‘Suspicious Partner’ Update: Ji Chang Wook's Drama Vie For Top Spot In Popularity Chart, beats 'Ruler: Master of the Mask'

by Robie Ferrer / Jul 04, 2017 05:21 AM EDT

Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun star in the romantic comedy series 'Suspicious Partner.' (SBS Drama/YouTube)

Competition is tight among two mid-week primetime dramas namely "Suspicious Partner" and the historical series "Ruler: Master of the Mask." The Ji Chang Wook starrer and Yoo Seung Ho's drama even nabbed two of the highest spots on a weekly popularity chart.

"Suspicious Partner" again landed at first place on Drama Fever's Top 10 list of popular Asian series. The said achievement marked the fourth consecutive week that Ji Chang Wook's romantic comedy suspense drama topped the said chart, according to a list posted on the Warner Bros. owned video streaming site.

Following "Suspicious Partner" at second place is Yoo Seung Ho's series "Ruler: Master of the Mask." The production's popularity steadily rose over the past weeks and has been at number two since mid-June. In earlier chart periods of Drama Fever's Top 10 list, the said MBC drama previously ranked in the bottom half of the chart.

Other Asian series that made it to the said chart include "The Best Hit" at third place. Similar to "Suspicious Partner" and "Ruler: Master of the Mask," the said KBS time-slip drama has been steadily rising through Drama Fever's chart to claim its current ranking. Meanwhile, "Running Man" and "My Sassy Girl" occupied the fourth and fifth spots on the said list, followed by "Lookout," "My Secret Romance," "Goblin," the Chinese series "Love 'til the End of Summer" and "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon."

Despite the impressive milestone that "Suspicious Partner" achieved on Drama Fever's weekly popularity chart, TV ratings for Ji Chang Wook's drama only ranged between 7 percent and 10 percent. The SBS drama's episodes 31 and 32 that aired on June 29 posted nationwide ratings of 7.7 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, according to Nielsen Korea.

Compared to Yoo Seung Ho's historical series, the viewership shares of "Suspicious Partner" is lower than the said MBC drama. "Ruler: Master of the Mask" episode 31 achieved nationwide ratings of 11.9 percent and 14.4 percent for episode 32.

"Suspicious Partner" and "Ruler: Master of the Mask" airs every Wednesday and Thursday on SBS and MBC, respectively. The two small screen productions each releases two 30-minute episodes during its mid-week broadcast runs.