‘Penthouse 2’ kicks off with over 20% viewership rating

“The Penthouse: War in Life” (SBS)

SBS suspense drama series “The Penthouse: War in Life” reached over 20 percent viewership rating with its first two episodes in its follow-up season, continuing the success from the first season.

Written by popular screenwriter Kim Soon-ok, “The Penthouse: War in Life” revolves around the intense conflict between residents of Hera Palace, a prestigious high-rise apartment in Seoul. The dark and convoluted relationship along with the suspense-filled story involving murder, betrayal and affairs in the first season captured viewers’ attention, ending with a monumental 28.8 percent viewership rating for the first season’s finale, which aired Jan. 5.

The first two episodes of the second season signaled that this season will be quick-paced and intense just like the first, with unexpected plot twists and new characters. Oh Yoon-hee, played by Eugene, returned to Hera Palace to take revenge on residents of Hera Palace after being framed for murder in the previous season.

Fans are anticipating the return of Lee Ji-ah, who played Shim Su-ryeon who was killed in the first season.

The TV drama returned as a Friday-Saturday series, instead of sticking to the previous Monday-Tuesday schedule. The third and final season is scheduled to run in May on Fridays and Saturdays, too.

The 13-episode second season airs on SBS every Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the week just after the national Seollal holidays saw the release of many drama series featuring star actors returning to the small screen.

JTBC’s “Sisyphus: The Myth,” featuring Cho Seung-woo and Park Shin-hye, kicked off on Wednesday, with its second episode Thursday reaching the highest viewership rating of all Wednesday-Thursday TV dramas at 6.7 percent.

The drama revolves around a genius engineer who suffered trauma from his brother‘s death 10 years ago. One day, he meets a woman from the future who introduces him to secrets of the world.

Also, tvN’s “Vincenzo,” featuring superstar Song Joong-ki, kicked off Saturday with a solid 7.7 percent viewership rating.

The drama series stars Song as Vincenzo Cassano, an Italian lawyer and Mafia consigliere. A Korean adopted by an Italian family, he returns to Korea due to a betrayal, ready for revenge.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)