The second season aired between June 17 and September 16, 2021.[7] According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode recorded 10.007% viewership, setting the record for the highest premiere ratings in the network's history.[8][9]
Lee Ik-jun is an assistant professor of general surgery specializing in liver transplants and a single father to his only son Woo-joo (Kim Joon) after getting divorced from his absent wife. His cheerful charisma allows him to connect with both patients and doctors, making him a popular figure in the hospital.
A devout Catholic, Ahn Jeong-won is the son of the founder of the hospital and an assistant professor of pediatric surgery, cherished by his patients for his caring and sensible personality. However, seeing his patients suffer causes him distress, so he is secretly planning to become a priest against the wishes of his mother, Jung Ro-sa (Kim Hae-sook).
Kim Jun-wan is an associate professor and later head of the cardiothoracic surgery department at Yulje, admired and feared by his subordinates due to his exceptional surgical skills and his cold demeanor. He has known Ik-jun and his family, including his lively sister Ik-sun (Kwak Sun-young), since childhood.
Yang Seok-hyeong is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology perceived as aloof and sometimes detached due to his introverted personality, but he is in reality attentive and understanding toward his patients. He is divorced and has a complicated family history, but deeply cares about his mother.
The only woman in the group of friends, Chae Song-hwa, is an associate professor of neurosurgery, considered as the perfect doctor by her colleagues and patients alike thanks to her brilliant career, accommodating disposition and bright personality.
Cast
Main
Jo Jung-suk as Lee Ik-jun, an assistant professor of general surgery. He is recently divorced after his wife decided that a long distance marriage like theirs was not an ideal situation. He is currently raising his son on his own.
Yoo Yeon-seok as Ahn Jeong-won/Andrea, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery. He is the son of the founder of the hospital. His older brothers are priests and his older sisters are nuns. He has been applying to enter a seminary to become a priest.
Shin Hyun-been as Jang Gyeo-ul, third-year resident, later fellow in general surgery. As the only resident for general surgery, specialist doctors typically rely on her assistance for cases outside their scope.
Jung Moon-sung as Do Jae-hak, chief resident, later fellow in cardiothoracic surgery.
Ahn Eun-jin as Chu Min-ha, second-year, later chief resident in obstetrics and gynecology.[11]
Kim Jun-han as Ahn Chi-hong, third-year resident in neurosurgery.
Moon Tae-yoo as Yong Seok-min, chief resident, later fellow in neurosurgery.
Ha Yoon-kyung as Heo Sun-bin, third-year, later fellow in neurosurgery.
In January 2019, it was reported that Shin Won-ho would direct a medical television series and that the production team was in the early stages of casting actors.[51] Screenwriter Lee Woo-jung and director Shin Won-ho previously worked together on the critically acclaimed Reply (2012–16) anthology series as well as the hit black comedy series Prison Playbook (2017–18).[52] Actors Jung Kyung-ho and Yoo Yeon-seok also previously worked with the duo.[53][54] It took four years for the script to be completed.[55] In order to comply to the 52-hour week system and to avoid overnight filming with regard to the cast and crew's health, the production team decided to air one episode a week for a total of twelve weeks instead of broadcasting two episodes a week for eight weeks as it is usually the case for South Korean television series.[56]
Filming
Principal photography for the first season started in early October 2019.[57] Some scenes taking place in Gangwoon University Hospital and Yulje Medical Center were respectively filmed in Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital (in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi) and Ewha Womans University Medical Center (in Gangseo District, Seoul), though the latter scenes of the season were filmed on set due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[58] Filming for the first season was completed in late April 2020.[59]
Originally scheduled to begin in early December 2020, filming for the second season was postponed to late January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[60] Filming ended on September 6, 2021.[61]
Future
Shin initially developed Hospital Playlist with three seasons in mind, which should've been released across three years, but at the end of season two he expressed uncertainty toward the future of the series, citing exhaustion and other problems as reasons.[62] Both the cast members and the production team stated they would be willing to work on a future season.[63] Jeon Mi-do said that she often talks about an eventual third season with her four other co-stars and they take "turns to nag the director" about it.[64]
Hospital Playlist received positive critical feedback. Comparing the series to Grey's Anatomy and Friends, Ariana Yaptangco of Elle featured it on the list of "The 10 Best K-Dramas To Binge-Watch On Netflix".[89]
During an interview with The Korea Herald, film critic Yun Suk-jin praised Hospital Playlist for emphasizing the human aspect of the profession rather than the life-and-death situations, noting that the series "did away with the cliched power conflict, and focused on the doctors' sincerity in their work and their relationship with the patients."[90] Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post named Hospital Playlist one of the best South Korean series of 2020, mentioning that "emotional tales of illness and grief play out against the gentle camaraderie of a group that finds solace from the hardships of their job in each other, and their delightfully lousy five-piece garage band."[91] Jessicha Valentina of The Jakarta Post named Jeon Mi-do's character Chae Song-hwa "one of the series' highlights," praising Hospital Playlist for its portrayal of strong female characters.[92]
Joel Keller of Decider gave a mixed review, saying that the series "is a bit of a strange amalgamation of different genres, but the cast makes it work. Just be ready for a slightly confusing first episode."[93]
Cultural impact
Hospital Playlist has positive impact in bringing awareness of the importance of organ donation. The number of hopeful registrants for organ donation, which decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic (pandemic) in 2020, increased significantly last year due to the effect of the 2021 drama, which warmly depicts various donation cases with various stories. According to the National Long-Term Tissue Haematological Management Centre on September 14, 2022, the number of registered applicants who wanted to donate organs, human tissues, and haematopoietic stem cells, which was 147,761 in 2019, decreased by 17,417 (11.8%) to a large number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Korea in 2020, but increase 35.7% to 178,871 in 2022.[94]
A 10.0% viewership rating was recorded nationwide for the first episode of the second season, making it the highest premiere rating of the network.[97] The last episode, aired on September 16, recorded an average national viewership of 14.080%, which is the highest ratings of the season.[98]
Hospital Playlist : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)
Season
Episode number
Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
1.698
2.050
2.382
2.476
3.064
3.082
3.247
3.332
3.126
3.277
3.463
3.579
2.898
2
2.629
2.494
2.876
2.857
3.338
3.573
2.920
3.433
3.470
3.342
3.649
3.853
3.203
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.[99]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
On September 20, 2023, it was announced that Shin and Lee would create a spin-off television series titled Wise Resident Life, set to be broadcast on tvN in the first half of 2024. Starring Go Youn-jung as a first-year obstetrics and gynecology resident, the series will be directed by Lee Min-soo and written by Kim Song-hee, who had worked as an assistant writer on both Reply 1988 and Hospital Playlist.[125] The cast also includes South Korean actress Shin Si-a.[126]
^Due to tvN broadcast of the Asian qualifier for the 2022 Qatar World Cup between Korea and Iraq on September 2, the episode 11 will be aired on September 9.[101]
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