The First Season of the Battle For the Throne

How has the landscape of weekend dramas changed without actor Ahn Bo-hyun? First of all, Hwang Jung-eum, is back to focus on her job with all personal issues aside. Cha Eun-woo is drawing attention not only with his visuals but also with his character's actions in the drama. On top of that, Kim Soo-hyun is proving himself the 'king of rom-com' once again.

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SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Flex X Cop" started with a 5.7% (based on the national average of Nielsen Korea), followed by 9.3% in the last episode, 10.1% in the Seoul metropolitan area, and 2.9% in the 2049 viewer rating. The highest viewer rating was 11.0% in the eight episodes, raising expectations for Season 2.

Regarding "Flex X Cop" Season 2, SBS said, "We are preparing for "Flex X Cop - Season 2". Writer Kim Ba-da has already started working on the script and is discussing positively about "Flex X Cop - Season 2" with cast actors such as Ahn Bo-hyun and Park Ji-hyun, and is coordinating the schedule". Ahn Bo-hyun, who plays the main character Jin-soo, also showed a positive response to joining season 2 during the closing interview. He made a splendid exit, signaling a new SBS series that will follow "The Fiery Priest" and "Taxi Driver".

The weekend that Ahn Bo-hyun left became a battleground for SBS's Friday-Saturday dramas; "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection", MBC's Friday-Saturday drama "Wonderful World", and tvN's Saturday-Sunday drama "Queen of Tears" battled for the throne.

"The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection" which first aired on March 29th, recorded 4.4% of the first episode. In terms of the Seoul metropolitan area, the movie recorded an average of 5.0% and an instantaneous maximum of 6.3%. The figure is 1.6% lower than 6.0% of the first episode of the previous series "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection" which was aired in seventeen episodes last year. Considering that "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection" recorded the highest viewer rating of 7.7% and the lowest rating of 5.2%, it is a bit of a shaky start. This is all the more so considering that it took over the place of "Flex X Cop" and enjoyed the halo as it was.

In the second episode, Geum Ra-hee (Hwang Jung-eum) came up with her plan to destroy Han Mo-ne (Lee Yu-bi). With the help of the Geum Ra-hee, who secretly helps Min Do-hyeok (Lee Joon), he cleared himself of the serial killer name and proudly showed up in front of Matthew Lee (Uhm Ki-joon), raising expectations. However, the competition increased further to 3.2% on Saturday. It is regrettable considering that the movie attracted attention by starring actor Hwang Jung-eum, who is currently in divorce proceedings.

On the other hand, "Wonderful World", which aired on the same day, recorded 11.4% in the ninth episode, breaking its own highest ratings. It also topped the list with an overwhelming 11.7% rating among all programs on Friday. The figure jumped almost twice as much as it started with 5.3% in the first episode. It is also the first double-digit rating for "Wonderful World", which recorded 9.9% in the last five episodes, which was unfortunately not achieved. After the end of "Flex X Cop" which was a strong competition, "Wonderful World" seems to have somewhat absorbed viewers, not "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection".

In the tenth episode of "Wonderful World", Soo-hyeon (Kim Nam-joo) was surprised to learn all the acts of revenge by Seon-yool (Cha Eun-woo), while throwing sharp advice at him. At the same time, it was revealed that Seon-yool was a benefactor who drove Go-eun (Won Mi-kyung) to the hospital and that his mother finally passed away and Soo-hyun faced Seon-yool, as a mourner, hinting at a turning point in the relationship between the two, which was marked by revenge and hatred. However, like "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection" Saturday also saw its viewership fall to 9.2%.

Saturday's winner was "Queen of Tears", which recorded 12.8% in the seventh episode and topped all channels including terrestrial broadcasting in both the Seoul metropolitan area and the nation. Considering that it recorded 11.0% in the fifth episode of the previous week, the momentum is scary. Moreover, it recorded 14.1% in the sixth episode, topping "Hotel Del Luna" and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha", ranking eighth in ratings for tvN's Saturday and Sunday dramas. After "Flex X Cop" left, it seems to have won the throne by safely beating "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection" and "Wonderful World".

In the eighth episode, the story was constantly moving from actor Song Joong-ki's special appearance to the divorce of Baek Hyeon-woo (Kim Soo-hyun) and Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won), to the trip to Yongdu-ri, after Queens group was taken away. Finally, it achieved 16.1% of the viewership, beating "Our Blues" and "Vincenzo", and ranked sixth in the ratings for tvN's Saturday and Sunday dramas of all time. "Queen of Tears" has reached the middle of sixteen episodes, and it is a faster trend than the previous tvN's Saturday and Sunday drama No. 1 "Crash Landing on You", which is bound to raise expectations.