The Midnight Studio Ep 8 ends first half on a ratings rise as international fans rate it high

Photo courtesy ENA

Ep 8 of the fantasy romance K-drama on its way back up

The ongoing ENA fantasy romance drama The Midnight Studio, Episode 8 ended the series’ first half last night with a rise in its ratings.

Not a massive rise as it still only grabbed 2.17 percent nationwide, but that is a nice increase from the all-time low rating of 1.76 percent that it received for last Tuesday’s episode.

The Korean drama also saw an even higher ratings increase in Seoul, as it moved from Episode 7’s viewership of just 1.76 percent to last night’s much higher 2.44 percent.

The Midnight Studio’s high ratings from international fans

While viewers in South Korea seem a bit ambivalent towards the ENA drama, international fans are much more enthusiastic.

Over on Viki, where the K-drama is streaming for that platform’s international viewers, it is rated with an extremely high 9.6 out of 10, while My Drama List users who are notoriously stingy with their ratings are also giving it a high (for them) 8.3 out of 10.

Those solidly high ratings have not moved much since The Midnight Studio premiered on March 11th to strong ratings.

The Midnight Studio details

The K-drama stars Joo Won, Kwon Nara, Yoo In Soo, and Eum Moon Suk in the main roles.

Its plot goes something like this:

Seo Ki Joo (played by Joo Won) is the seventh-generation owner of a modest photo studio catering exclusively to spirits. Specializing in capturing ghostly portraits, Ki Joo diligently attends to the spectral clientele.

Han Bom, an impassioned lawyer driven by a strong sense of justice, unexpectedly finds herself entwined with Ki Joo’s studio.

Working alongside them are two employees: Assistant Manager Go, responsible for sourcing ghostly customers, and Baek Nam Gu, tasked with managing the studio’s day-to-day affairs.

The Midnight Studio airs on ENA and Genie TV in South Korean every Monday and Tuesday night at 22:00 (KST), with Viki streaming the show internationally.

It runs through May 6th.

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.