Choi Jin-sil,
Jeong Joon-ho, and
Jeong Woong-in star together in
"Last Scandal", a romantic comedy and special MBC weekend TV drama (Scriptwriter:
Moon Hee-jeong, Director:
Lee Tae-gon-I). The show reached its highest viewership rating of 19.2% in its 4th week on the air (TNS).
The first episode of
"Last Scandal" garnered a viewership rating of 19.2% and every week, its ratings have rise by 1 to 2 percent, which is a solid performance considering that it is competing against dramas on other networks that premiered earlier than "Last Scandal.
The growing popularity of
"Last Scandal" in the last four weeks was made possible by the brilliant acting performances given by
Choi Jin-sil and
Jeong Joon-ho along with an excellent script written by
Moon Hee-jeong, whose previous works include "
Rude Women". The talented Director
Lee Tae-gon-I makes the characters come alive in a marvelous way.
When Sun-hee learned that her husband, Kim Yoo-shik, was getting engaged to Jung-sook (actress
Kim Cheong) after tricking her into signing their divorce papers as a temporary arrangement, Jae-bin and Dong-hwa consoled her at the end of episode 8, which aired on March 30, 2008. The last scene had a cinematic quality to it that mesmerized viewers. Viewers were touched to see the two brothers show their deep concern for a pure-hearted woman who was betrayed by her husband.
"Last Scandal" has reached the midpoint of its run and continues to gain momentum in the ratings, creating more anticipation for upcoming episodes. The rising expectations surrounding the drama follow the typical pattern of dramas starring
Choi Jin-sil.
After debuting in her first leading TV role 16 years ago,
Choi Jin-sil scored a string of hits that started with "Jealousy (1992) and "
Bad Woman, Good Woman", which was a daily TV drama". 15 of her dramas became hit TV shows with stellar TV ratings. According to an AGB Nielsen survey, the average viewership ratings for TV shows that starred
Choi Jin-sil was a stunning 30%, beginning from 1999 until 2006 when she starred in "
Roses and Bean Sprouts".
During her much publicized divorce, her career sagged in 2000 and but she made a successful comeback with "
My Rosy Life", which drew 30.9% of all audiences on average. During the six months that the drama was on air, it recorded TV viewership ratings of 18.7%, attracting a large following among audiences. The female demographics for the show ranged between the age of 20 and 50.
Midway into the TV miniseries,
"Last Scandal" is creating a buzz as
Choi Jin-sil flexes her star power. The drama has a high chance of surpassing the 22.7% TV ratings of "Couple or Trouble" ("
Fantastic Couple") or even the 23.2% ratings of "
White Tower", which aired in the same primetime slot on MBC in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
