The new drama "The World of The Married" replaced "Itaewon Class" and airs every Friday and Saturday. The story gained higher viewer restrictions due to the sensitivity of the issues it tackles.
The series premiered on March 27 and it hit strong 6.6% ratings. This is just the first premiere show taking 1 hour and 30 minutes on air. The second episode achieved 9.9%, which jumps to an additional 3.3%. It almost reached a rating of 2 digits for a premiere episode.
The previous shows, such as "Crash Landing On You," gained 9% when it reached episode 7, while "Itaewon Class" set 9% ratings on its 4th episode. The same thing happened with "Sky Castle." It took time, specifically on episode 9, before it attained a 9% rating.
"The World of The Married" almost reached 10% with only its first two episodes for cable television. The intrigue intensifies even if it has an R-rating or classifies as 19+ for episodes 1 to 6.
The Korea Media Rating Board issued an R (restricted) rating for JTBC "The World of the Married". It's not because of sensual content or violence. But as per producer Mo "It's a story about a married couple and the overall setting of the drama couldn't be dealt with lightly. The ratings weren't given based on the violence or the sexual elements, but because of the actor's portrayal (married life) were too realistic that the scenes seemed more tense, grave and sensational". He continued "We decided to not limit ourselves until episode six and really go ahead-on with portraying the real emotions".
The story revolves around family, adultery, and marriage. Actress Kim Hee Ae, in a character as Ji Sun Woo, is an intelligent and successful doctor who works at a well-known hospital. After her marriage and bore a son, her world all seem perfect that she couldn't ask for more.
Actor Park Hae Joon, in character as Lee Tae Oh, is a film director who strives to make a name in the entertainment industry. He is handsome and married Ji Sun Woo despite her earning more than what he does. With his ambition and work, he let temptations sway his interest and put his family in the state of major challenges. The painful part for Ji Sun Woo is to learn that the people around her, who she considers as good friends, betray her.
This also marked JTBC's first drama series that garnered the highest percentage among other shows in the past during its first premiere week.
The following are JTBC's 10 top-rated dramas with premiere shows as of March 28 data gathered from Nielsen Korea: The World of the Married (2020, 6.260%), Diary of a Prosecutor (2019-2020, 5.042%), Itaewon Class (2020, 4.983%), Chief of Staff (2019, 4.375%), Life (2018, 4.334%), Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (2019, 4.278%), Chief Of Staff 2 (2019, 4.166%), Man To Man (2017, 4.055%), Something in the Rain (2018, 4.008%), and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017, 3.829%).
