According to the latest announcement from the online platform Netflix, last week (from December 2 to December 8), the Korean TV series "When the phone rings" continued to maintain the 2nd position on the ranking of the most watched non-English TV shows on Netflix globally, with 4.3 million views.
This achievement is surprising, because last weekend, episodes 5 and 6 of the show were postponed. However, the number of views for “When the Phone Rings” is still higher than the number of views for the Netflix original “The Trunk” starring Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin - reaching 4.1 million views.
“When the Phone Rings” revolves around the arranged marriage of the youngest Blue House spokesperson Baek Sa Eon (Yoo Yeon Seok) and mute sign language interpreter Hong Hee Joo (Chae Soo Bin). Their estranged relationship of three years begins to change after Baek Sa Eon receives a threatening call from a man who kidnapped his wife.
The previous week, “When Your Phone Rings” recorded 6.6 million global views (ranked No. 2), becoming one of the Korean dramas not produced by Netflix with the highest 1-week viewership ever.
Compared to the Korean dramas that attracted attention on Netflix in 2024 (including Netflix originals and Korean TV dramas) such as "Queen of Tears", "Love Next Door", "Even If I'm Not a Hero", "The 8 Show", "Murder Paradox", "Hierarchy", "Gyeongseong Creature", "Sweet Home 3"... all lost to the weekly viewership of "When the Phone Rings".
When the Korean network MBC announced that it would postpone episodes 5 and 6 at the last minute, international viewers expressed their anger, saying that the TV station was acting unprofessionally. They asked MBC to let Netflix release the drama on a regular schedule in other countries, if the network could not air it seamlessly.
It can be seen that “When the Phone Rings” is having a very good international performance. Although the rating of the drama when it was broadcast on MBC was not very impressive, reaching an average of 6% (episode 3). However, the discussion of the drama in the media and online communities is still high.
According to the Korean Business Research Institute, last week, “When the Phone Rings” rose to the Top 1 of the most watched Korean dramas of the week, with a discussion level surpassing the hot SBS drama “The Fiery Priest 2”.
Male lead Yoo Yeon Seok and female lead Chae Soo Bin took the Top 1 and Top 2 spots respectively on the hottest TV actors chart of the week.
