SBS ‘Taxi Driver’
‘Catharsis’, the purging of emotion, has recently emerged as the ratings-winning formula on the small screen.
From time-reset tales and office dramas to courtroom series, works that serve up ‘cider’ developments that clear out the pent-up feelings of viewers are drawing overwhelming support. As the desire to relieve real-world frustration through exhilarating on-screen retribution is reflected, the so-called ‘good-triumphs-over-evil vicarious satisfaction’ has established itself as a surefire card in the drama market.
At the forefront of this trend is SBS ‘Taxi Driver 3’, which wrapped early this year after sweeping ratings and buzz. Taxi driver Kim Do-gi (Lee Je-hoon) and the ‘Rainbow Transport’ team privately punish villains who have cleverly slipped through the legal net, a premise that captivated viewers in the first two seasons as well and delivered season-high ratings of 16% and 21% respectively.
MBC ‘Judge Lee Han-young’
This season likewise meted out punishment for overseas human trafficking crimes, exploitation of idol trainees, and the 12·3 emergency martial law, delivering an intense jolt of pleasure to viewers. It peaked at 14.2% and proved its popularity by giving lead actor Lee Je-hoon a second acting grand prize for ‘Taxi Driver’.
MBC ‘Judge Lee Han-young’, which follows a judge standing up to great evil, is also racing toward its final showdown, posting a peak rating of 13.5% while taking on heinous criminals. It engages viewers with Lee Han-young’s struggle to hand down punishment to the vicious and to plunge into the very heart of the colossal evil that is wrecking the judicial system in order to overturn the board.
tvN ‘Undercover Ms. Hong’
tvN ‘Undercover Ms. Hong’ also pushed its peak rating to 8% with the bracing appeal of Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye) going undercover to expose corruption at Hanmin Securities and, along the way, delivering sharp rebukes to bosses who mistreat employees. ENA ‘Honor : Their Courtroom’, which drew attention as Lee Na-young’s comeback, likewise portrays the solidarity of female lawyers who confront a sex-crime scandal head-on, and it made a splash by rewriting ENA’s best-ever premiere record with a 3.1% first-episode rating.
The common thread among these hits is clear. They perfectly visualize, through the fantasy of drama, the ‘realization of justice’ that is hard to achieve in reality, delivering explosive catharsis. They briskly scratch where it itches for audiences tired of absurdities that public systems alone cannot resolve by moving in and out of the boundaries of the law, while also offering a brief chance to catch a breath by turning attention from real-world problems to the exploits of heroes.
ENA ‘Honor : Their Courtroom’
Moreover, the core of this formula is not simply ‘revenge’ or ‘resolution’ but the confirmation of the basic value that ‘common sense and justice prevail’. In modern society, where social conflict surfaces on many fronts, for viewers who wish to wash away accumulated emotional fatigue, watching villains who have shattered justice and order collapse miserably and victims be compensated is a sweeter comfort than any romance.
This year opened on a somewhat dark note amid a messy atmosphere, with controversies over power abuse, embezzlement, and tax evasion involving various entertainers erupting, and trials of former president Yoon Suk-yeol and others under way. Accordingly, the craze for fizzy, cathartic narratives that soothe viewers looks likely to continue for the time being.
