SBS medical drama Doctor X holds top ratings for five straight weeks

The SBS medical noir Doctor X has maintained its position as the top weekly program for five consecutive weeks, with the 10th episode reaching a peak viewership of 20.2% as the series approaches its final two episodes.

With only two episodes remaining, the SBS medical noir 'Doctor X' is maintaining an unrivaled run of high viewership and explosive popularity.

Produced by Studio S, Studio Dragon, and HighZium Studio, 'Doctor X' depicts the activities of Gye Su-jeong (Kim Ji-won), a "mad genius of the operating room" who uses peerless surgical skills to dismantle massive corruption without compromise or failure.

Having swept various domestic and international success indicators since its first week, the drama continues to dominate the home screen as it nears its conclusion. The most recent 10th episode reached a peak viewership of 20.2%, with nationwide and metropolitan ratings of 17.7%, ranking first in its time slot. This performance extends the drama's record of ranking first in weekly integrated viewership for five consecutive weeks.

The 2049 viewership rating—a key metric for advertisers and a measure of a program's topicality—reached an average of 7.2% and a peak of 8%, breaking the show's own previous records and successfully capturing the target audience. Furthermore, a rerun of the 9th episode aired on Saturday the 7th recorded 5.7% in the metropolitan area and 5.5% nationwide, ranking 4th among all terrestrial programming on that Saturday despite heavy competition from other hit shows. According to Nielsen Korea, 'Doctor X' continues to draw intense interest through both original broadcasts and reruns.

The online buzz surrounding the series is also noteworthy. The unique characters, iconic scenes, and memorable lines have triggered enthusiastic responses from viewers, spreading through various parodies and memes. In particular, when the popular character 'Ganadi' became a hot topic for resembling Boo Seung-gwon (Son Hyun-joo), the director of Guseodae Hospital, the original creator responded by releasing a special illustration of the character wearing surgical scrubs and a doctor's gown. Additionally, celebrities across various genres, including chef Jung Ji-sun and singer BOL4, have heightened the excitement by releasing short-form content parodying Gye Su-jeong's (Kim Ji-won) famous line, "I do not do it."

As 'Doctor X' approaches its end, viewers are expressing both regret and high anticipation. The ending of the 10th episode foreshadowed major upcoming turmoil with the appearance of a new character, Kim Seung-hyo (Jeon Gook-hwan), who left Gye Su-jeong as well as Park Tae-gyeong (Kim Woo-seok) and Jo Won-jin (Lee Jin-hee) in shock. Expectations are peaking for the final story of 'Doctor X' to finally be revealed.

The 11th episode of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Doctor X' will air this Friday, the 13th, at 9:50 PM.

Copyright © SBS & SBSi. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use for AI training is prohibited.

Read the original (Korean)