SBS 'Taxi Driver3''s talked-about villain, Jang Nara, makes a full-scale appearance.
SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Taxi Driver3' (written by Oh Sang-ho, directed by Kang Bo-seung) surpassed a peak viewership rating of 15.6% and 12.9% in the metropolitan area, setting a new personal weekly high each week, with the 2049 rating also rising to an average of 4.1% and a peak of 5.19%, claiming the No. 1 spot among all programs across all channels broadcast in December and continuing its overwhelming hit streak. In addition, Good Data Corporation FUNdex's released 12th month second-week publicity rankings showed it held the No. 1 spot in the TV sector drama-nondrama combined category for four consecutive weeks, proving the power of the "super IP" that has continued through season 3.
Among these, on episodes 7 and 8, Kim Do-gi (Lee Je-hoon) and the "Rainbow Heroes" took down the forces behind the 15-year-hidden "Jin Gwangdae volleyball team murder case with no body," concluding Taxi Driver's first and only unsolved case. In particular, while Do-gi delivered catharsis through a "eye-for-an-eye" corrective lesson toward the worst psychopath villain, Cheon Gwang-jin (Eum Moon-seok), the narrative of victim Park Dong-su (Kim Ki-cheon) left a deep impression and raised expectations for upcoming new episodes.
In this regard, Taxi Driver3 heightened interest by releasing a preview of episode 9 announcing the start of a new revenge-for-hire service. In particular, the preview video surpassed 2.6 million views in four days after its release (SBS official YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Naver combined/as of Dec. 17), drawing unprecedented attention. Above all, it contains the first appearance of Jang Nara (playing Kang Ju-ri) transformed into the head of an entertainment agency, which piques interest.
In the released video, Kang Ju-ri is shown leading auditions and training ahead of a girl group launch. Her confident line, "I am staking everything I have on you and going all in on you," and her warm gaze and smile toward the trainees make her the very embodiment of a reliable company head.
But briefly, a shocking scene is captured in which a company employee (Yoo Tae-ju) takes a trainee (Oh Ga-bin) hostage over debut and threatens her, turning the mood. Questions arise about what evil acts Kang Ju-ri's agency is committing against trainees. Along with this, a scene in which Do-gi scolds a manager who treats trainees coercively and Do-gi's portentous remark, "Let's replace the manager," were revealed, drawing attention to the "Rainbow Heroes'" actions as they zero in on the suspicious entertainment agency.
In response, Taxi Driver3's side said, "In the upcoming episodes 9-10, we will target villains who exploit and bully trainees by holding their dreams hostage under the glittering success of K-POP. To this end, Do-gi will go undercover by taking on the identity of a 'manager' and get a job at the problematic entertainment agency. Please look forward to it," raising anticipation for the broadcast.
[Photo] Provided by SBS
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