CJ ENM Dramas Dominate ENM’s ‘TOP 10 Best K-Drama Of 2024’: “Queen Of Tears”, “Lovely Runner” & More

Recently, CJ ENM proved itself as a drama powerhouse by having as many as five dramas in the list of “10 Best K-Dramas of 2024” released by British pop culture magazine NME. Introducing the list, NME said, “The K-drama world in 2024 has been filled with thrills and romance aplenty – and we’re only halfway through the year”.

First of all, “Queen of Tears”, which set the highest rating record in tvN history by achieving 24.9% in the final episode, ranked in Netflix’s Global Chart TOP 10 for 15 consecutive weeks and accumulated 600 million hours of viewing time. Pouring compliments on the drama, NME said, “Queen of Tears is undoubtedly a masterclass in striking the right balance between emotional depth and humour, culminating in a beautiful and powerful exploration of the human condition”. 

Regarding “Lovely Runner”, NME called it a cultural phenomenon and commented, “From giddy high-school romance to tsundere adult slow-burns, viewers are privy to a myriad of destinies through Sun-jae and Sol’s relationship – or, perhaps more factually, relationships – which makes for a true rollercoaster ride over 16 episodes.” Referring to the recently ended drama “Midnight Romance in Hagwon”, NME said, “It’s a refreshing standout in a year so far dominated by action-packed revenge, dystopian thrillers and time-travel dramedies in the K-drama world”. 

The British magazine also praised the global hit “Marry My Husband”, which placed No.1 in Amazon Prime Video’s Global Daily TV Show and stayed in Top 10 for 27 weeks, saying “The dramatic twists are so addictively paced that it’s easily overlooked.” In addition, NME called “Pyramid Game”, which was released through Paramount+, in the Top 10 as “a darkly captivating must-watch” and mentioned the excellent performance of the cast, including Kim Ji-yeon, Ryu Da-in and Jang Da-ah.

While CJ ENM achieved consecutive content hits this year, tvN also reached its prime time in terms of ratings. In April, tvN dramas accounted for more than 70% of all drama hot topics and earned praise for TV dramas in the era of diverse media platforms. In particular, CJ ENM also expanded the value of their IPs by distributing dramas through various global OTT platforms, such as Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and Japan’s U-NEXT.

In this regard, CJ ENM said, “This has proved that well-made content can cross the barriers of countries, channels, and languages to reach global consumers. As a media entertainment based on content platform, CJ ENM will introduce more attractive K-content to lead a new ecosystem of the cultural industry and become a global IP powerhouse”.

Meanwhile, other dramas selected in the TOP 10 by NME are Netflix’s “A Killer Paradox” & “Chicken Nugget”, JTBC’s “Doctor Slump” & “The Atypical Family”, and Disney+’s “A Shop for Killers”.