This article discusses whether there will be a season 2 of the Netflix K-Drama series Doctor Cha and its renewed or canceled status.
There isn’t exactly a shortage of medical dramas in Korea. As a matter of fact, while Doctor Cha is coming to an end, Dr. Romantic is well in the midst of its third season, showing just how popular this particular genre can be. However, the former (and subject of this article) is a series that offers a bit of a spin on the usual medical format, opening it up to show the impact adultery, and then the idea of divorce, can have on a family.
At the center of proceedings is Cha Jeong-suk, a strong-willed woman who, after suffering from liver failure, ditches being a homemaker to return to life as a resident doctor, following 20 years away from the medical profession. In many ways, this is a story of liberation, given the spotlight is firmly shone on someone tired enough of living as someone’s second that they start living for themselves. But there are other key facets too.
After all, Doctor Cha also touches on grief, isolation, and love. So while plenty of viewers will rightly reflect on the show’s messaging about cheating, and how devastating that can be for even those indirectly involved, it’s certainly worth keeping in mind some of the other commentaries put into the plot too, like those on compromise, accountability, and personal growth.
Moving on, ratings-wise, Doctor Cha has been a massive hit. Despite debuting with 4.937% of Korea’s nationwide audience share, that has shot up to 18.493% as of last week. This actually means the medical drama is currently the 7th highest-rated cable TV Korean Drama of all time (according to Nielsen Ratings), and there’s potential for it to move into the top five should it have a strong final couple of weeks.
Here at Ready Steady Cut, we gave season one of Doctor Cha a 3.5/5 rating, saying:
“It becomes easy to enjoy Doctor Cha. For one, people generally like underdog stories, and showing the life of a middle-aged woman who, against the odds, trades her deceptively comfortable life for the demands of a busy hospital is unique enough to have its own appeal.”
Will there be a season 2 of the Netflix K-Drama series Doctor Cha?
Status: TBC/not renewed yet
However, despite all the positives, there is no word on whether Doctor Cha will be renewed. This isn’t uncommon, because the vast majority of Korean dramas only stick around for one season, and although that trend is slowly changing, it’s still rare for a JTBC show to get picked up for further installments.
Continuing, the story of Doctor Cha does seem like one ready to end. Once Jeong-suk gets her divorce from In-ho and continues going about her residency, it’ll feel like we as audiences have seen all that was intended, and therefore anything extending on that runs the risk of being superfluous.
On the other hand, if you were to really push for a reason for a second chapter, it could be argued any romance between Jeong-suk and Roy Kim won’t have ample time to be fleshed out, so could benefit from the backdrop of a fresh season.
All in all, though, we’d bet that next week will be the last we see of Doctor Cha. It’s certainly been a fun, and popular, ride, though.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.
