The first episode of “Youth Over Flowers – Africa,” which premiered Friday, set a record viewership of 12.7 percent, an all-time high for the reality travel series, according to CJ E&M which referenced TV rating figures from Nielsen Korea. 

“The show was also the most-watched show on the entire cable channel networks on Friday night, and widely viewed by audience of all ages, ranging from teenagers to those in 50s,” said an official of CJ E&M, which owns the channel. 

It set the average rating of 7.6 percent among those between 20 and 49 years old, which is the channel’s main target audience. “This has proven to be a successful collaboration between the ‘Reply 1988’ and ‘Youth Over Flower’ series,” said the official.

The third installment of “Youth Over Flowers – Africa” features four major cast members from the tvN drama “Reply 1988,” Ryu Jun-yeol, Park Bo-gum, Ahn Jae-hong and Go Kyung-pyo.

In the first episode, the four actors who were vacationing in Phuket, Thailand, were whisked away to Namibia, without prior notice following the pattern set in previous installments of the series, “Youth Over Flowers – Laos” and “Youth Over Flowers – Iceland.” The latest series follows the actors as they journey from Namibia to Victoria Falls.

“Youth Over Flowers – Africa” airs every Friday at 9:45 p.m. on tvN.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)