'Resident Playbook' to premiere after delays from real-life medical strikes

"Resident Playbook," the highly anticipated spinoff of hit 2020 medical drama "Hospital Playlist," will finally premiere Saturday, after a year of delay amid the backlash from the real-life controversies surrounding medical strikes across the country.

- PARK JIN-HAI/THE KOREA TIMES

The series, born out of Shin Wonho, mastermind behind the popular "Reply" series — "Reply 1997" (2012), "Reply 1994" (2013) and "Reply1988" (2015) — and "Hospital Playlist" (2020), following five medical school friends exploring ordinary yet special days at a general hospital.

Unlike the original series, the new drama centers on medical residents aspiring to become wise doctors, navigating through struggles and growing pains, and is set primarily in the obstetrics and gynecology department — covering all aspects of life from birth to death.

For this spinoff, Shin, the creative force behind the series, participates as the project's creator, rather than director, guiding the expansion of the universe he built.

"This is the first time I stand in front of media not as a director. Many fans have eagerly anticipated the expansion of our universe," Shin said during a press conference at Ramada by Wyndham Seoul Sindorim in Guro District, Thursday.

"While 'Hospital Playlist' focused on the stories of medical professors becoming wiser, this new series portrays the growth journey of young professionals just starting their careers. It’s a youth oriented medical drama about rookies stumbling, making mistakes, getting hurt and gradually becoming wiser."