A medical series about an eccentric surgeon's move to a small, rundown hospital took the top spot on a TV popularity chart helped in part by the solid performance of its lead actor, data showed Tuesday.

“Dr. Romantic,” a Monday-Tuesday series on SBS TV, scored 250.1 points on the Content Power Index (CPI) chart in the week of Nov. 7-13 following the broadcast of episodes 1 and 2.

The series tells the story of a famous surgeon named Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu) who moves to a remote countryside hospital and builds it into a top institution of cutting-edge technology and integrity. Boo hides his true identity and goes by the appellation “Teacher Kim.”

Han, an iconic figure in South Korean cinema, plays a doctor for the first time in his career. It is also his first non-historical TV drama in 21 years.

The MBC variety show “Infinite Challenge” climbed one place to rank second with 249.4 points, while the SBS rom-com “Jealousy Incarnate” came third with 245.9 points.

The CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and media ratings company Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows every week by aggregating the number of views of related news stories, keyword searches and mentions on social media.

Cable channel tvN’s “Entourage,” a remake of the popular HBO series of the same name, tumbled to 13th place after entering the chart a week earlier in second place.

Despite a star-studded cameo cast, the series has received poor reviews for its loose plot and unconvincing characters.

“The K2,” an action-romance on the same channel, jumped six spots to ninth place after airing its final episodes.

Other programs in the top 10 included the MBC singing competition show “The King of Mask Singer” (4th), the SBS variety show “Running Man” (6th) and the MBC rom-com series “Shopaholic Louis” (7th). (Yonhap)