The Duo establishes itself as Monday-Tuesday leader

24 March 9, 2011March 9, 2011

The Duo establishes itself as Monday-Tuesday leader

by javabeans

Dream High‘s departure from airwaves paves the way for a new Monday-Tuesday ratings leader, and it’s MBC’s The Duo, the switched-at-birth sageuk drama starring Chun Jung-myung and Lee Sang-yoon as men living each other’s lives.

The latest ratings put The Duo well in front with an 18.4% rating for Tuesday’s episode, its highest to date, buoyed by the entrance of its adult cast. (The 32-episode drama spent a good number of years in the main characters’ childhoods, and although the young actors earned praise for their performances, let’s be honest: We’re all in it for the grown-up boys.)

Second-place finisher was SBS’s finance-themed Midas with a 12.4%, while new kid on the block Crime Squad came in third with a 7.9%. It’s not a great number for the crime drama starring Song Il-kook as a hotheaded cop and Lee Jong-hyuk as his (ice-cold, yet so hot) police chief boss — but I take comfort in Girlfriday’s favorable impression of its premiere episode.

This is good news for MBC, which has had very little luck cultivating hits in recent years. Although the so-called “MBC curse” is reserved for the ill-fated Wednesday-Thursday slot, MBC has been struggling all around, and badly needed The Duo to be a hit. (They gambled on it, tacking on 11 extra episodes of Queen of Reversals to accommodate The Duo’s delayed filming schedule even though the ratings didn’t really justify the extension. MBC’s only other midweek drama with a decent showing was the cute ball o’ fluff My Princess, although ratings on that slid down as the story got a little less cute and a lot more boring.)

I don’t anticipate that either Crime Squad or Midas will suddenly shoot up to double their ratings, so I suspect The Duo will find its path clear to remain in the top slot and, perhaps, perform well into the 20’s, ratings-wise.

Via TV Report

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1 nelkk

March 9, 2011 at 1:12 PM

18 is good, too bad for crime squad, i just hope it doesnt stay that way...

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2 jelly-jamboree

March 9, 2011 at 1:14 PM

mmmm.. The Duo really doesn't appeal to me.

but i'm glad it's doing well if only for the sake that there's a reason that these men had to grow such ridiculous facial hair LOL

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3 mskololia

March 9, 2011 at 1:24 PM

MP started out that way too until Sign overtook the lead....

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4 Lacey

March 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM

The Duo doesnt appeal to me either the only drama that appeals to me is the Crime Squad which is funny cause the one i like the most is getting low ratings XD

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5 gulrpride

March 9, 2011 at 1:50 PM

YA for The Duo!!!
The drama has definitely got me HOOKED!!!!
I love the relationship between the leads but wow 32 eps?!?!

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6 JoJo

March 9, 2011 at 1:53 PM

Another storie with switched babies...
Thanks but no thanks...
East of Eden is enough for me ^^

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anastassia

March 12, 2011 at 6:53 AM

how pity.

EoE is a flop.

The Duo is nothing like that at all. the two of them becoming best friend. Both righteous despite come from different classes and having different personalities.

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7 glacierkn

March 9, 2011 at 2:12 PM

I might be the only one to take the young 'uns before the grown up men! I really loved these kids; they got me completely hooked!

This drama is really good. Even though the storyline isn't that original, the characters keep me attached. There's a nice balance between sweet and sorrow, laughs and tears.

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marbleloaf

March 9, 2011 at 4:58 PM

couldn't agree more. i actually miss the young characters. it's taking me a while to get used to the adult cast. young ones, come back!!

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8 Sere

March 9, 2011 at 2:49 PM

I want to watch The Duo, but I keep postponing because I'm usually not a fan of all the childhood eps. It seems like TD spent a lot of time with the child actors, which is not, by itself, a bad thing, but...er, yeah, I'm in for the grown ups. ^^

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danna

March 9, 2011 at 10:34 PM

actually i loved the chilldhod episodes and have been missing the younger cast a lot

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9 imhaf

March 9, 2011 at 3:36 PM

I don't quite agree with you regarding the extension of Queen Of Reversals. The ratings may not be so high, but it certainly have develop some niche audiences out there. Unlike Athena, who kept declining weeks after weeks, QOR maintained its place (and sometimes surpassed Athena). With a genre that may not be appealed to everyone and 2 'big' dramas to compete with, I would say QOR deserved the extension.

As for The Duo, I watched it for the first episode, and decided to skip it. Maybe I'll watch it after it ends. Though I love Chun Jung Myung. As for now, I enjoyed watching Midas! Seriously, Jang HYuk is getting better and better!

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10 LOL

March 9, 2011 at 3:58 PM

You guys better go watch the drama for now. The main leads are awesome. Han Ji Hye did great and the way they set up the love life is so sophisticated ecen tho it is mixed in the main content

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11 kitkat

March 9, 2011 at 4:27 PM

I wish it would be shorter, like 20 episodes instead of 32. I usually don't do well with long dramas. This show, with the introduction of the main leads as adults, is becoming more interesting and I'm getting hooked. I appreciate good acting and we have it here in this drama. It has been awhile since all the main leads were actors (and not idols) with strong/solid acting skills.

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12 OppaOppa

March 9, 2011 at 4:54 PM

I think this drama is seriously good.
The young actors are superb and the writing, production and direction appear to to of the highest quality so far....

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13 well....

March 10, 2011 at 1:47 AM

i like midas :(
but hey, good for MBC ^^

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14 Northern Star

March 10, 2011 at 7:45 AM

Yippee! a well deserved number 1 slot.

I've just started watching it and it indeed has substance. The "younger years" actors have been doing a great job.

I'm now about to finish Ep 6, and enjoying it.

Looking forward to the next ones.

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15 dany

March 10, 2011 at 7:49 AM

I am watching Midas, I like it a lot, and I'm going to start watching Crime squad. The duo doesn't seem that interesting.

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16 teali

March 10, 2011 at 8:16 AM

Midas is fine..The duo <33333 I want to watch Crime squad..but cant find sub.T-T

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17 SteamyBun

March 10, 2011 at 5:08 PM

NOOO! I resolved to avoid all kdramas until the semester was over. I didn't even watch Dream High, as desperately as I wanted to. But I have seen Chun Jung Myung in his new avatar. I'm doomed.

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18 Kiara

March 11, 2011 at 6:36 AM

I'm a sucker for a good sageuk and I find this drama to be surprising good. When I first read the synopsis my first reaction was "whatever" another switch at birth story. I've watched 4 eps so far and I really enjoy it.

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19 Sojuboy

March 11, 2011 at 2:43 PM

Are you guys recapping this?

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20 anastassia

March 12, 2011 at 6:59 AM

I really hope JB will recaps this series but long had I knew, that as much as I love here, most of the times, JB has a different taste in drama with me. Its looks like I'm more like Thundie Prattle in terms of drama interest. Still I still hope...

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21 cathy

March 12, 2011 at 4:42 PM

i like Duo , child actors are adorable , excellent in acting .
With interesting, touching storyline , around common
people not royal family living at that time makes me cry so
many time .
Midas is good drama too .

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