Kim Yeon-koung’s rookie-manager experiment is working. The season 2 premiere of MBC’s “Rookie Director Kim Yeon-koung 2” peaked at a 6.6% per-minute rating and topped Sunday’s entire variety slate in the key 20-to-54 demographic.
According to a report by iZE, the episode aired on October 11 and followed Kim and her Wonder Dogs volleyball team as they launched a full rebuild, with one blunt goal for the new season: found a real professional club, or disband.
Nielsen Korea put the episode at 4.8% nationwide households and 5.0% in the Seoul metro area. Its 3.0% rating in the 20-to-54 bracket ranked No. 1 among all variety shows broadcast that Sunday. The night’s 6.6% peak came during the scene where a world No. 1 youth player from Japan’s Shujitsu High School issued a challenge to the Wonder Dogs.
The rebuild came with hard calls. After Lee Na-yeon, Pyo Seung-ju, and Gu Sol returned to the pro stage, Kim brought in new coaches and held open tryouts; 13 players made the final roster, while season 1 holdovers Gu Hye-in and Lee Jin were cut.
Seven opponents for the new season were revealed, including Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate, a top Southeast Asian pro team, and newcomer club SOOP. First up is Japan’s Shujitsu High School — a rematch after they handed the Wonder Dogs an upset loss in season 1.
With ratings this strong out of the gate, Kim’s “founding or disbanding” gamble now has real momentum behind it.
