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| JTBC comedy series "Doctor Cha" revolves around a housewife-turned-doctor Cha Jung-sook. Courtesy of JTBC |
By Lee Gyu-lee
JTBC comedy series "Doctor Cha" is enjoying a drastic rise in popularity, landing in Netflix's official weekly top 10 charts for non-English series.
The series, which kicked off with a 4.9 viewership rating on April 15, has been seeing a steady surge every week, hitting its highest rating with its latest episode on Sunday at 16.2 percent. The episode scored the highest rating out of all cable channels during the same time slot.
The female-centric drama, which also streams on Netflix, made it into the top 10 daily streaming chart in 17 different countries, including Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, according to the streaming service analytic platform, FlixPatrol. Yesterday it topped the chart in four countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia.
"The journey of a housewife of 20 years, Cha Jung-sook, through medical residency, is offering a cathartic experience and made itself relatable to those with patriarchy culture in Asian regions," the series' production company, STUDIO&NEW, said in the release.
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| A scene from the series "Doctor Cha" / Courtesy of JTBC |
Created by the newcomer, scriptwriter Jung Yeo-rang and director Kim Dae-jin, who previously led Tving's, "The King of Pigs" (2022), the comedy series revolves around a housewife, Cha Jung-sook (Uhm), who had left her medical career 20 years ago to take care of her family.
After a near-death experience, she then decides to leave behind her life as a dedicated mother and sets out to rebuild her career, returning as a first-year resident at the hospital where her husband, Seo In-ho (Kim Byung-Chul), works as the chief surgeon.
While struggling through tough medical training, she faces different obstacles on her journey to self-discovery, including her husband's affair with a fellow doctor and his first love, Choi Seung-hee (Myung Se-bin).
"(The production company) is striving to pull off the most possible talent with our creators, whether they are a star creator or new ones, and is putting priority in their potential," Shin Dae-sik, the head of the company's first division production team said in the release. "We will be presenting different works that will satisfy the various tastes of not only local but also global audiences."
The production company has previously created different hit series, including the romance series "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), "The Beauty Inside" (2015) and the mystery courtroom series "The Devil Judge" (2021).
"Doctor Cha" airs Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 p.m. and streams on Netflix and Tving.
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