Kim Ji-won’s new SBS medical drama is already a ratings juggernaut. The second episode of “Doctor X,” aired October 10, peaked at 17.4% — the highest rating of any Saturday miniseries in its time slot, just two episodes into its run.
According to Herald Muse, the episode recorded a nationwide average of 14.9% and 14.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area, topping both its time slot and the entire Saturday miniseries lineup.
Kim plays Gye Soo-jung, a genius surgeon nicknamed “the crazy Gye of the operating room” who defies the corrupt hierarchy of Gu Seo Dae Hospital. The SBS Friday-Saturday series is produced by Studio S, Studio Dragon, and HighZium Studio.
In episode 2, Soo-jung takes on two back-to-back life-or-death surgeries. She completes one operation expected to take three to four hours in just one hour, finishing both in six and a half hours — while clashing with fellow surgeon Do Yoon-sik (Kim Young-min) and hospital director Boo Seung-kwon (Son Hyun-joo) over a VIP patient’s operation.
The episode closes on a mystery about Soo-jung’s past: hospital staff discover a doctor once known as “Doctor X” used the same surgical technique — and his patient died two months after the operation, with Soo-jung’s face appearing in the old news photo.
With ratings climbing this fast, “Doctor X” looks set to dominate the weekend slot as the mystery around Soo-jung’s hidden past unfolds.
