[Last Updated on July 14, 2022]
New Kdrama “Alchemy of Souls” is off to a good start in television viewership as its first episode, aired on June 18, obtained a nationwide rating of 5.205% based on data from Nielsen Korea.
This figure translates to 1.29 million viewers, making it the fourth most watched drama premiere in cable TV this year to date. The series has joined “Our Blues” (1.84 million), “Twenty Five Twenty One” (1.54 million), “Love (Ft. Marriage And Divorce) S3” (1.31 million), and “Military Prosecutor Doberman” (1.26 million) in the top 5.
The drama’s second episode viewership improved slightly to 5.872% or 1.52 million viewers. It was the most watched cable series from June 13 to 19. (RECOMMENDED: See our updated daily Kdrama ratings report or weekly Kdrama rankings.)
“Alchemy of Souls” is the latest work of writers Hong Jong-eun and Hong Mi-ran—more popularly known as the Hong Sisters—who penned many famous fantasy series such as “Hotel del Luna,” “A Korean Odyssey,” and “My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho.”
Starring Jung So-min (“Monthly Magazine Home”) and Lee Jae-wook (“Move to Heaven”), the new period fantasy drama is set in a fictional country where mages and magic exist. Jung plays an elite assassin who, after performing a soul-switching sorcery to save her life, ends up in the body of a physically weak female servant. Unable to use her power, she has no choice but to accept help from a nobleman (Lee) who is desperate to learn how to cast spells and fight.
The drama also stars NU’EST’s Minhyun, Yoo Jun-sang, “All of Us Are Dead” actor “Yoo In-soo,” and Oh Na-ra.
“Alchemy of Souls” is helmed by Park Joon-hwa (“Touch Your Heart”). In an online press conference for the drama, the director hinted at the possibility of a second part, saying “20 episodes would not be enough to really show the strengths of the scriptwriters who create very entertaining and comical stories.”
The ongoing series airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm KST on tvN. It is also available for streaming worldwide on Netflix.
Check our our updated list of ongoing Korean dramas.