Top Drama Viewership Ratings: Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2017

We had a number of premieres and finales this week, and some last-minute scheduling tweaks related to them. On Monday, SBS launched a new show, Yoon Kyun-sang’s innocent-felon-prison-breaks-and-becomes-fake-cop show Mysterious Il-seung, and while its numbers didn’t retain all of the numbers of its predecessor, Temperature of Love, it did maintain SBS’s place in the rankings. (That would be second place, behind KBS.)

MBC, meanwhile, had an unusual lineup because it both wrapped up and kicked off a new show this week, and then had to create time to accommodate both shows. That’s because initially its low-key romantic comedy 20th Century Boy and Girl was meant to have wrapped last week, but the labor strike delayed the show’s premiere. MBC really didn’t want to give SBS the upper hand in premiering its new show first, though, and was insistent on launching Two Cops alongside Mysterious Il-seung. Thus it tried to get 20th Century to air its final four episodes last week, but that idea was insane and thankfully scrapped (which must have been a relief to the cast and crew of the show).

So instead, MBC pulled 20th Century one hour ahead of its own timeslot for its finale, to give Two Cops the regular timeslot. In the end, though, MBC wound up in third place anyway, although the numbers are close enough that we could still see them change. As a silver lining: 20th Century Boy and Girl’s numbers swing back up to 4.0% from its low last week (1.8%, ouch), which is a small consolation for the good-natured (though perhaps overly placid?) show.

Finales generally do well for dramas, which was the case this week: Witch’s Court went out on a series high with triumphs in the courtroom and in her personal life, as did slice-of-life romance Because This Life Is Our First and thriller Mad Dog. Next week: Five more shows join the lineup! We’re just swimming in premieres these days.

Drama viewership ratings for the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2017