Still shots from episode 2 of “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” featuring Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun. (tvN)

The new drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” previously dubbed “Goblin,” premiered strongly on tvN on Dec. 2 with a 6.7 percent viewership, according to Nielsen Korea.

The figure marks the strongest debut of a drama series produced by entertainment giant CJ E&M, which owns channel tvN.

The second episode, which aired Saturday, averaged at an 8.1 percent viewership, reaching up to 9.7 percent during its broadcast.

The figures are robust for a cable network. Last year’s hit drama series “Reply 1988” reached up to 18.8 percent during its peak.

“Guardian” tells the story of the immortal goblin Kim Shin, played by Gong Yoo. Kim begins to fall for a poor but high-spirited high school student Ji Eun-tak, played by Kim Go-eun. Kim acts as a guardian of sorts to Ji, while he becomes roommates with the grim reaper (Lee Dong-wook), who tallies people’s deaths.

Still shots from episode 2 “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” featuring Lee Dong-wook (left) and Gong Yoo. (tvn)

“Guardian” has been penned by Kim Eun-sook, the writer of the smash-hit military drama “Descendants of the Sun” earlier this year. Many speculate whether Gong will fill the shoes of Song Joong-ki, the lead in “Descendants,” as a hallyu heartthrob.

The series is available to international audiences on streaming sites Viki and DramaFever. The 16-episode series airs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on tvN.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)