'Whisper' leads TV drama race, 'Rebel' also adds ground

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- SBS TV's legal thriller "Whisper" appears to have fixed a solid lead in the Monday-Tuesday late night TV race, but its rival "Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People" wasn't giving up either, according to data Wednesday.

The rating for Tuesday night's episode eight of "Whisper" stood at 16 percent nationwide, according to Nielsen Korea.

In "Whisper," actress Lee Bo-young plays Shin Young-joo, a homicide detective seeking revenge against Lee Dong-joon, a judge played by Lee Sang-yoon, who wrongfully convicts her father of murder. But Shin ends up falling in love with her nemesis, as they work together to fight the corruption by a weapons manufacturing company related to her father's case.

The series debuted at 13.9 percent on March 27 and has added more viewers. Tuesday night's performance was the show's best so far.

"Rebel," MBC TV's period series based on the lore of Joseon-era bandit Hong Gil-dong, also added momentum from last week, adding 0.3 percentage point to 13.3 percent. KBS 2TV's "Ms. Perfect," starring Koh So-young, finished third, with 5.7 percent.

Earlier episodes of "Whisper" were mostly panned by TV critics, many of whom saw character and plot development as being half baked.

But the show later gained momentum by better highlighting the core conflict and as lead characters' initially antagonistic relationship evolved into an intimate one.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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