In the new Korean series Resident Playbook, we follow four first-year residents in the OB-GYN department of a major hospital. That’s right: OB-GYN. You say you’ve never seen a show that takes place in that department before? Neither have we.
RESIDENT PLAYBOOK: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A look at the Seoul skyline as a patient is airlifted to a major hospital.
The Gist: Dr. Oh Yi-young (Go Youn-jung) receives the patient, and her attending physician tells her that Yi-young needs to open him up. Then as a scalpel instantly appears in her hands, she’s told she’s no longer a doctor. She wakes up on a massage table, with the same woman who was the attending getting ready to give an expensive massage. When Yi-young realizes she has no money, the masseuse turns back into the doctor, this time wielding a chain saw.
Obviously, this is all a dream for Yi-young. But her reality isn’t much better. She washed out as a medical intern a couple of years ago, her wealthy dad is broke, and she’s now 50 million won (about $35,000) in debt from reckless spending. The banker, who looks like the woman in her dream, is incredulous when Yi-young says working isn’t for her.
The next thing we see is Yi-young’s older sister walking with her into the Jongno Yulje Medical Center, where Yi-young washed out as an intern. She managed to get her a last-minute placement as a resident in the hospital’s OB-GYN department. One of the first people to see her is Park Joon-seok (Seo Yi-seo), a fourth-year resident who mentioned to Yi-young’s sister that they had an open spot. How does he know Yi-young’s sister? Because he and Yi-young are dating, though Yi-young doesn’t want anyone at the hospital to know.
The other three first-year residents are Pyo Nam-kyung (Shin Si-ah), who was Yi-young’s high school classmate; Kim Sa-bi (Han Ye-ji), who has very little in the way of bedside manner; and Um Jae-il (Kang You-seok), who used to be in a K-pop band and seems to jump to some big diagnosis conclusions, driving the second-year residents nuts.
On her first day, Yi-young is assigned to Dr. Seo Jung-min (Lee Bong-ryun), a professor (i.e. attending physician) who has the nickname “The Witch.” Of course, Dr. Seo is tough on her, especially when Yi-young didn’t drop a snipped suture during a c-section. But nothing prepares Yi-young for what she might expect as an OB-GYN doctor until the baby of one of Dr. Seo’s patients makes a quick arrival.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Created by Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung, Resident Playbook is a quasi-spinoff of the 2020 Korean drama Hospital Playlist.
Our Take: There aren’t too many medical shows set in a hospital’s OB-GYN department, which is what makes Resident Playbook a little bit different. We’re going to follow these four first-year residents as they navigate this tough assignment, but given the length of the episodes, the show’s writers want to make sure we get insight into the young doctors’ lives and how they relate to each other.
To be sure, there are lots of issues that doctors in obstetrics and gynecology deal with, and they don’t just have to do with childbirth. Sa-bi, for instance, tries to get a cancer patient to sign a surgery consent form, and the woman can’t seem to wrap her mind around why her cancer has come back. There should be cases that test the residents in each episode, but the more we learn about them personally, the better the show will be.
We definitely want to know more about how and why Yi-young washed out as an intern two years prior, as it seems like her character has the most story to dig into. But we’re sure we’ll see more of that as the season goes along.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: An attending that Yi-young assisted during her second week recognizes the young resident’s name. Perhaps they worked together during Yi-young’s last stint at the hospital?
Sleeper Star: We liked Lee Bong-ryun as the tough-but-fair Dr. Seo, who seems to embrace the nickname she’s been given.
Most Pilot-y Line: Like most shows from this region that contain lighthearted elements, the funny moments are telegraphed with cutesy music cues and/or sound effects.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Resident Playbook shows young doctors in a bit of a different situation than we normally see, and the characters are just interesting enough to keep us watching.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Resident Playbook’ On Netflix, A Series That Follows Four First-Year OB-GYN Residents At A Major Hospital appeared first on Decider.
