MBC’s new Friday–Saturday drama The Judge Returns is making waves from the very start, quickly emerging as one of the most talked-about Korean dramas of the moment. According to FUNdex, the official platform operated by K-content analytics firm Good Data Corporation, The Judge Returns ranked fifth overall in TV–OTT drama buzz for the first week of January and placed third among TV dramas alone as of January 6. Leading actor Ji Sung also drew strong attention, ranking fifth overall in the individual buzz category and third among TV–OTT drama performers.
The drama’s popularity is not limited to online discussion. As of January 4, The Judge Returns topped the daily rankings on integrated OTT search platform KinoLights, while simultaneously claiming first place on both TVING and Wavve’s trending charts. Achieving this feat after only two episodes, the series has clearly demonstrated strong upward momentum.
Viewership numbers are climbing as well. The drama recorded a peak rating of 6.9 percent in the Seoul metropolitan area (Nielsen Korea), positioning it as a dark horse in the competitive Friday–Saturday drama lineup. The ending of the first episode, which showed Judge Lee Han Young (played by Ji Sung) falling from his position to becoming a prisoner and crying out desperately, “I’m not the culprit,” left a powerful impression and heightened viewers’ curiosity.
The Judge Returns tells the story of a corrupt judge who once lived as a pawn of a powerful law firm before being sent back ten years into the past. Given a second chance at life, Lee Han Young makes different choices to confront and punish absolute evil. Episodes one and two delivered fast-paced storytelling, depicting his wrongful death, time reversal, and determination not to repeat his past mistakes. Attention is now focused on how he will challenge Kang Shin Jin (Park Hee Soon), the formidable figure within the judicial system who orchestrated his downfall.
Ji Sung previously achieved a remarkable 32 percent peak rating with MBC’s New Heart, and this marks his return to the network after nearly 11 years since Kill Me, Heal Me. With early reactions already explosive, viewers are eagerly watching to see whether The Judge Returns can once again prove Ji Sung’s box-office power and rise to become another major hit. The drama airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m. on MBC.
Sources: Daum