K-Dramas “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” and “The Atypical Family” have achieved unprecedented viewership

Dramas on JTBC and KBS 2TV, “The Atypical Family” and “Beauty and Mr. Romantic,” respectively, reached record-breaking viewing levels and progressively established their supremacy over K-drama consumers.

Netflix’s “The Atypical Family” seems to be following in the footsteps of “Queen of Tears,” which dominated the OTT space with unprecedented audience figures, even exceeding “Crash Landing on You.” With its fourth episode, “The Atypical Family” set a personal high for the star-studded K-drama on May 12 with an average countrywide rating of 4.1 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.

On May 4, the fantasy drama had its premiere with an average national rating of 3.0 percent. With a large ensemble cast, it explores the life of the supernaturally gifted Bok family, hence the show’s namesake. Due to their incompatibility with contemporary problems and lifestyles, their abilities are diminishing, posing obstacles to their existence. When Do Da-hee appears in their life, things start to change.

With an average national rating of 18.3 percent, “Beauty and Mr. Romantic,” which dominated Korean TV, was crowned the most-watched Sunday program. This was the show’s best rating since its March 23 debut. The 50-episode series, which airs on KBS 2TV every Saturday and Sunday, consistently receives high ratings, especially for its Sunday episodes. The drama centers on the lives of popular heroine Park Do-ra, who experiences a low point and develops a bond with drama producer Go Pil-sung, who assists her in getting back on her feet.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, a new drama series on TvN, has been the most rated show in its time slot across all cable channels and has maintained a good performance with a countrywide average rating of 5.2 percent since its launch.

It remains to be seen how these recently shown dramas maintain and expand their fan base while moving up the ratings ladder to get widespread praise.