Korean entertainment series "Unforgettable Duet" premiered to a peak rating of 2.14% in Korea on 5 November, making it the top-rated show in the timeslot among pay-TV networks (AGB Nielsen, household). The show won Silver in the Best Factual Entertainment Programme Produced for a Single Asia Market category at this year’s ContentAsia Awards. 

The eight-episode commissioned series airs on Wednesdays on MBN in Korea, with options in three more territories and advanced discussions for another three.   

The series, billed as a “therapeutic singing show where it’s okay for the contestants to forget the lyrics”, involves dementia patients and their families. 

The first episode showed viewers a listless Korean woman living with dementia using formal language towards her own son. As her memory returned, she shifted to the casual tone traditionally used in Korea towards family. As family engagement increased, her energy revived and other memories were triggered. “The effect of greater communication and empathy can be profound,” Hwang says. 

“Our production team hopes this aspect will bring about a change in perspective regarding dementia,” he adds.  

"Unforgettable Duet", developed with creative partner Eun-seol Mo ("Culinary Class War"), was inspired by Pixar animated film "Coco" and by factual show "One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga", Something Special co-founder Jin Woo Hwang told ContentAsia. 

After a pilot that focused on mothers, the MBN season has a range of dementia protagonists – a mother, father, husband, wife and grandparent – at different stages, including one who has lived with the disease for more than a decade. 

"Unforgettable Duet" follows Something Special’s original formats, "Battle in the Box", which has been commissioned in two markets, and "Still Alive", which has been optioned in 14 territories. Hwang calls "Unforgettable Duet" “the most proud and most beautiful programme in my production career”.