According to Nielsen Korea on April 19 KST, the first episode of SBS's new Fri-Sat drama 'The Haunted Palace' got off to a solid start with an average nationwide viewership rating of 9.2%. In fact, this is the highest first episode rating recorded by any SBS drama this year.

'The Haunted Palace', starring BTOB's Sungjae (Yook Sungjae) and Cosmic Girls's Bona (Kim Jiyeon), greeted viewers this week following the successful conclusion of the hit drama 'Buried Hearts' last week, which wrapped up with an average nationwide viewership rating of 15.4% on April 12 KST. As a result, anticipation ran high for the drama that would be taking over for the Fri-Sat time slot, and so far, 'The Haunted Palace' as managed to pique viewers' interest. 

The historical fantasy romance, which follows the story of an imoogi (a snake bound to live for eternity on earth after failing to ascend to the heavens as a dragon) and a shaman girl, easily bested its competitor drama on MBC, 'Crushology 101'. This week, the third episode of 'Crushology 101' recorded an average nationwide viewership rating of 1.5%, a small increase from the second episode aired last week. 

Meanwhile, 'The Haunted Palace' and 'Crushology 101' will also be competing with new Fri-Sat dramas on JTBC and tvN - 'Heavenly Ever After' (JTBC) and 'Resident Playbook' (tvN). Last week, the first and second episodes of 'Resident Playbook' recorded viewership ratings of 3.7% and 4.0% respectively, signaling a strong start for a cable TV network. 

Which new Fri-Sat drama are you watching?

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