“The Night Watchmen” Casts Its Spell On The Ratings

With its sometimes confusing but often fascinating blend of magic, ghostly visitors and fusion historical drama, "The Night Watchmen" held first place and even rose in the ratings.

This week the drama, starring Jung Il Woo, Ko Sung Hee, Seo Ye Ji, and U-Know Yunho, climbed from 12.1 to 12.7 percent in the ratings. Jung Il Woo plays a prince in this drama. He is the true heir to the throne but has happily hidden away from court intrigue, thinking it is the only sure way to stay alive. However, his crazy brother, the reigning king, called him to serve and recently discovered that he can see ghosts, something that Jung Il Woo's character swore he could not. The ghost-seeing prince is not alone as there is a team's worth of ghost-watchers assembling in the palace.

In second place was "Temptation," starring Kwon Sang Woo, Choi Ji Woo, Park Ha Sun and Lee Jung Jin. The seductive melodrama also advanced in the ratings, from 8.1 to 8.8 percent as the latest love lines heated up. By this point in the drama Kwon Sang Woo's character and his former wife, played by Park Ha Sun, have divorced. He has moved on and is romancing the woman who initially tried to buy his affections. Kwon Sang Woo and Choi Ji Woo have some electric chemistry making their relationship seem very believable. At the same time the newly divorced chaebol, played by Lee Jung Jin, wants to marry Kwon Sang Woo's ex-wife, played by Park Ha Sun. He genuinely loves her but she has not moved on from her broken marriage and is obsessed with revenge on the man who betrayed her and the woman he now loves.

In last place is "Discovery of Love,' which bills itself as a different kind of k-drama romance. In the spirit of the "I Need Romance" series, this drama tells the story of a more realistic heroine, Han Yeo Reum, played by Jung Yoo Mi. She broke up with her former boyfriend, played by Shinhwa's Eric and is now dating the perfect man, played by Sung Joon. Along comes the ex and says he wants her back. And despite her better judgment she is drawn to him and somehow winds up in the same bed. The romantic comedy did not change in the ratings, remaining at 6.3 percent. It's a quirky romantic story in which the heroine desires and dates two men at the same time, breaking some conventional k-drama rules.

Will it catch on? What do you think?