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A Bona Fide Killer Ends at Ratings High as New Dramas Reshape Saturday TV

MBC’s A Bona Fide Killer finished its run with the strongest viewership ratings of the entire series. The drama’s final episode, broadcast on September 12, recorded an average nationwide rating of 10.7 percent, giving the show a personal best at the moment it reached its conclusion.

The result also made A Bona Fide Killer the most-watched miniseries airing on Saturday, based on nationwide data from Nielsen Korea. A finale that rises above every earlier episode provides a clear closing benchmark for the drama and shows that its audience grew through the end rather than fading before the last chapter.

A finale reaches a new peak

The 10.7 percent figure stands out because finale ratings often serve as a final measure of how much attention a serialized drama sustained. In this case, the last broadcast did more than maintain the show’s previous level: it set a new series record. That achievement gave the production a high-profile departure from the weekend schedule.

Saturday’s television field was active beyond the MBC finale. KBS 2TV introduced A Love Other Than Yours, which began its run with an average nationwide rating of 2.6 percent. As a premiere figure, that number establishes the starting point from which the new realistic romance drama can build over its coming episodes.

Television audience watching the finale of Korean drama A Bona Fide Killer
AI-generated image visualizing the strong finale audience that carried A Bona Fide Killer to its highest nationwide rating.

The contrast between the two results reflects different stages in the life of a television series. One drama arrived at the end of its story with an established audience and a new peak, while the other entered the schedule with its characters and central relationship only beginning to unfold. Their figures therefore describe separate moments rather than identical tests.

Love on the Menu leads the night

KBS 2TV’s Love on the Menu delivered the largest audience of any program broadcast on Saturday. Its latest episode posted a 15.3 percent average nationwide rating, making it the most-watched show of the day across all program types.

The performance was also the drama’s best result yet for a Saturday episode. Its Saturday broadcasts have generally rated below its Sunday installments, so the new high is especially notable within the show’s own weekly pattern. It demonstrates that the series was able to strengthen the part of its schedule that had typically drawn the smaller audience.

Two additional dramas posted distinct achievements in their respective areas. tvN’s Four Hands, Two Sonatas earned an average nationwide rating of 4.2 percent and ranked first in its time slot among all cable channels. SBS’s Flex x Cop 2, meanwhile, rose to a nationwide average of 7.2 percent as it moved toward the final week of its run.

Multiple Korean dramas competing across broadcast and cable television
AI-generated image explaining the varied Saturday ratings landscape across new, continuing, and concluding Korean dramas.

Different benchmarks across one night

Taken together, the numbers show a Saturday lineup shaped by premieres, finales, late-run momentum, and channel-specific competition. Love on the Menu led the entire day, A Bona Fide Killer closed at a series high and topped the miniseries field, and Four Hands, Two Sonatas led its cable time slot.

Flex x Cop 2 improved before its concluding week, giving it upward movement at an important point in its schedule. A Love Other Than Yours now has an initial 2.6 percent benchmark that future episodes can be measured against. Each result carries meaning within the program’s own stage and competitive setting.

The September 12 ratings ultimately produced two especially clear headlines: A Bona Fide Killer attracted its largest audience for the finale, while Love on the Menu remained the dominant Saturday program overall. The remaining dramas also recorded measurable positions as their stories moved through very different points in their runs. With one series leaving and another beginning, the weekend drama landscape is already shifting toward its next round of audience decisions.

Written By

UniKPOP - K-Culture News & Trends

The uniKpop News Team delivers timely updates on K-pop, K-dramas, Korean entertainment, music charts, celebrity news, and fan culture for readers around the world.

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