MBC must be doing something right. MBC's dramas and even its variety shows led this week's ratings in their respective time slots.
It's no surprise that MBC's "Gu Family Book" remains first in its slot, as it retained that position since its early episodes, but the drama actually picked up some viewers in the last weeks.
One reason for the rising ratings may be that the story of "Gu Family Book" has taken some important turns. In recent episodes, Choi Kang Chi, played by Lee Seung Gi, met both his demon father and his mysterious mother. His romantic feelings for Dam Ye Wool, played by miss A's Suzy, have escalated and viewers were treated to a memorable kdrama kiss.
But the reason for the show's overall success should not surprise anyone. There's no substitute for good writing, interesting plot twists and excellent casting, all of which the show has. Suzy adds some idol allure and the chemistry she shares with Lee Seung Gi is appealing.
At 18.3 percent, "Gu Family Book" easily surpassed "Jang Ok Jung," the saeguk retelling of Jang Ok Jung's life, which only earned 11 percent. The new KBS melodrama "Shark," which despite its stars Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil, only reached 8.8 percent. The tvN show "Dating Agency: Cyrano" rose from 0.291 to 0.335 percent. It's not much of a competition.
MBC not only scored well with its dramas this week but the variety program "Dad! Where Are We Going?" ranked as the highest program on Sunday night, trumping the KBS show "1 Night 2 Days" and the SBS show "Running Man."
"Dad" scored 16 percent of the ratings while MBC's "Real Man" earned 14.5 percent.
"Real Man" also used the idol card to draw in viewers, featuring new regular ZE:A's Hyung Sik, along with actor Jang Hyuk.
In contrast, the SBS variety show "Running Man" only earned 12.8 percent of the ratings and "Barefooted Friends" 5.6 percent in its time slot.
The MBC 50-episode series "One Hundred Years' Inheritance" also did well. It scored 25.8 and 26.2 percent, beating the SBS drama "The Secret of Birth" at 8.1 and 7.2 percent.
Netizens called "One Hundred Year's Inheritance," which stars Eugene, one of the best dramas they had seen, because it has everything: romance, sadness and joy.
The only KBS drama that seems to be earning high viewer ratings is "You're The Best Lee Soon Shin," which scored 24.4 percent and flirted with 30 percent the next night.
