[HanCinema's News] "The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" Concludes Underwhelming Run

After its surprisingly strong performance from 2020-2021, "The Uncanny Counter" seemed like an obvious choice for a equal series. Based on the webtoon of the same title, "The Uncanny Counter" had opening ratings of 2.702%. By the seventh episode, the urban fantasy drama had become OCN's most popular drama of all-time with 7.721% ratings. By the sixteenth episode, "The Uncanny Counter" had ended with 10.999% ratings.

Advertisement

But "The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" has had a much more ambivalent reception. Initial ratings of 3.949% showed little indication of the drama's fanbase returning, with week-by-week ratings ending with 6.065% with much intermediate variation. Netflix numbers for the second season were similarly anemic, with only 35 million hours viewed in the first three weeks, and the show not even charting in the top 10 non-English charts afterwards.

What happened? The issue isn't one of source material- "The Uncanny Counter" webtoon already had a second season to adapt, and a third season is currently being serialized. Although "The Uncanny Counter" show certainly had its share of production troubles. Kim Sae-bom was brought on for the last three episodes of the first season's script, and wrote the second season in entirity. The importance of the original screenwriter Yeo Ji-na was likely of some significance.

"The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" also suffered from a lack of relevance. Coming two and a half years after the first season, much of the freshness and energy was lost. In terms of branding, "The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" also now aired exclusively on tvN. The more action-driven brand of OCN was a more appropriate one for the comic book style of the setting, drawing in viewers less likely to be interested in a more traditionally marketed television drama.

Whatever the reasons for "The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" underperforming as it did, a third season seems unlikely in the wake of its performance. The ratings, though better than average, still came at the tail end of a difficult production which will likely have trouble retaining all of its staff. "The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch" will be succeeded in its timeslot by another sequel series "Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun" next week.

Written by William Schwartz