Captivating the King is unlikely to be renewed for Season 2 on tvN, though if the popular historical K-Drama continues to sustain an impressive viewership through to its finale, that may change. The romantic drama, which threads a love story through a tale of political intrigue, is very good and has an enthusiastic viewership that has developed throughout Season 1.
Has tvN renewed Captivating the King for Season 2?
At the time of writing, there is no official confirmation of Captivating the King Season 2. The show airs on tvN in its native Korea, and is distributed by Netflix internationally.
There is a possibility that the powers that be are waiting to see how the final numbers stack up before they greenlight a second set of episodes. The show’s performance has been impressive and consistent thus far, but it’s worth remembering that renewals are much less common in Korean television than they are in the West, and Season 2 remains unlikely.
TV viewership ratings performance
Nielsen Korea findings provide us with some insight into the way the show has performed. Generally, there is a bit of a trend with the viewing figures that shows that as Captivating the King has continued, the ratings have increased.
The first episode clocks in with a rating of 0.976, and sadly the number drops quite badly for the second episode, hitting 0.641. The show slightly recovered to 0.704 by the third installment, and thankfully, as word gets out about the show, Episode 4 sees a huge boost, breaking the million and recording 1.284.
By Episode 9, the show sees its highest figure, 1.623, and then fluctuates again, with a strange drop for Episode 11, only managing 0.982, before recovering again by Episode 14 at 1.497.
It should be noted that in Korea, the show is broadcast on a pay TV platform, not free to air. The highest-rated Korean show was the hugely popular The World of the Married, which also saw a huge increase in viewership as the episodes dropped. For reference, the show started at 1.168 and grew to a staggering 6.248 by the season finale.
How has Captivating the King done critically?
It has to be said that there have been some mixed reviews for Captivating the King. Here at Ready Steady Cut, we like a lot and have enjoyed virtually all of the episodes, some contrivances here and there notwithstanding.
Decider urges viewers to watch the show, as does Flickonclick, who says the show “stands as a captivating period drama that skilfully blends political intrigue, forbidden love, and familial dynamics.”
NME is a little less impressed though, giving the show a disappointing 2.5 out of 5 and referring to it as “boring”.
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