Still shot of actor Lee Sun-kyun in "Golden Time" [MBC]

The departure of SBS’ “THE CHASER” seems to have helped MBC’s medical series “Golden Time” to see a big leap.

“Golden Time” landed its first win on the Monday and Tuesday primetime ratings chart after drawing in 12.6 percent of the total viewers in the fourth week of July, according to data compiled by the TNmS (Total National Multimedia Statistics) Wednesday.

The series, which has been struggling at the bottom for two weeks with single-digit ratings, has grabbed the top seed with a rise of 5.1 percent, as the former chart-topper “THE CHASER” and runner-up KBS' “Big” wrapped up their runs in the past two weeks.

The Lee Sun-kyun and Hwang Jung-eum starrer goes around the story of doctors performing major surgeries and struggling to save the lives of patients under complicated circumstances happening in a big general hospital.

Next on the chart is “Big,” which just ended its 16 episodes with an average rating of 10.8 percent in the last week of its premiere.

The romantic fantasy, starring Gong Yoo and Lee Min-jung, has finalized its story with a hint of a happy ending, but TV critics and the audiences were not very happy with the open conclusion of the show.

Following the series that has not scored a big success, “Lovers of Haeundae" (Translated title) is scheduled to kick off its run on August 6.

The 16-part series will capture the beautiful seaside scenery of Busan and heart-warming story of the main characters, including actress Cho Yeo-jung and actor Kim Kang-woo.

Meanwhile, SBS aired two special episodes of the successful thriller “THE CHASER,” which marked an average rating of 8.7 percent during the same period.

The special featured behind-the-scene episodes and interviews of the casts, expressing their thoughts and impressions about the drama.

The broadcaster will now fill in the Monday and Tuesday primetime slot with Kim Hee-Seon and Lee Min-ho's “The Faith,” which draws the story of a warrior from the Koryo Dynasty traveling through time and meeting a female doctor living in the present.

Due to the live broadcasting of 2012 London Olympics, the historical drama will be premiered on August 13.

On the AGB Nielson Media Research chart, the three series were placed in the same order but recorded slightly different numbers.

While "Golden Time" grabbed the top seed with 12.2 percent, "Big" and "THE CHASER" followed next with 10.4 and 8.2 percent, respectively, during the same time frame.


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10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Hye Ji hjlee@
10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@
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