New August 2025 Weekend K-dramas Deliver Unexpected Ratings Results with Mary Kills People Tanking to 1% Range and Beyond the Bar Doubling in Ratings
There are two new August weekend K-drama arrivals, neither of which particularly appeal to me in either subject matter or cast but would happily check out if I heard it was good. It’s now been three episodes for each and the ratings of MBC drama Mary Kills People with Lee Bo Young and Lee Min Ki are on an opposite trajectory to jTBC drama Beyond the Bar starring Lee Jin Wook and Jung Chae Yeon. Medical drama Mary started off with 3.2% ratings and by episode 3 has dropped to 1.8%, unexpected for a prestige production and a very strong female lead. Legal drama Beyond the Bar premiered to 3.703% and has gone up to almost doubling in just three episodes to 6.727%. And its 3rd episode rating is even higher compared to the other currently airing legal drama Law and the City with Lee Jong Seok and Moon Ga Young which got 6.391% highest in episode 11. K-viewers are very discerning and seeing the domestic ratings trends more often than not validate a drama as being good or not so Beyond the Bar seems to be worth checking out.
I’m not really surprised. Mary Kills People is not an easy theme to talk about.
I wonder how The Wanted Dedective is doing? No words on it.
I am going to watch Mary kills People later….
Typo: The Wanted Detective..
I’ve dropped it after couple episodes. In my opinion, it’s not popular. Not even a quarter of Coroner’s Diary popularity.
No wonder there is not even a ripples of news on the drama…considering Wang Xing Yue is leading. I dont know the lead actress.
I tried the first episode and put it on hold. They wrote a horrible female lead character, and it’s hard to watch her illogical actions. I want to try to power through for WXY but hoping to hear when the FL character gets better just to know there’s an end in sight.
I dont know Julia Xiang at all, American-Chinese actress. She has done a number of dramas from Mydramalist CV..I have watched afew of them but I dont remember her in those dramas. I clearly fast forward many scenes…lol..
@HL, I don’t really know if it’s her fault. I’ve only watched her in that time travel drama and she was fine. It’s really the character herself is poorly written to be very stupid to make the story more dramatic. I don’t know if any other actress can save this character…
@Soph, I understand what you mean now.
I will be interested to watch this new actress… to get a lead role opposite Wang Xing Yue, someone is taking good care of her.
The Wanted Detective has a female flop. I liked her in other dramas. But dang she’s so monotone and one-note in this drama. A waste of WXY.
Someone tell me what am I missing about Lee Jinwook. I find him to be incredibly bland both in acting ability and visuals. He doesn’t seem particularly charismatic on screen either. Yet he lands a lot of projects and is constantly working. What was his breakout role?
I dont know too…
THe project of his which I personally enjoyed and have rewatched is Nine times travel
Thanks! I will have to check it out. I’ve only seen him in Bulgasal and Dear Hyeri as a lead, neither of his performances left much of an impression there.
He fits his current role quite well. And there’s absolutely always going to be a market for experienced actors with goodwill who presumably know their way around a set.
voice
The answer to that is easy. He belong to BH entertainment. No question about the influence LBH and his agency have in the industry.
This is the only correct answer. Another example is Park Sung Hoon. After Park Sung Hoon transferred to BH Ent., he’s suddenly everywhere and had been cast in some of the biggest dramas in recent times such as The Glory, Queen of Tears, and Squid Game. The difference tho is that PSH is actually talented and attractive (to me at least, I understand it’s subjective), while LJW is a bland actor, not to mention had a r*pe allegation
The only drama I enjoyed from him was a old drama, Powerful Opponents. He suited that role but the other 2 leads carried the drama too. Kim You Jung was such a adorable little girl in the drama.
I do remember liking Powerful Opponents too . Back then i used to watch Chae Rim’s drama . There was another drama that i liked in 2008 ” The scale of providence” . I’ll try to watch this one, i don’t know if i’m changing but since spring i just checked out a few dramas and dropped . For the first time since years , i’m losing interest !
@Soph, you’re not the only one. He doesn’t have appeal to me either visually or actin-wise.
Lee Jin Wook proving that rape and sexual assault allegations never harmed a man’s career
For real. Meanwhile, a woman has to be absolutely perfect and can’t make even a little mistake. It’s infuriating, really
Nine Times Travel was such a good time travel drama, and I remember him by this.
The Three Musketeers was fun too.
@Bunnybunny
Same. I’m not his fan or anything but I really enjoyed that drama and all the actors in it including him. I did watch an old drama smile, again where I saw him as the second male lead, nothing really memorable
Smile again, Lee Dong Gun was the male lead . I used to like Lee Dong Gun’s acting . There are so many good actors who slowly disappeared (Kim Ji Suk, Kim Jae Won, Jae Hee, Jo Hyun Jae,… when others are still active as Lee Jin Wook !
Am watching Beyond The Bar. It’s well acted and with good stories. LEE jin Wook doesnt scream leading man but he can act very well with his eyes. He isn’t dramatic which is nice.