“Hospital Playlist” Spin-Off Gets Postponed Amidst South Korea’s Real-Life Medical Crisis

According to reports on May 16, KST, CJ ENM has confirmed that the fate of tvN’s Resident Playbook is undecided as of now, hinting that its airing schedule might get pushed until next year.

Resident Playbook was originally included in the lineup of tvN shows set to be aired in the first half of this year. Since the show is a spin-off of the popular drama Hospital Playlist, the anticipation around it was already high.

Set in the same universe as Hospital Playlist, the spin-off’s story follows the journey of a first-year gynecology resident played by Go Yoon Jung.

Apart from its association with Hospital Playlist, the show was also highly anticipated as the successor of Queen of Tears, the recent chart-breaking hit of tvN. However, the plan has been derailed due to the collective strike by the medical community in South Korea. The strike, which has been ongoing since March, is in response to the government’s policy to increase medical school admissions. This, in turn, has turned the public perception of residents completely upside down.

Although the filming of Resident Playbook is completed, its broadcast has been postponed, and viewers have also grown skeptical about whether the show would address the strike at all. tvN initially pushed the show to its lineup of dramas slated for the second half of the year.

However, with no resolution in sight for the medical strike, Resident Playbook continues to face uncertainty, with the possibility of it being postponed until next year since tvN has started to promote another K-Drama as its replacement.