Yes, it is.

Definitely. It's also, from my understanding, hugely groundbreaking for Korea

I'm not a big fan of this drama, so I've been ff through it, and it feels like I'm not missing much. However, I can see how it would appeal to local viewers.
It's really great to see women in their 40s and 50s still killing it in the entertainment industry. I'll always have a soft spot for Uhm Jung-hwa.

#in

Weekenders are a different breed from other K-dramas - hey automatically draw bigger numbers. High numbers for a weekender are 30% - in its final episodes the recent YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN actually hit that or close to it even though dramatically the show was a total mess (including not one but two amnesia arcs- yeesh)- proof that great performances by the lead actors can triumph over a flawed script.

With the return of the second lead character, we may see an uptick in the ratings but in fact, compared not to other dramas but rather to past weekenders this show is struggling.

Some people have mistakenly seen this as a "Lets solve our low birthrate problem by having more babies" show but actually the writer is providing a very healthy and topical response to that by showing the viewers many of the reasons why that is not happening. I suspect that viewers are finding having a mirror held up to them collectively to be quite uncomfortable. This is not really a case where we simply see a few bad people that we can hate. The underlying problems reflect biases and assumptions that are shared by most of the viewers. In that sense this show may be the best weekender of all time in that it accomplishes one of the highest purposes of drama: To help people look honestly at themselves, the ideas that they hold and how they live their lives. The problem for ratings is that your audience will not love you for making them uncomfortable. But I for one have to applaud the writer for having the guts to write such a timely drama and likewise KBS for airing it.