A slew of new stills have been released for SBS’s upcoming sports drama Stove League, featuring actors Namgoong Min (Doctor Prisoner), Park Eun-bin (The Ghost Detective), and Jo Byung-kyu (Arthdal Chronicles).
The title comes from the term “hot stove league,” which is baseball’s off-season, and it’s a reference to where and when the drama takes place. With a focus on the management team who work to support the Dreams baseball team, the story starts off with the Dreams having disappointed fans and ranking in the bottom tier for several years running.
Enter Namgoong Min playing new team manager Baek Seung-soo, who has been appointed in hopes of improving the team’s standings and better prepare for the next season. He lives by the motto that strength is a virtue, and has a record of working with different sports teams in difficult environments and leading them to success. Being inflexible and uncompromising, he has difficulty developing personal relationships with others, but he’s still acknowledged as a top class manager.
In the newly released stills, we see examples of these awkward interpersonal skills when Namgoong Min sits down to eat with Park Eun-bin. And again, when he converses with Jo Byung-kyu at a hospital as they wait for one of the baseball players to be examined.
Park Eun-bin plays team lead Lee Se-young who has been working in the management offices for the Dreams for 10 years now. She is proud to be one of the few women working in the pro baseball industry and was also one of the youngest to be promoted to team lead. Although working with the new manager is initially challenging, she starts to gain respect and understanding for the way he works and joins in his efforts to try and bring a turnaround for the Dreams.
Working under Park Eun-bin is Han Jae-hee, played by Jo Byung-kyu. He initially got his job in the management office for the Dreams through personal connections. The grandson of a furniture company CEO with long roots in tradition, he grew up in an affluent environment but never once felt that he was happy. Working with sunbae Park Eun-bin opens his eyes to the real world. Seeing her dedication to her work inspires him to work hard and help the Dreams do better as well.
In the character photos of Park and Jo, we see the two actors putting their all into their work.
I’m excited to see Park Eun-bin back in a drama as she’s one of my all-time favorites. This will be Park’s second time working with Jo Byung-kyu as he had a small part on Age of Youth 2, similarly playing her hoobae at school. A good underdog story is always fun to watch so hopefully the show delivers.
Writing for the drama is Lee Shin-hwa and directing will be done by PD Jung Dong-yoon. SBS’s upcoming Stove League is currently set to air on December 13, taking over the Friday-Saturday time slot after Vagabond concludes its run.