"The Good Doctor" U.S. Remake of Kdrama Premieres to High Ratings

ABC's medical drama "The Good Doctor" premiered Monday to stellar ratings for its 10 p.m. timeslot. The show from "House, M.D." creator David Shore and "Lost" alumnus Daniel Dae Kim is an American remake of the 2013 Korean drama "Good Doctor."

"The Good Doctor" had an excellent pedigree, but its strong performance on its Monday premiere appeared to take TV insiders by surprise. It was the network's highest-performing Monday drama debut since 1996, when "Dangerous Minds" had its premiere on ABC. That's a 21-year gap. "The Good Doctor" debut also had the highest viewership in the 18-49 demographic since "Castle" in 2009.

Deadline reports that the new drama pulled in 2.2 in the Nielsen ratings for the 18-49 demographic. "The Good Doctor" actually improved on the lead-in of "Dancing With the Stars," which took a 1.4 in the ratings. In its timeslot, the show beat its competitors CBS' "Scorpion" (1.0) and NBC's "The Brave" (1.3) by a big margin, reports the Korea Herald.

Over at TV By the Numbers, the Masked Scheduler expressed surprise at the strong debut of "The Good Doctor," after predicting that "The Brave" would outdo it in the ratings. He admitted being bested by the site's readers, who correctly predicted the ABC drama's good showing. The Masked Scheduler theorized that U.S. audiences must be in the mood for feel-good shows like "The Good Doctor" these days.

"The Good Doctor" has a premise not dissimilar to Shore's hit medical drama "House." Both shows center on a talented doctor who doesn't fit in the medical establishment. In the case of "The Good Doctor," main character Dr. Shaun Murphy is a pediatric surgeon who is also an autistic savant, notes TV Line. Murphy is played by Freddie Highmore in a turnaround from his recent role as the psychotic Norman Bates of "Bates Motel."

The original Korean show aired on KBS in 2013. It starred Joo Won as the "Good Doctor." Joo Sang Wook, Moon Chae Won, and Kim Min Seo rounded out the lead cast.