, Dennis looked cautiously toward Derek.
Without taking his eyes off Natalie, Derek grinned, showing his teeth.
"I'm in. I don't have the kind of personality that turns something like this down."
And just like that, the format for the third live broadcast was officially changed.
Writer Yuk enthusiastically welcomed Eva's proposal, and Dennis immediately submitted a request to bring in additional overseas writing staff.
The very next day, the head of TW Broadcasting summoned Dennis.
"Dennis, come in. Have a seat. You've been working hard lately, haven't you?"
Dennis Milton settled onto the sofa inside the station director's office on the top floor of TW Broadcasting.
The director was the man who had recruited him to the newly established network and had fully backed Casting Boat from the beginning.
He was every bit as capable a strategist as Dennis himself.
"Here."
The director handed him the overseas staffing request, now bearing his personal signature.
Casting Boat was at the height of its success.
At this point, there was almost nothing the program could ask for that the network would refuse.
Telling Dennis to pick up the approved paperwork was merely an excuse. Clearly, there was something else the director wanted to discuss.
After asking whether there had been any difficulties and whether preparations for the next live broadcast were going smoothly, the director finally got to the point.
"Dennis, to be honest... I was worried. When you said you wanted to devote the last thirty minutes of Episode Eight almost entirely to one actor, I figured it would generate buzz, but kill the tension in the second half."
"To be honest... I was worried too. Just because something is well made doesn't mean the ratings will follow."
Dennis had spoken confidently to Susan.
In front of the director, however, he was much more candid.
After all, pretending everything had gone exactly according to plan would have been pointless with someone this experienced.
"It's practically common knowledge that what drives ratings in audition shows is fierce competition between evenly matched contestants, along with all the backstage jealousy and drama."
"And yet you knowingly took that risk. Why?"
Faced with the sharp question, Dennis answered calmly.
"Because... acting audition reality shows have never truly succeeded before."
"Hmm..."
"If we'd followed the conventional formula, the ratings would have declined as the show progressed anyway. In that case, I figured it was better to take a gamble."
"So... why did this gamble pay off? Have we discovered a new formula for success?"
Dennis thought for a moment before answering.
"I've considered a number of theories, but after seeing seventy percent of both the audience vote and the viewers' vote go to Yu Myeong alone, I realized something.
The psychology of the people watching Casting Boat is rather unusual.
They're not watching it like an entertainment audition anymore.
It's more like they're watching a movie with a protagonist."
"A movie?"
"Yes. Director, when you watch a superhero film, you already know the hero is going to win, don't you?"
The director considered it.
Superman versus Lex Luthor.
Batman versus the Joker.
Everyone knew how those stories ended.
People still watched because they loved the protagonist, empathized with them, and wanted to witness their victory.
"That's true."
"Casting Boat is the same now. People watch believing Yu Myeong will win. They're tuning in to see whether that seemingly inevitable ending really unfolds the way they expect."
"Then shouldn't the ratings dip whenever someone other than Yu Myeong is performing?"
"Ah... Think of them as compelling supporting characters."
The director stared at him in disbelief.
A reality competition where one contestant functioned as the protagonist and everyone else filled the role of supporting characters...
It sounded bizarre.
Utterly bizarre.
Yet he couldn't refute Dennis' theory.
"Then this can hardly be called an audition anymore..."
"Exactly. Perhaps what we've really been doing is using one of the top five television networks in America and twenty two episodes of airtime to make a film about the success story of a single actor."
"Hmm..."
The director fell silent for quite some time.
"In that case... it'll be difficult to use this format again."
"The odds of another performer of Yu Myeong's caliber remaining undiscovered until an audition like this are... practically zero. So yes, it'll be difficult."
"That's a shame..."
"On the contrary, Director, we've been incredibly fortunate. Because he appeared, the entire project became far bigger than we'd imagined.
We invested heavily in Casting Boat because we wanted the newly launched TW Channel to establish itself among America's top five networks.
Then Yu Myeong showed up, our wildcard, and the return has already exceeded every expectation.
And that's not all. By making the grand prize a role in Director Kyler's next film, we've already secured Yu Myeong's immediate future under TW's film division.
Even if Casting Boat never gets a second season, I'd say this program has more than fulfilled its mission."
The director nodded.
"You're right. I got greedy. The results have far exceeded my expectations. And the film division, proud as they are, has certainly been put in a good mood."
"Exactly."
"You proved your ability almost immediately after transferring here. As promised, you'll be the next head of the Variety Department."
"Thank you."
"By the way... that actor. Rather than stopping at one film, do you think we could lock him into an exclusive deal for three or four pictures instead? Ahem."
Once again, the director's ambition got the better of him.
Following the first live broadcast, Casting Boat became an even bigger cultural phenomenon.
As a result, Episode Eighteen, despite serving primarily as a behind the scenes making of episode between the live broadcasts, showed no decline in ratings.
It covered topics such as:
The special effects mechanisms used for the zombie, vampire, and werewolf performances.
How the actors selected or developed their scripts and approached their performances.
The considerations that went into designing and constructing the stage and lighting.
Although it was still a variety show, the "in between episode" had the feel of a documentary.
It wasn't structured like a conventional entertainment program, but viewers already captivated by Casting Boat were thrilled to get a glimpse behind the curtain.
The judges' discussions were shown as well.
"The fear of one human being eating another exists, to some degree, in everyone. I loved how the performance boldly confronted that instinctive horror while expressing the despair of someone desperately trying not to abandon their humanity. Instead of making us think, That's disgusting, it made us feel, That's heartbreaking."
"When a person's own hope comes into conflict with humanity's hope, what should they choose? His suicide could be viewed as a selfish act from humanity's perspective, but because I empathized with his grief, I wanted to support his decision. That's why making it a prequel was such an excellent choice. Watching him lose his mother allowed us to experience his sorrow much more deeply."
The four judges, each at the pinnacle of their respective fields, analyzed the contestants' performances in remarkable depth.
And with Derek and Natalie seated there in all their striking elegance, it was easy to forget whether the audience was watching a production meeting or a scene from a film.
That wasn't all.
The program even condensed and broadcast the lottery process for selecting the live studio audience.
"All right! Applications for live audience seats have broken our previous record once again! We'll conduct the drawing right here, live, and we'll even call one lucky winner on the spot!"
The moment the winning names were announced, Episode Eighteen reached its highest minute by minute ratings.
The tension was comparable to watching lottery numbers being drawn.
And the lucky winner who answered the phone was—
"Congratulations! You've won tickets to attend the second live broadcast of Casting Boat!"
"Huh? M Me?"
"That's right! 'Dominico,' you're our lucky winner! Would you like to say a few words?"
"...To be honest, I've spent my entire life despising the blind worship of other people. Yet after accepting that I had become someone's fan for the very first time, it seems even irrational concepts like 'luck' and 'miracles' have begun working in my favor. Thank you very much."
"Uh... r right... Thank you..."
The leader of R.O.A., Dominico.
Even Jerry High was momentarily thrown off by the winner's uniquely eccentric way of speaking.
Then came the announcement.
"The theme of the next live broadcast is... Professional Occupations!"
The challenge for the second live round had been revealed.