tvN’s Monday-Tuesday drama The Divorce Insurance ended on a dismal note, earning the dubious honor of falling into the 0% viewership range just one episode before its finale—an all-time low for the network.
According to Nielsen Korea, the penultimate episode of The Divorce Insurance, aired on May 5, recorded a nationwide rating of 0.9%, marking not only its lowest point but also one of the poorest ratings ever for a tvN prime-time drama. The show started with a decent 3.2% on March 31 but plunged below 2% by episode 4, never recovering. Episode 10 registered 1.0%, and episode 11 dropped below the dreaded 1% mark.
This performance is even lower than 2020’s A Piece of Your Mind, which closed at 1.2%. It’s the first time since About Time (2018), which once dipped to 0.887%, that a tvN drama has seen such a steep decline—highlighting a long-standing problem in the network’s Monday-Tuesday lineup.
Despite high expectations, The Divorce Insurance failed to connect with viewers. The drama boasted a star-studded cast including Lee Dong-wook, Lee Da-hee, Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Joo-bin, with direction by Lee Won-suk of How to Use Guys with Secret Tips and Killing Romance. The premise—a fictional insurance company developing policies for divorces—was fresh and intriguing.
However, the show struggled from the beginning. Early episodes focused heavily on plot exposition rather than emotional depth, and the romance felt flat. Many viewers criticized its narrative pacing, lack of twists and overly conceptual framing, which created barriers to engagement.
Online communities voiced mixed emotions, “With this cast, I expected more”, “I actually liked it, but the ratings were disappointing” and “I gave up halfway through”, reflected widespread viewer fatigue.
This isn’t the first time tvN’s Monday-Tuesday slot has struggled. Past dramas like A Piece of Your Mind, About Time and Record of Youth all saw underwhelming results in the 1~2% range, suggesting a structural issue with the time slot or its programming strategy.
Ironically, the cast had strong credentials. Lee Dong-wook has been praised for roles in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and Bad and Crazy; Lee Da-hee gained acclaim from The Beauty Inside and Search: WWW; Lee Kwang-soo’s fame spans from Live to Running Man; and Lee Joo-bin impressed in Be Melodramatic and Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. Yet even this talent couldn’t salvage The Divorce Insurance’s fate.
The final episode, airing May 6 at 8:50 PM, centered on the emotional line of Noh Ki-joon (Lee Dong-wook) and Kang Han-deul (Lee Joo-bin). The production team expressed hopes that the show would offer a warm perspective on relationships through the lens of divorce.
As The Divorce Insurance ends, attention turns to its successor, Second Shot at Love, premiering May 12. Starring Choi Soo-young and Gong Myung, the drama explores the challenges of sobriety and rekindled love.
Whether the new drama can reverse the trend and rescue tvN’s Monday-Tuesday slot remains to be seen.
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