Park Hyung-shik, Han Hyo-joo
A new tvN thriller called Happiness is being planned and, if the stars align, this will be a big comeback drama for all three actors who are being courted: Park Hyung-shik (Suits), Han Hyo-joo (W-Two Worlds), and Jo Woo-jin (Seobok, Mr. Sunshine). Park recently completed his military service and is reviewing projects for his return to work, while both Han and Jo have been focusing on films for the last few years.
The story imagines a new normal, where infectious diseases have become part of daily life and handling processes have long been institutionalized. The city population is segregated by different floor levels in residential buildings and soon leads to a war of classes sparked by rising tensions and discrimination. Adding to the chaos is the discovery of a new type of infectious disease, igniting the city into a full blown catastrophe.
The part that has been offered to Park Hung-shik is a police detective in the violent crimes unit, Jung Yi-hyun. He was previously a talented starting pitcher with a promising career, but was forced to give up baseball after a bad knee injury. Despite his background, he is more brain than brawn and always thinks first before acting on something. He also has strong principles about upholding public safety and the common good, even if it means making personal sacrifices.
If Han Hyo-joo accepts, she will be taking on the role of police officer Yoon Sae-bom. As a character who grew up in troubled circumstances, she is quick on the uptake when it comes to assessing situations and makes decisions right away. And is also quick to act on something as soon as she thinks about doing it. Although she has a tendency to hold onto grudges, her general life motto is to not make things more difficult for herself in an already complicated world.
The two characters are also described as long-time friends from high school, with Han being a great source of comfort and encouragement for Park after he quits baseball.
The part offered to Jo Woo-jin is Han Tae-seok, a commander of the army’s medical and health unit. In order to better serve both the military as well as the public, he obtained credentials on both sides. When he first served the army, he worked as an intelligence officer. But after his discharge, he went into the field of pharmacy. And his experience makes him a good candidate for managing issues related to infectious diseases.
On the production side, the director and writer of Watcher will be working together again to produce Happiness: PD Ahn Gil-ho and writer Han Sang-woon.
tvN thriller Happiness is currently set to start filming next month in May and is planning to air towards the end of the year.
Jo Woo-jin