Captivating the King Ep 11 rating drops again – but 6th most-watched on Netflix

Photo courtesy tvN

Captivating the King, Episode 11 ratings see a big drop after last week’s all-time high

Considering the Baeksang award-style performance of Jo Jung Suk as Prince Lee In in Captivating the King, it has amazed me from the K-drama’s first episode that its ratings in Korea have never been particularly high.

Those Captivating the King, Episode 11 ratings then experienced a big drop last night, after Episode 10’s ratings were the Korean drama’s highest ever last week.

According to Nielsen Korea, the Captivating the King, Episode 11 rating nationwide was just 4.1 percent last night — a 2.60 percent drop from its previous episode’s 6.70 percent on February 11th.

Captivating the King‘s Seoul ratings also fall

In Seoul, the Korean period drama experienced the same drop in viewership, falling from last week’s all time-high of 6.79 percent of the viewership to last night’s 4.24 percent.

Then again, the tvN drama’s ratings have been up and down since it premiered on January 21st with a 3.97 percent of the audience for its first episode.

It has not, however, yet fallen back to its lowest rating of 3.08 percent, which it earned for the drama’s Episode 2 that aired back-to-back on January 21st right after Episode 1.

Captivating the King still going gangbusters on Netflix

Outside South Korea, however, the tvN drama is streaming on Netflix where it has had remarkable success since it premiered.

For the latest reported period — February 5th to February 11th — Captivating the King was the #6 most-watched non-English TV show on the streaming platform.

It was also the Korean drama’s third week on the Netflix chart, where it debuted at #7 for the week of January 22nd to 28th, 2024.

Captivating the King stars Jo Jung Suk in a Baeksang Award-deserving performance as Lee In / Grand Prince Jinhan, alongside Shin Se Kyung as baduk player Kang Hee-soo / Kang Mong-woo.

Its next episode will air on tvN in South Korea later on tonight, and will stream on Netflix around the same time.

Fingers crossed we will see another ratings climb then as, for Jo Jung Suk’s performance alone, this deserves to be watched by tens of millions.

About Michelle Topham

Brit-American journalist based in Austria, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I've covered K-drama, K-pop, J-pop and music news for over a decade.