The second season of South Korean reality show "New Journey to the West" has raked in over 50 million views within two weeks of launch in China, local cable television network said on Monday.
As of Monday at 9 a.m., tvN's new web comedy series "New Journey to the West 2" drew a total of 56.9 million views on Chinese video sharing website Tencent Video with its first five episodes and a trailer.
Before launching the show in China, tvN was concerned about the second season generally falling short of the first season in popularity -- a worry that seemed unnecessary for the new show.
The second and latest season of "New Journey to the West" saw its viewership soar about three times faster than the previous season's in China, according to the South Korean broadcaster.
"'New Journey to the West 2' owes much of its popularity in China to its structural familiarity to the Chinese classic 'Journey to the West,'" tvN said in a press release. Another winning factor appears to be the production crew's emphasis on the details of local lives to amuse Chinese viewers, it added.
Starring four main hosts -- comedians Kang Ho-dong and Lee Soo-geun, singer-turned television persona Eun Ji-won and actor Ahn Jae-hyeon -- "New Journey to the West 2" recently filmed its second season in Yunnan Province, southwestern China.
At home, "New Journey to the West 2" drew in about 13.7 million views during the same period.
The show airs on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. on tving, Naver TVCast, Daum tvPot, KakaoTV and GOMTV. The same episode is then televised on tvN on the following Friday at 9:45 p.m. after a second round of editing. (Yonhap)