Gong Yoo attends the 'Train To Busan' photocall during the 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain)
The new tvN drama "Goblin" is off to a good start with TV ratings breaking the previous record posted by the drama "Reply 1988." Moreover, Gong Yoo's new series also reached an impressive viewership share level among tvN's target demographic group.
Gong's fantasy drama series "Goblin" posted high viewership ratings during its premiere episode. Aired on Dec. 2, Friday, the tvN drama's first episode reached an average TV rating of 6.9 percent, according to OSEN.
With a combined TV rating from pay-per-view viewership shares on satellite, cable and IPTV, the new tvN series' premiere also registered a peak rating of 9.3 percent. Given the drama's TV rating levels, "Goblin" broke the cable network's previous highest premiere episode viewership share posted by "Reply 1988."
The said slice of life drama registered an average of 6.7 percent when it premiered in November 2015. At its peak, the said episode reached 8.6 percent.
Apart from the high first episode ratings, Gong's new drama also reached an average rating of 4.4 percent among the 20 to 40 years old demographic. Considered as a target audience for tvN, a total of 5.8 percent from the said demographic group tuned in to watch the new fantasy drama series.
With an intriguing storyline that featured an immortal goblin and an amnesiac grim reaper, the tvN drama captured the interest of many South Korean drama lovers. The production also features a star-studded cast that consists of Gong, as well as "My Girl" actor Lee Dong Wook, "Cheese in Trap" actress Kim Go Eun, Yoo In Na, BTOB group member Yook Sung Jae and more.
Meanwhile, the tvN drama's first two episodes each featured a 90-minute run to tell the backstory of the series' core characters. A tvN representative told local reporters that showrunners decided to release longer episodes during the drama's premiere week to showcase the drama's impressive scenes and high-quality production work, Korean news outlet EDaily quoted the representative as saying.
"Goblin" airs every Friday and Saturday on tvN. Watch the preview for the upcoming episode 3 below:
