Agent Kim Reactivated Hits Ratings High as Spooky in Love Opens Strong

SBS’s Agent Kim Reactivated is entering its final stretch with the clearest sign yet that the drama has become one of the season’s dominant weekend titles. According to Nielsen Korea figures cited by Soompi, the July 18 episode rose to an average nationwide rating of 23.1 percent, marking a new personal best for the series and making it the most-watched program of any kind to air on Saturday.

The milestone arrives at a useful moment for SBS. A drama that is already nearing its conclusion can gain extra urgency when viewers know the ending is close, and the latest number suggests that Agent Kim Reactivated has converted late-run attention into measurable audience growth. For a prime-time broadcast drama, crossing above 20 percent is already a major achievement in the current fragmented viewing market. Pushing higher immediately before the final week gives the series a strong platform for its last episodes.

A Broadcast Drama With Momentum

The 23.1 percent figure matters because it shows more than routine stability. Many dramas lose energy after the midpoint, especially when viewers split their attention across streaming releases, cable dramas, short-form clips, and live entertainment shows. Agent Kim Reactivated instead appears to be building toward its finale, which can reflect audience satisfaction with the central story, strong word of mouth, and curiosity about unresolved plot lines.

Ratings momentum near the finish line can also reshape how a drama is remembered. A series that peaks during its closing run often benefits from a sense of event viewing, where audiences return not only to follow the story but to be present for the ending in real time. That dynamic is especially valuable for broadcast networks, which still rely on live and same-night viewing as a public measure of reach.

While the source report did not provide detailed demographic data, the overall nationwide number is enough to underline the scale of the achievement. It positioned Agent Kim Reactivated above every other Saturday program measured in the cited report, giving SBS a headline-grabbing result before the show heads into its final week.

Spooky in Love Starts Its Run

The same ratings cycle also introduced a new cable contender. tvN’s Spooky in Love premiered with an average nationwide rating of 3.0 percent for its first episode. The figure placed the drama first in its time slot across cable channels, giving the new series a respectable launch point as it begins the harder task of holding and expanding its audience.

A 3.0 percent cable premiere is not directly comparable to a major terrestrial broadcast number, but it is still meaningful within the cable drama field. Cable channels operate with different baseline expectations, and first-episode performance is often judged by whether a show creates enough awareness for viewers to return in week two. By leading its cable time slot, Spooky in Love secured a positive opening narrative rather than entering the schedule as an underperformer.

The timing also gives the new drama room to compete for viewers looking for a fresh title as established series near their conclusions. If Agent Kim Reactivated is benefiting from finale anticipation, Spooky in Love is trying to build the opposite kind of momentum: early curiosity, character chemistry, and genre appeal strong enough to turn sampling into regular viewing.

A Crowded Weekend Field

Other Korean dramas remained active in the same weekend race. JTBC’s The Apartment Job maintained an average nationwide rating of 5.4 percent for its third episode, suggesting a steady start after its premiere phase. KBS 2TV’s The Husband recorded a nationwide average of 5.0 percent for the night, while KBS 2TV’s Recipe for Love earned 14.5 percent ahead of its series finale.

Taken together, the numbers show a Saturday lineup with several distinct viewer lanes. Agent Kim Reactivated is drawing broad mainstream attention at the top of the chart, Recipe for Love is approaching its own conclusion with a sizable audience, and newer or mid-run titles are trying to keep their places in a competitive drama environment. That spread matters because Korean television ratings are increasingly shaped by scheduling strategy as much as by individual star power or premise.

For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: the next week will be important. Agent Kim Reactivated now faces heightened expectations for its finale, while Spooky in Love must prove that its time-slot win was not just premiere curiosity. In a drama market where audience attention can move quickly, both titles now have a clear ratings story to build on.