MBC’s Friday-Saturday drama A Bona Fide Killer is gaining strong attention in both ratings and online rankings, despite outside debate involving lead actor Jung Joon Won.

According to Good Data Corporation’s FUNdex rankings for the fifth week of July, A Bona Fide Killer placed first in the TV category and first in the TV-OTT drama news category. Lead actress Gong Hyo Jin also ranked second among the most talked-about TV-OTT drama cast members.

The drama opened with a nationwide rating of 7.4% and later rose to 8.0%, based on Nielsen Korea data. It also ranked first among dramas airing in the same time slot.

The result was higher than the 5.0% rating recorded by MBC’s previous Friday-Saturday drama for its final episode. The strong start is raising expectations that A Bona Fide Killer could help improve MBC’s recent drama performance.

The series also ranked first among all Saturday programs in the key 20-54 age group, an important measure of channel competitiveness. It additionally topped Kinolights’ integrated OTT ranking on August 2 and 3.

The opening episodes introduced Yoo Bo Na, played by Gong Hyo Jin, who lives two very different lives as an ordinary working mother and a legendary sniper known as Kingfisher. The story briefly connected her hidden past to a shooting incident from 15 years ago, a vehicle explosion, and the people affected by Kingfisher’s return.

While the drama continues to perform well, Jung Joon Won faced mixed reactions following his promotional appearance on MBC’s variety show Hangout with Yoo.

During an acting challenge involving a short line, the actor appeared visibly nervous and closed his eyes tightly. Some viewers defended him by saying he seemed uncomfortable in an unfamiliar variety show setting. Others argued that he should have shown more effort because he joined the program to promote the drama.

The discussion later expanded into comments about his appearance and personal character that were unrelated to the drama or the variety show segment. This led other viewers to call for more respectful and reasonable criticism.

Based on the Kakao webtoon of the same name, A Bona Fide Killer airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m. KST on MBC.