But seriously, it's wild how surprisingly successful that drama was

Of course, with Lim Sang-choon writing, Kim Won-seok directing, Park Bo-gum and IU starring, and a stacked cast of supporting actors, it had a lot going for it. But it was also during the presidential election period, and things were still chaotic because of 'Yoon-ssi' (referring to Yoon Suk-yeol, the current president), plus other entertainment scandals were popping up. So, despite so many other big issues at the start of the year, it managed to break through and do so well.