Categories: K-dramas

tvN Sat-Sun Drama Romance is a Bonus Book Gets Solid Premiere Ratings of 4.280% and Really Positive Reviews

I wasn’t rooting for this drama to succeed or fail, I just wanted it to be good and it looks like after the first episode it may just attain ratings success and be a good drama. tvN premiered book-centric rom-com Romance is a Bonus Book this Sat, taking over from the higher profile Memories of Alhambra which ended on a ratings high note and narrative coherency low note. The ratings halved from MOA’s high, with Bonus Book bringing in 4.280% in its first episode which is honestly higher than I expected. Rom-coms rarely do high ratings which is why Why Secretary Kim was so special so I was thinking Bonus Book would do around 3% which is alright on cable. What’s more promising is how the initial viewer reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, also a surprise considering netizens are annoyed at both leads – Lee Jong Seok for playing the same types of character and getting facial tweaks, and Lee Na Young for living off of CFs and rarely working. Guess all it takes is a well-written yarn to get noses stuck in a book, or in this case tuning in to tvN.

ockoala

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  • As expected plastic nose lee joong suck continue getting flop after flop. He should taking role Netflix drama with kim ji won or get military enlistment. I see lee joong suk will run to military enlistment cause this drama sh**ty casting and sh**ty script and this drama will likely getting cut early just like yoo doojoon.

    • Welcome Valentinazara I see you have found your niche for the next 2 months which is all good. I’m all down for your predictions and have no malice towards your posts. Thank you for keeping it real.

  • I’m eating my words! This romcom drama for me is tonic and I’ve never really expected anything out of it but that first episode and LNY portrayal of Dan I has definitely hooked me in for keeps. Even LJS is starting to look very handsome and I love how these two were friends from way back so no chance meetings they actually have history together. I also like the setting at a publishing company and the varying personalities there so yes I’m looking forward to this drama and although it’s a Noona dongsaeng relationship one it certainly doesn’t have that vibe and you can’t tell because for me they just look like mates I guess LNY screen presence is just illuminating you can’t tell who’s older. Well done cast and crew ❤️

  • Seems Boring.. And there's no chemistry between the leads..the romance is gonna seem really awkward.. Dropping it

  • What genre does well in korea if scifi does bad, melo does bad and even romcom does bad. What genre actually pulls in ratings then? Aren't kdrama known for romcom? Why would they do bad? I think 4.2 is low but the episode was very good so I'm sure it'll go high.

      • This statement is true maybe years ago. Not really if you consider recent premiere ratings. Even crowned clown got 5.7 for first episode. 4.2 is low for famous actors like Lee jongsuk and Lee nayoung.

    • Sci-fi has never been mainstream.
      Melo is abit outdated.
      Rom-com has average ratings, and depends heavily on who is headlining it.

      • Then what exactly brings in ratings? Dramas recently have done very very poorly for all categories but they hey day of SWP shows that rom-com is beloved.

      • I think Koreans like dramas which can be related to real life. I took a look at the top rated cable dramas... and Sky Castle, Signal, Reply series, Prison Playbook, Childless Comfort and Misaeng seems to fit in the category.
        They like historical dramas as well.

    • I think that dramas that resonate with current or past issues (is that the right word? Societal issues or historical tradegies I guess?) seem to do well in Korea, which is to be expected, as it touches the greatest audience.

  • Is the drama actually good? I like him but haven't got around to watch it yet since rom-com is not my thing in general. Hoping the rating will pick up soon so he'll enlist in a high note. Also I can see the obvious tweak in his nose, but the vibe of his face just changed way too much, I wonder if he's aging and maturing, losing too much weight, or is it something else? Anyways his weight loss has taken away some of that babyish-ness that he had before.

    • Will he enlist if the drama doesn't do well?
      I remembered he wanted to enlist after While You Were Sleeping but then it didn't do very well so he postponed it lmao.

      • I don't think he'll enlist even if the drama does well. He might do a movie after the drama ends and he if he can squeeze in another drama before early next year he might do that as well. He has time till then to enlist it doesn't have to be this year.

      • I think he's already late. The 1990-ers already begun to enlist this year. Ofc Lee Jongsuk can always cry and use his graduate studies as an excuse to delay.

      • I think it would be better if you were informed correctly before.
        The date of his enlistment he postponed was for August 10, 2016. WYWS was launched in September. He postponed his enlistment for several reasons in addition to the WYWS promotion. At that time he was promoting the VIP movie that would premiere on August 24 and he was also pursuing a master´s degree in college. After postponing any date was mencioned.
        At the presscon of Romance he was asked about his enlistment and he replied that he planned to do it this year. He said that before joining he wanted to shoot a drama for his fans He said that this kind of drama was what his fans had asked him to do. Here is the YouTube link of the presscon that has English subtitles https://youtu.be/YEaTU-mWfMw

      • Thank you Vera for the LJS feedback its always good to receive commentary that is factually based rather then mere assumptions. Yep LJS is definitely point scoring and this particular drama is really the first one I’ve seen of him and he is in fine form. LNY Dan I for me is refreshing to see a character that doesn’t mope around being a sorry sack she wills herself out of her unfortunate predicament even if it means she has to sneak around Eun-Ho house to hide out. Episode 2 was brilliant with supporting cast teased in. I like Park Hoon especially.

      • You´re welcome, Ginger Crunch.
        I am also enjoying this drama a lot. I love the character of LNY, his positive and lively attitude despite the obstacles he faced.
        Although it is a comedy, it will not be anything superficial.
        I have read knetizen´s comments and it has been comforting. They have found the drama funny and they are enjoying the relationship between LJS and LNY.
        Like your previous comment, I also agree that the realtionship between them is more of friends and colleagues than of noona dongsaeng. I hope that many see this drama. Really worth it.THIS DRAMA PROCLAIMS A VICTORY TO LIFE.

  • Haven't watch. I was burnt by LJS's last drama, "The Hymn of Death" which took me 12 seatings to complete, so I am still not ready to watch him again... But... Lee Na Young is so very pretty. She has alwayals been my girl-crush... So I will definitely tuning in real soon.

  • I'm glad its finally here! Finally a real romcom without unnecessary overseas setting and weird fantasy elements!

    • That same time slot used to have an average of 8% rating, so 4% has left which is exactly half of the audience not interested in this new drama. How can you call it “high”? ? and just to compare with Rom-Com WWSK with an average rating of around 8%, this drama only score half of that. So 4% is not high, it is mediocre, just like the male lead, mediocre actor ?

      • WWSK started at 5.7%, average nationwide is 7.5, Seoul is 8.4.
        So just say let’s wait and see if this drama can make it like WWSK.

    • Oh just forget this is weekend drama ? yeah you need star power to bring rating in first ep. And not like MOTA or WWWSK the teaser look boring.
      Still going to watch this

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