Audiences Are Confused After Learning Drama "One Dollar Lawyer" Will Be Coming To An End After Just 12 Episodes

On October 21, it was reported that the hit drama One Dollar Lawyer would be ending its run after only 12 episodes. Traditionally, dramas run for 16 episodes, and in the case of popular dramas, they may run for up to 24 episodes. Due to this, audiences are naturally asking, “Why?”

Nam Goong Min for the poster of One Dollar Lawyer | *SBS*

One Dollar Lawyer is currently the most-watched primetime drama in Korea. The drama’s most recent episode scored a viewership rating of 15%, a record for the series.

The drama centers around lawyer Chun Ji Hoon, played by actor Nam Goong Min, and his apprentice Baek Mari, played by Kim Ji Eun. Like the drama’s namesake, lawyer Chun Ji Hoon charges ₩1,000 KRW (about $0.70 USD) to his clients, despite offering brilliant representation.

Chun Ji Hoon, unlike his usual cheerful disposition, has a painful past in which he was once a rising prosecutor. The lawyer’s world, however, comes crumbling down when he investigates a case in which his father is a suspect. The case would eventually take away Chun Ji Hoon’s father and his girlfriend, played by Lee Chung Ah.

Audiences have raved about the drama, praising its lovable cast and its strong story-telling, and so couldn’t help but express their disappointment over the news the drama would be taking its curtain call weeks earlier than expected.

What’s more, the drama announced that the drama’s upcoming episodes 9 and 10 would be released over two weeks, which also is a change from the two episodes per week schedule K-Drama fans have come to expect.

Netizens gathered on an online post to express their confusion and dismay at the announcement.

“No! Please make it a 16-episode drama.”
“Ah, what?!”
“What? No… I need to watch his story in full.”
“What? That’s too short!”
“Are you playing? Give us more!”
“What? I heard this was a 14-episode drama, and I thought that even that was short. But 12 episodes?”
“What?! 12 episodes? No!”

Other netizens speculated that the drama would be returning with a season 2. This has become a more popular method for networks to preserve hit shows, similar to American series, which is new for K-Dramas.