Translation result
 |
| Posters for each drama / Photos provided by SBS, JTBC, TV Chosun |
[Sports Today reporter Song O-jung] In the second week of March, several newly premiered dramas posted their initial ratings and early buzz metrics. Some shows saw sharp gains within their first week, while others quickly became hot topics among viewers.
SBS’s Friday–Saturday drama Shin I-rang’s Law Office, which debuted on March 13, opened to a promising 6.3% nationwide household rating — roughly three percentage points higher than its predecessor, Starting Today, I’m Human. The series climbed again in episode two, rising 2.4 percentage points to 8.7%, putting it within sight of the 10% milestone after just two episodes, according to Nielsen Korea. Two days after it went live on Netflix, the series reached No. 1 on Netflix Korea’s Top 10 Series chart.
Starring Yoo Yeon-seok and written by Kim Ga-young and Kang Cheol-gyu with Shin Jung-hoon directing, Shin I-rang’s Law Office centers on a lawyer possessed with an uncanny ability to untangle the han — the deep, unresolved resentments — of the dead. Like SBS’s hit series Taxi Driver, it benefits from a low barrier to entry: a clear, cathartic premise that combines a hero who helps the wronged, satisfying comeuppance for villains, comic beats and straightforward storytelling. Those elements give it broad mainstream appeal across age groups.
If Shin I-rang’s Law Office has delivered a strong start on the ratings front, another series has become a hot topic among drama fans: the return of writer Im Seong-han with TV Chosun’s weekend drama Doctor Shin, directed by Lee Seung-hoon. Doctor Shin attracted attention before airing not only because it is Im’s new project but also for its audacious “brain-change” premise. Despite the writer’s renown and the pre-air interest, the show posted a modest 1.4% rating in its first week. Still, online communities and YouTube reflect significant curiosity about both the series and Im herself. Im’s distinctive dialogue — often referred to as her “fingerprint” — and the daring concept read as a bold experiment within Korean drama.
Joining the new-season fray is tvN’s weekend drama How to Become a Building Owner in Korea (written by Oh Han-gi; directed by Im Pil-seong and Kim Sang-hoon), hereafter Building Owner. The suspense drama follows a beleaguered small-scale property owner who, drowning in debt, becomes involved in a staged kidnapping to protect his family and his building. The series inherits the timeslot from the popular Undercover Miss Hong. That predecessor began at 3.5% and built to a peak of 13.1%, which set high expectations for the new title. With actor Ha Jung-woo returning to television drama after 19 years, Building Owner opened at 4.1% and edged up 0.4 percentage points in episode two, showing a steady first-week trajectory.
[Sports Today reporter Song O-jung ent@stoo.com]
「The closest, most fun news ⓒ Sports Today」
Most Commented