SBS’s Friday and Saturday dramas are leading a successful era by capturing both viewership and buzz.
SBS is dominating the K-drama industry with a triple hit of "Love Scout," "Buried Hearts," and "Haunted Palace," sweeping the first quarter of 2025. Through continuous investment and planning for dramas, SBS has proven the success era of its Friday and Saturday dramas by capturing both viewership and buzz.
The first Friday and Saturday drama of 2025, "Love Scout," features a close-care romance between a CEO named Ji-yoon, who excels only at work, and Eun-ho, a perfect secretary. The romance between Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk received praise as a perfect romance bible, delivering a healing message for adults. Consequently, "Love Scout" surpassed double-digit viewership within just three episodes, achieving its highest viewership of 11.3% and a peak of 14% in the final episode. It also attained a maximum target rating of 4.4% among the 2049 demographic, securing the top spot in drama brand reputation for January and February 2025 and marking a successful start for SBS’s Friday and Saturday dramas.
"Buried Hearts" depicts Seodong-joo, who hacks a political slush fund of 2 trillion won, betting everything to defeat the absolute evil that killed him and to collapse its world. The performances of Park Hyung-sik, who succeeded in his acting transformation, and the excellent villain portrayal by Heo Jun-ho, along with the thrilling plot and action scenes, received high praise. "Buried Hearts" ended with its highest viewership of 15.7%, concluding as the most-watched mini-series this year, securing its position as a dominant player in Friday and Saturday dramas.
"Haunted Palace" has established itself as the third consecutive hit following "Love Scout" and "Buried Hearts." "Haunted Palace" is a fantasy romantic comedy where a shaman named Yeori, who rejects the fate of being a medium, and her first love Yoon-gap face an eight-legged ghost seeking vengeance against the royal family. This gripping story incorporates intriguing court mysteries and spine-chilling episodes of K-myth, showcasing the appeal of K-myth worldwide. It has ranked first in viewership in its time slot for three consecutive weeks, as well as ranking first among Saturday mini-series while on the verge of surpassing double-digit viewership.
SBS was able to open a successful era for its Friday and Saturday dramas by showcasing diversity across genres such as romance, genre pieces, and fantasy historical dramas. This led to securing viewer interest and buzz. The rankings published weekly by Good Data Corporation show that its works and cast members frequently appear in the TV+OTT buzz rankings, dominating discussions across various social media platforms and communities. Through format sales and global OTT services, the global influence of SBS’s Friday and Saturday dramas is expanding. "Love Scout" ranked first in viewer numbers in 123 countries, including the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., France, the United Arab Emirates, and India, on the second week of its airing. In the third week of airing, “Haunted Palace” ranked first among Asia genre charts on the Japanese OTT platform Lemino and first overall among the drama categories on the Taiwanese OTT platform Hami Video, showcasing the strength of SBS’s Friday and Saturday dramas.
Based on such overwhelming viewership and high buzz, SBS’s Friday and Saturday dramas are further solidifying their place as a "drama kingdom." This coming second half of the year, new dramas such as the emotional melodrama "Our Movie" starring Namgoong-min and Jeon Yeobin, the first sports drama about rugby in Korea titled "Try" starring Yoon Kyung-sang, the crime thriller "Praying Mantis" starring Go Hyun-jung and Jang Dong-yoon, and the romantic comedy "Cosmic Mary Me" starring Choi Woo-shik and Jung So-min, along with the return of the mega-hit IP "Taxi Driver" Season 3 after two years, are expected to continue the high viewership and buzz.
[Photo] SBS
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