Ahn Bo-hyun joins the fierce weekend drama ratings battle with Flex x Cop 2.
Manager Kim ended on the 25th of last month, and the current Friday-Saturday and weekend drama ratings competition is unfolding as a four-way contest.
Among them, Kong Hyojin's "A Bona fide Killer" leads with an 8% rating, followed by Namkoong Min's The Husband at 7.2%, Park Eunbin's Spooky in Love at 6%, and Jisung's APT. at 5.4%.
With only a 2.6 percentage-point gap between first and fourth place, viewer preferences appear to be dividing the choices. Into this four-way contest enters SBS's new Friday-Saturday drama Flex x Cop 2, which premieres today (the 7th).
Flex x Cop 2 is a refreshing, breezy, satisfying partnership investigation drama about chaebol detective Jin Eesu (Ahn Bo-hyun) who uses his wealth to overturn stalled investigations and the new head of team Joo Hyera (Jung Eun-Chae), whose money-fueled tactics drive the action.
After season 1, starring Ahn Bo-hyun and Park Ji-hyun, ended successfully in 2024, a new season is being presented after two years. In particular, SBS, known as a "season series destination," draws attention by launching its first season-based program of the year.
Expectations and pressure are especially high for Flex x Cop 2 because the preceding Manager Kim ended with a record-breaking 23% rating. Director Kim Jae-hong also confessed frankly, "Our immediate previous work achieved an unbelievable rating and was a huge success. It would be a lie to say there is no pressure. I am carrying a hundredfold of that pressure."
However, Director Kim said, "Personally, I think drama is judged by absolute standards. The unified goal was to make season 2 better than season 1, and that was the consistent aim of the actors and production team. We tried to surpass the records, process and results of season 1," expressing his determination for season 2.
Ahn Bo-hyun said he did not expect Manager Kim to achieve such great success, and added, "In season 2, unexpected episodic characters appear. I think the point I consider is that viewers can watch and deduce while following each episode — that's the viewing point. Just because a famous person appears doesn't mean that person is the culprit. I think such aspects might make a supporting actor overshadow the lead," expressing his expectations for season 2.
Whether Ahn Bo-hyun can gain the upper hand in the ratings battle against the 'top actors' Jisung, Namkoong Min, Kong Hyojin and Park Eunbin, and whether he can carry on the Friday-Saturday show's box office baton as the successor to Manager Kim, is drawing attention.
[Photo] OSEN DB, SBS
[OSEN]