Prior to airing, JTBC's "Man to Man" cast and crew admitted that they were nervous about reaching the bar set by its predecessor "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" when it comes to ratings. It turns out that Park Hae Jin's spy drama had nothing to worry about as it set a new ratings record for a JTBC premiere.
According to a report by Soompi, "Man to Man's" premiere earned 4.055% nationwide ratings beating "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon's" premiere record of 3.829 percent ratings. This marks the highest premiere opening for JTBC, a record previously held by "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon."
It can be recalled that before it started to air, "Man to Man" PD Lee Won Suk admitted that he felt burdened to match the success of its predecessor "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" which started at close to 4 percent ratings to reach 10 percent in its final episodes. It was especially tough since their show was taking over the timeslot left by the Park Hyung Sik and Park Bo Young starrer.
"I would be lying if I said that we don't feel burdened by it; however, that drama was very helpful in establishing JTBC's presence in that time slot," "Man to Man" PD Lee Won Suk said. He added that he was confident that the viewers will appreciate their show in its own right because it was unlike any other spy dramas that came before it.
Aside from the positive local response, "Man to Man" also received a boost to gain attention internationally as Netflix acquired exclusive rights to simulcast the Korean series to 190 countries to close to 100 million subscribers. To make sure that the series reaches audiences from all around the world, Netflix made 20 different subtitles available for the Park Hae Jin starrer, Variety reported.
