TvN’s fantasy romance drama series ‘The Heavenly Idol’ kicks off with viewership rate of 3.1%

▲ These photos, provided by tvN, show scenes from the Wednesday-Thursday drama series 'The Heavenly Idol.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- TvN’s brand-new fantasy romance television series “The Heavenly Idol,” starring Kim Min-kyu, Ko Bo-gyeol, and Lee Jang-woo, has kicked off with a viewership rate in the range of 3%.

The drama series, which hit the small screens with the first episode at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, recorded a viewing rate of 3.1%, according to Nielson Korea Thursday.

The first episode comically depicted how Pontifex Lembrary (Kim Min-kyu), who is widely regarded as having the most powerful divine power ever, gets transported to this world in chaos. While confronting a devil who was resurrected in 200 years, Lembrary loses his mind and collapses. He then finds himself in the body of Woo Yeon-woo, a member of an unpopular idol group who is in his fifth year of debut.

Based on the popular web novel of the same name, the brand-new Wednesday-Thursday drama series used the big frame of the original plot while adding bits of romantic elements and new characters.

Unlike the original novel, the boy band Wild Animal, which includes Woo, is set to be managed by a female manager, who used to be a huge fan of Woo, signaling that the two will soon be entangled in a romantic plotline.

Shin Jo-woon (Lee Jang-woo), the vice chairman of the nation’s largest entertainment agency who was originally portrayed as a character who does everything for Lembrary in the novel, is set to be possessed by the Devil in the television series.

Due to such changes, there have been some negative reviews spotted among fans who expected the drama series to feature more comical elements along with the bromance they read from the original novel.

Yet, the now-airing “The Heavenly Idol” also received rave reviews for its high-quality computer graphics and exquisite acting skills, and is said to have well-featured rather absurd fantasy elements such as The Other World, Pontifex, the Devil, and black magic.

Actor Kim Min-kyu playfully portrayed Lembrary who struggles to adapt to this world, and actress Ko Bo-gyeol also made viewers burst into laughter by expressing her unconditional love and support for her favorite idol member.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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