tvN’s ‘Lovely Runner’ Hits Season-High Viewership After Shocking Episodes

The tvN drama Lovely Runner, starring Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, has captivated audiences with its recent episodes, leading to a record-breaking viewership spike. According to Nielsen Korea, episode three of Lovely Runner earned an average nationwide viewership rating of 3.4 percent, a marked increase from the previous episode’s 2.7 percent. It also set a new personal best for the drama.

Episode 3 Preview [ENG] | Lovely Runner (2024)

The drama’s ratings bump

The drama’s third episode picked up with Ryu Sun Jae (played by Byeon Woo Seok) determined to compete in a swim meet despite attempts by Im Sol (played by Kim Hye Yoon) to keep him from doing so. In the end, he won a gold medal, and he also tried to confess his feelings to Im Sol, leading to heartwarming and hilarious moments between the characters.

However, the narrative took a dramatic turn when Sun Jae was injured during practice. The emotional highs continued as he gathered the courage to confess to Sol again. This time, he was successful, and the two even shared a kiss. Unfortunately, Sol was drunk when it happened and forgot about the kiss the next day. To top it all off, another character, Kim Tae Sung (played by Song Geon Hee), confessed his feelings to her as well.

Episode four saw Sol waking up in 2023, confused and desperate to return to 2008. Meanwhile, in the present, Baek In Hyuk (played by Lee Seung Hyub) attempts to contact Sol about Sun Jae, but their call gets cut off. Surprisingly, most of the things Sol did in 2008 remained unchanged in 2023, indicating that she may actually have altered Sun Jae’s future.

As Sol travels back to 2008, she discovers she’s in a relationship with Tae Sung, and Sun Jae is upset with her. Eventually, Sun Jae and Sol reconcile as he saves her from a drunken man, and Sol realizes that Sun Jae was the one who saved her from her car accident all along. These twists kept viewers hooked, leading to the drama’s ratings bump.

Episode 4 Preview [ENG] | Lovely Runner (2024)

‘Lovely Runner’ has gone viral

Lovely Runner has gone viral in Korea and abroad. In the week ending April 20, the drama recorded a 149% increase in digital mentions compared to the previous week. Also, the number of paid TVing subscribers has exceeded 10,000. The significant buzz is evident through the overwhelming number of YouTube comments, SNS mentions, and Naver Talk discussions. All these showed a 160% increase from the previous week, as measured just 12 hours after each episode’s broadcast.

Furthermore, Lovely Runner ranked first in 133 countries during its premiere week on the global OTT platform, Rakuten Viki. This list includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. The drama maintains a high viewer rating on Viki, receiving favorable reviews that praise everything from the acting and story to the chemistry between the characters.

Based on a popular web novel and penned by True Beauty writer Lee Si Eun, Lovely Runner is a new time-slip romance drama that poses the question: “What would you do if you had the opportunity to save your ultimate bias?”

It’s a question many can relate to, which is partly why the drama is such a hit. – K-Pop News Writer

Featured Image: The third and fourth episodes of the show are its highest-rated to date. Source: X/@ljscentric.