5 highest-rated MBC dramas in 2016

2016 is not a good year for MBC. Only one drama got an average rating higher than 10%, making the combined average ratings of 9 dramas from the network to be 7.56%. That number is far lower than KBS’ 10.39% and SBS’ 11.74%. But again, low ratings do not necessarily mean that these dramas are really bad. Blame the majority of the audience for not watching them!

TV ratings mainly reflect the preference of the audience and it’s so sad to say that there are dramas who got so little attention when they actually deserved it more than the others. We won’t mention which drama(s) we are referring to, but if you’re an avid kdrama fan perhaps you already know some of them. If we can make an exception though, what about Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo? Its ratings averaged out to 4.62%, making it the lowest-rated MBC drama in 2016 (blame Legend of the Blue Sea for this). Despite that, however, many viewers who watched the show loved it and praised its non-stereotypical portrayal of a female lead character who is literally strong. Plus, it’s going to be remembered forever for this: do you like Messi? You’re not a WFKBJ fan if you don’t understand what that question means!

5th highest-rated MBC drama: Lucky Romance (8.16 %)

Lucky Romance is not the lucky post-Reply drama of Ryu Jun-yeol because unlike Moonlight Drawn By Clouds that elevated the popularity of his Reply co-star Park Bo-gum, this drama did not seem to make him more famous at the international level. Some people say it could be due to his unlikely on-screen romance with the older lead actress of the drama. Probably yes. I find it interesting that when his drama started, Lee Hyeri’s drama Entertainer was also airing over at SBS and she’s paired with an older lead actor. If I had some sort of power at that time, I should have swapped the leads to have them act together in one drama. No offense intended against Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-eum, who are both good actors themselves (and who worked together in Kill Me, Heal Me!). But seriously, don’t you think we deserve better pairing next time?

4th highest-rated MBC drama: Woman With a Suitcase (8.39 %)

I last saw Choi Ji-woo in Winter Sonata and I liked her performance very much but her latest drama was not attractive enough to have me watch her again on the small screen. Woman With a Suitcase‘s story about a paralegal-turned-lawyer is heartbreaking and inspirational, but it didn’t stand out enough to attract more and more audience during its run. On average it performed slightly better than On the Way to the Airport in terms of ratings, so we can say that it was the big winner during its run when we consider that it also beat out Moon Lover‘s performance.

3rd highest-rated MBC drama: Shopping King Louis (9.06 %)

Among all the romantic comedies I’ve watched so far, Shopping King Louis is the one that made me laugh so hard. It’s funny how this drama used even the simple scenes to get you laughing at any moment. Rom-com lovers would really love this show. If you think it has nothing to offer but comedy and romance, you’re wrong. The script would literally surprise you in some episodes because you could never imagine the things that happen next, unless of course if you have an innate talent to make dramaland predictions so accurately.

2nd highest-rated MBC drama: Monster (9.73 %)

Monster is the longest-running drama of MBC last year with 50 episodes aired in the span of nearly 6 months. That it managed to keep loyal viewers within in this period is what made the show the second highest-rated MBC drama (and the 10th highest-rated among all free-to-air dramas). There’s no beast (haha) in this drama by the way, so if you’re curious why it’s called Monster, you might consider watching it now or tomorrow.

Highest-rated MBC drama: W-Two Worlds (11.63 %)

W is likely the most popular MBC drama among avid and not-so-avid kdrama fans alike. The credit goes to popular actors Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo and the mind-blowing script. But is the script that really good? Others believe it got messed up halfway through the show and ruined the drama. Anyway, W-Two Worlds was still entertaining and gave its viewers a unique drama experience they would probably never forget.

To see all the list of rankings on one page, go to the Korean Drama Rankings 2016.

(Dramatop: Korean Drama Rankings 2016 is a Kdramapal post series that ranks kdramas based on their nationwide average viewership ratings from Nielsen Korea. It includes in its ranking only prime time dramas that air from Monday to Saturday. We ensure the accuracy of our ranking result by collecting data directly from Nielsen Korea’s website and other reliable sources. If you have feedback or questions regarding the rankings and this post series in general, you can send them to [email protected], message us via Facebook, or comment on the post below.)

(Source of images: MBC)

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