‘Fresh Off the Sea 3’ Overcomes Season 2 Humiliation to Rank 1st Across All Channels

'Fresh Off the Sea,' which struggled in Season 2, has made a proper comeback. After returning as Season 3, it has continued its upward trend in viewership, completely flipping the atmosphere by hitting number one in its time slot across all channels.

tvN's 'Fresh Off the Sea 3' succeeded in rebounding by returning to its original Thursday night time slot, leaving behind the disappointments of last year's Season 2. Unlike Season 2, which moved to Sunday evenings and ended with viewership in the 1% range, Season 3 is growing its presence by steadily recording viewership around 3%.

In particular, Episode 9 recorded a 2.8% viewership rating based on households nationwide and in the metropolitan area, ranking first in its time slot including cable and general programming channels. In the 2049 viewership rating, it took first place in its time slot across all channels, including terrestrial broadcasters. The pre-release video released before the first broadcast also set a season record, surpassing 60 million cumulative views.

At the center of this success is the 'four siblings' chemistry' created by Yum Jung-ah, leading Kim Sun-young, Kang You-seok, and Roh Yoon-seo. They went to Tongyeong to harvest 1.2 tons of sea squirt and did not shy away from the hard labor at the source, such as personally collecting corbicula in the Seomjin River. They even harvested 26kg of corbicula by pulling a 15kg basket and earned a record-high fishing fee of 260,000 won.

It is not just hard labor. From the impromptu plum CF battle between Kang You-seok and Roh Yoon-seo to Kim Sun-young's unrestrained mukbang and situational skits, the cast's witty banter erupted throughout. Additionally, Yum Jung-ah's hearty local meals prepared with seasonal ingredients like Geoje stone seaweed, Jirisan Mountain black pork, and corbicula captured both the visual and culinary appeal.

The appearance of Ji Jin-hee was also a hot topic. Appearing as a guest in episodes 8 and 9, Ji Jin-hee earned the nickname 'eel hunter' while dealing with as many as 4 tons of eel in Gwangyang. He then completed a meal for 40 people, showing another level of chemistry with the four siblings, and in the process of sharing food with the village elders, drew warm emotion behind the laughter.

As seasonal ingredients, labor, mukbang, and family-like chemistry intertwined, 'Fresh Off the Sea 3' has unexpectedly established itself as a representative healing variety show on Thursday nights. Season 3, produced with a total of 13 episodes, will be broadcast until October 29. With only 4 episodes left until the finale, attention is focused on whether it can maintain its upward trend until the end.