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| The Prosecutor’s Proposal Douban Rating Falls From 8.8 to 7.9: What Happened? |
Premiering on 26 June 2026, The Prosecutor’s Proposal quickly established itself as a title worth keeping an eye on. The series combines a workplace setting involving prosecutors and investigators with a long-running mystery and a complicated relationship between its two central characters. It is a fairly ambitious mixture, but the early response suggested that viewers were happy to let the drama throw legal cases, old grudges and emotional complications at them one episode at a time.
The drama initially opened with a strong 8.8 rating on Douban, giving it an especially promising start. That figure gradually slipped to around 8.5 in July, before falling again to approximately 7.9 in early August.
For a series that began with such a high score, the movement is certainly noticeable, although a lower rating does not automatically mean viewers have suddenly abandoned the show. Online ratings tend to become more volatile as a drama reaches a wider audience and more people begin adding their opinions.
What makes the drop particularly interesting is that The Prosecutor’s Proposal has continued to attract considerable attention despite the declining score. Within its first week, the series reportedly passed 100 million views, putting it among the more successful Korean BL dramas of the 2026 summer season. So, while the Douban number has been heading south, the audience interest has apparently refused to follow it down the same road.
Much of the early praise has focused on the show's unusual combination of investigation and romance. Rather than treating the central relationship as something completely separate from the main mystery, the story places both characters directly inside the same conflict.
Every new case can therefore reveal another piece of their complicated history, while their increasingly tense partnership keeps the personal side of the story moving alongside the investigation.
The premise certainly gives the drama plenty to work with. Ju Taeseon, played by Kim Yoon-sik, is a top prosecutor whose life was shaped by the murder of a casino mogul 15 years earlier.
Lee Chaeha, played by Park Si-woo, is an investigator and assistant whose own family became connected to that tragedy. Their paths eventually cross again in the present, with Taeseon initially bringing Chaeha into his orbit because of a desire to settle an old score.
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| The Prosecutor’s Proposal: Why Did the Korean BL Drama’s Douban Rating Fall? |
Naturally, things do not remain quite that simple. As Ju Taeseon and Lee Chaeha work through a complicated web involving corporate and prosecutorial corruption, their relationship begins to change.
The hostility between them gradually gives way to something considerably more complicated, with trust, resentment and unexpected loyalty becoming increasingly difficult to separate. In other words, they start with a score to settle and end up discovering that life apparently has other plans.
That character dynamic has been one of the strongest talking points among viewers. Many fans have praised the chemistry between Kim Yoon-sik and Park Si-woo, describing their interactions as natural and emotionally convincing.
The relationship works particularly well for viewers who enjoy a slower shift from distrust towards mutual understanding, while the surrounding investigation gives their connection a larger purpose beyond simply moving the romance forward.
The show's legal setting has also helped distinguish it from more straightforward workplace romances. With 10 episodes running at roughly 25 minutes each, The Prosecutor’s Proposal does not have an enormous amount of room to waste, and its combination of mystery, law, thriller elements and romance keeps the story moving at a brisk pace.
The original story comes from He Bok's web novel The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal, giving the series an established narrative foundation before its television adaptation.
Still, the reaction has clearly become more divided as the series has progressed. Some viewers remain firmly behind the drama, particularly those drawn to its central pairing and ongoing mystery, while others appear less enthusiastic than they were when the show first premiered.
The falling Douban rating reflects that broader conversation, but it is worth remembering that ratings are snapshots of audience opinion rather than a final verdict carved into stone.
There is also an interesting contradiction surrounding The Prosecutor’s Proposal right now. A drama can experience a declining rating while simultaneously maintaining strong viewing numbers, active fan discussion and considerable interest in its characters.
That appears to be the situation here. The 7.9 Douban score may look less impressive than the original 8.8, but the reported viewership suggests the drama still has plenty of people watching to find out how the story between Taeseon and Chaeha ultimately unfolds.
For now, the rating drop is more of a talking point than evidence that The Prosecutor’s Proposal has lost its appeal. The drama remains one of the notable Korean BL releases of summer 2026, with its legal mystery, complicated central relationship and steady audience interest keeping it firmly in the conversation.
Whether the Douban score stabilises, falls further or starts climbing again could depend on how viewers feel about the final stretch of the story. Did the drama lose some of its spark for you, or is The Prosecutor’s Proposal still one of your favourites this season