SBS Fri.-Sat. drama 'Shin I-rang law office' is solidifying its solo run as ratings draw an upward curve. Viewers are responding enthusiastically to the birth of a "possessed courtroom" that cleverly layers comedy and humanism atop the fresh premise of a "lawyer who sees ghosts."
SBS Fri.-Sat. drama 'Shin I-rang law office' (directed by Shin Jung-hoon, written by Kim Ga-young and Kang Cheol-gyu, produced by StudioS and Mongjakso) is riding a frighteningly strong upward trend. The fourth episode, broadcast on the 21st, recorded a metropolitan area average rating of 9.3%, marking a new personal high. This is a nearly twofold sharp rise compared with episode 1's metropolitan 5.6%. In particular, the peak minute rating climbed again to 11.3% following episode 2, proving a powerful late surge that gathered viewers in front of their TVs. The 20-49 rating, a key indicator of topicality, also reached a high of 3.34%, taking first place among all Saturday broadcasts. Not only did it rank No. 1 in the Netflix "Today in Korea TOP 10" series category (as of March 24), but according to the Good Data Corporation FUNdex released on March 24 for the third week of March, the drama and its cast also ranked highly in topicality, solidifying its buzz.
At the center of the box office storm is Yoo Yeon-seok's "knife-edge passionate performance," which freely moves between comedy and thriller. When Shin I-rang is possessed by a ghost, he can become a mobster exuding rough charisma, or an idol trainee who perfectly performs IVE's "LOVE DIVE" choreography. Yoo Yeon-seok's one-man show plays its part as a source of fun so well that it produces legendary clips every episode.
Here, the chemistry of Shin I-rang with his brother-in-law Yoon Bong-su (Jun Suk-ho) and Father Mateo (Jung Seung-gil), the "Shin I-rangz," serves as a real booster for the drama. After Yoon Bong-su, who had denied the existence of ghosts, eventually acknowledged his brother-in-law's possession, the ghost, though frightening, politely bows in the air, and Father Mateo, who has the unique background of being a former shaman, appears from somewhere to explain that a ghost gets excited when it hears food or songs it likes or becomes enraged when it dislikes something and thus becomes possessed, adding to the comedy. This is seen as the divine move that breathes life into a heavy courtroom drama.
It does not stop at simple laughter. A solid mystery narrative running through the drama is an element that heightens immersion. In addition to the truth-chasing of unfair stories poured out by the deceased each episode, the fundamental tragedy that led Shin I-rang to see ghosts and its connection to his father's death are being built up as a "huge bait," stimulating viewers' deductive instincts. In the last broadcast, Shin I-rang's mother Park Kyung-hwa (Kim Mi-kyung) blamed herself after revealing that the shaman's house she visited to unravel her husband's unjust death is now the site of her son's office, and Father Mateo began tracking the whereabouts of the missing censer and the clapping shaman, the triggers that caused Shin I-rang to see ghosts. The censer and the clapping shaman dropped foreshadowing hints for the mystery narrative to unfold, raising curiosity to a peak.
The firepower of this mystery narrative led to Shin I-rang's "awakening." In the episode 4 ending, in a scene where he quietly introduces himself to a male ghost (Yoon Na Moo) who had died after being attacked by an unknown assailant, saying "I am your lawyer, Shin I-rang," it sent chills by revealing his resolve to resolve the unjust grievances of any ghost who comes to him. Having fully accepted his fate, Shin I-rang announced his birth as a "ghost-specialist lawyer," and attention is focused on how he will go about digging into the truth of his father's case.
SBS Fri.-Sat. drama 'Shin I-rang law office' airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.
[Photo] StudioS, Mongjakso
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