Check Out The Most-Watched Miniseries Dramas Of 2018

Dec 21, 2018

As we approach the end of 2018, the industry is taking a look back at some of the year’s most popular dramas!

On December 21, a new report ranked the miniseries dramas that scored the highest viewership ratings in 2018 (according to Nielsen Korea). The report took into consideration all miniseries that aired between January 1 and December 20, 2018, including dramas that aired on public broadcast networks (SBS, KBS, and MBC) and dramas that aired on cable networks (such as JTBC, MBN, tvN, OCN, and more).

SBS’s “Return,” which aired from January 17 to March 22, took No. 1 in the rankings as the most-watched miniseries drama of 2018. The mystery thriller drama, which enjoyed average nationwide viewership ratings as high as 17.4 percent and a peak of 20.1 percent, told the suspenseful story of a lawyer and a detective joining forces to investigate a high-society murder case.

Despite facing an unusual hurdle—”Return” switched its lead actress halfway through its run, citing personal conflicts between leading lady Go Hyun Jung and the production staff—the drama still managed to score the highest viewership ratings of any miniseries this year.

A representative of SBS’s drama division commented, “Director Joo Dong Min, who [helmed] ‘Return,’ is currently working on the drama ‘The Last Empress.’ It’s worth keeping an eye on the speedy rise [in viewership ratings] of ‘The Last Empress’ as well.”

Check out the top 11 highest-rated miniseries dramas of 2018 below!

1. SBS’s “Return”

2. tvN’s “Mr. Sunshine”

3. KBS 2TV’s “The Miracle We Met”

4. tvN’s “Encounter” [currently airing]

5. tvN’s “Prison Playbook”

6. SBS’s “Should We Kiss First”

7. SBS’s “30 but 17”

8. SBS’s “The Last Empress” [currently airing]

9. KBS 2TV’s “Black Knight”

10. tvN’s “100 Days My Prince”

11. MBC’s “Less than Evil”