The K-drama The First Responders finished its run on December 30th by achieving its highest viewership in Korea since the 12 episode crime drama/procedural drama began back on November 12th.
The finale episode of the SBS drama, which stars Kim Rae Won, Son Jo Jun and Gong Seung Yeon, scored 10.4% in Seoul, coming in third in its time slot.
This was the first time the show made it into double digits since its run began.
According to Nielsen Korea, The First Responders also came in third nationwide with a 9.7% share of viewership.
As someone who enjoyed the drama from its very first highly-dramatic episode, my only surprise about The First Responders high viewership numbers yesterday was that those types of numbers were not reached earlier on.
After all, the cast members in all three lead roles were exceptionally well-cast, the plot and characters are interesting throughout and, when it comes to a Korean drama with one exciting, fast-paced scene after another, it would be difficult to find one all year that surpassed The First Responders.
All in all, though, congratulations to The First Reponders and all its cast and crew for ending its first season on a hight note.
If you enjoyed the first season as much as I did too, don’t get too many withdrawal symptoms, as Season 2 of the popular drama is already scheduled to air in the second half of 2023.
Meanwhile, if you have not yet watched the show and, if you enjoy a good procedural drama I recommend you do, the K-drama is currently streaming via Disney+ in most regions of the world.