"Reply 1988," the third installment in the nostalgic "Reply" series, broke its own ratings record on December 5, earning 13.9 percent of the viewers in the nationwide Nielsen ratings and even more in Seoul.

According to the Korean media outlet Joongang Daily, this was also the highest rating among all cable channel programs aired during the same time slot.

The drama's producer Shin Won Ho may be pleasantly surprised as he did not expect such high viewership ratings. He said so during a November press conference for the program.

"There were some viewers who said that doing a third show was a bad idea, and others who wanted to see it," said Shin at the press conference. "We went into it with two trains of thought. First, it was not a series we could just stop and second, there was no way it would do well since statistics have shown that the third installment of anything never does well."

Maybe Shin should have expected this drama to break the rules, as the first "Reply" drama "Reply 1997" was a surprise hit, recording the highest ratings of all time for a cable drama. The second "Reply" drama, set in 1994 was also a hit.

Shin may not have expected the 1988 installment to succeed since it varies a little from the previous two. While each program uses the proven formula of a young woman interacting with the mystery man she will eventually marry in the present, "Reply 1988" focuses more on the families and friends of the couple-to-be. There's more family drama.

Sung Deok Seon is the heroine of the 1988 drama. Played by Girls Day's Hyeri, she's not fond of her sister and prefers to spend her time with her male friends.

Her four friends are Kim Jung Hwan, played by Ryu Jun Yeol, Sun Woo, played by Go Kyung Pyo, Choi Taek, played by Park Bo Gum and Ryu Dong Ryong, played by Lee Dong Gwi. Friendship will turn to romance and she will eventually marry one of them.

The drama is set in 1988 when Korea hosted the Summer Olympics and families got together to watch the ceremony on TV.

"Reply 1988" was also inspired by the MBC drama 'Three Families Under One Roof," one of the longest running Korean dramas of all time. "Three Families Under One Roof" ran from 1986 to 1994 and focused on the stories of three families who lived in the same apartment building.

The past "Reply" dramas have launched the careers of several actors, including Seo In Guk in "Reply 1997" and Jung Woo and Yoo Yeon Suk in "Reply 1994.

Only time will tell what it does for the careers of the stars of "Reply 1988."