A Bona Fide Killer, Love on the Menu and The Husband Lead Saturday Drama Ratings

Saturday’s Korean television ratings brought a busy night for drama viewers, with several series either reaching fresh highs or holding firm as their current runs move forward. The lineup ranged from an action thriller and a family-centered romance to an occult love story, illustrating how varied the weekend schedule has become. Rather than one program dominating every measure, the figures showed a number of titles connecting with audiences in different ways.

Love on the Menu was the most-watched program of the day across all viewers. The KBS 2TV drama recorded an average nationwide rating of 11.7 percent for its third episode, giving it the highest overall result among Saturday broadcasts. Its early performance places it at the front of a crowded slate only a few episodes into its run. That result also gives the series an early benchmark as its cast and story settle into the opening phase of the season.

New MBC action drama A Bona Fide Killer also climbed in its second episode. The series reached an average nationwide rating of 8.0 percent, up from its premiere, and led all Saturday programs among viewers ages 20 to 54 with a 3.0 percent rating in that key audience group. The early increase offers a positive sign for the show’s momentum as its central story continues to unfold. Its demographic lead is particularly notable in a schedule where broadcasters compete for both broad household reach and younger working-age viewers.

Several series build weekend momentum

The Saturday results were not limited to the newest arrivals. KBS 2TV’s The Husband began its final two weeks with its strongest viewership result so far, posting a 7.6 percent nationwide average for its latest episode. The thriller centers on a man drawn into a dangerous fight while trying to save his wife, and its rising figure gives the series a notable late-run lift. A strong final stretch can be especially significant for serialized dramas, as it brings added attention to the consequences of their central conflicts.

On cable, tvN’s Spooky in Love delivered its best Saturday rating to date. Its fifth episode averaged 5.5 percent nationwide and placed first in its time slot across cable channels. The series combines a supernatural premise with romance, following a hotel heiress who sees ghosts and a prosecutor whose fears complicate their partnership. Its performance suggests that the drama’s mix of suspense, humor and relationship tension is finding an audience even on the more competitive half of the weekend.

JTBC’s The Apartment Job entered the second half of its run with a 4.4 percent nationwide average. While the number sat below the leading broadcast totals, it kept the show in the conversation during a weekend in which multiple dramas were drawing attention for different reasons. Mid-run episodes often serve as a turning point for ensemble series, as earlier setups give way to sharper stakes and more consequential character decisions.

A varied schedule, different measures of success

Ratings do not tell the entire story of a series, but the Saturday figures show several programs finding traction at different stages. For A Bona Fide Killer, the second-episode gain points to early audience interest. For The Husband, a new high arrives just before the final stretch, when plot developments often bring heightened attention. For the other titles, their results offer a useful snapshot of how broadcast and cable dramas can coexist with distinct viewer profiles.

Love on the Menu’s double-digit result demonstrates the continuing pull of broad-audience weekend programming, while Spooky in Love’s cable time-slot lead highlights the room for genre titles to stand out outside the major broadcast competition. The results also show why comparisons need context: viewer totals, demographic performance and cable rankings capture different parts of the same television night. Each measure reflects a different kind of momentum rather than a single universal ranking.

With several of these dramas still developing their stories, the next weekend ratings will offer another measure of whether the gains can be sustained. For now, Saturday’s schedule has produced a clear picture of momentum across action, romance, thriller and supernatural programming, with established series and newer arrivals all contributing to an active late-summer television race.