The crime thriller "Through the Darkness," which aired on Fridays and Saturdays this year from January to March, has won Best Drama Series at the 27th Asian Television Awards. Shown on the left is a promotional poster for the drama. The photo on the right shows Han Jung-hwan, CEO of the series' production company Studio S, director Park Bo-ram and executive producer Lee Seul-ki. (SBS)

By Margareth Theresia

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) on Dec. 6 said its crime thriller "Through The Darkness" has won Best Drama Series at this year's Asian Television Awards (ATAs).

The drama on Dec. 1 won the honor at the 27th edition of the awards in a ceremony at Aliw Theater in Manila, the Philippines.

A psychological crime thriller depicting criminal profiling in Korea, "Through the Darkness" was aired on SBS from January this year on Fridays and Saturdays. Its highest viewer rating was 10.9% according to Nielsen Korea, including 8.6% in the Seoul metropolitan region.

At the time, the drama was hailed as an "all-time masterpiece" thanks to its combination of a meticulous plot, bold and detailed production, acclaimed acting and the profound message of "no perfect crime."

Han Jung-hwan, CEO of the drama's production company Studio S, said, "I'm proud of all of our staff and cast who made this work. I especially want to commend executive producer Lee Seul-ki for basing this work on an original non-fiction book and director Park Bo-ram for creating a good series as a new director."

Founded in 1996, the ATAs are dubbed the "Emmys of Asia" as the continent's most prestigious honors in TV entertainment. 

This year's event was the first to be held offline in three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attended by around 300 broadcast representatives from around the world, the awards ceremony was aired live for 500 million people in 22 countries.