KBS medical suspense drama Doctor Prisoner has released new posters and a new teaser featuring Namgoong Min (Handsome Guy and Jung-eum), Kwon Nara (Your Honor), Choi Won-young (SKY Castle), and Kim Byung-chul (SKY Castle).
At the center of the story is brilliant doctor Na Yi-jae (played by Namgoong Min). After being ousted from his respected hospital position, he changes course to work at a corrections facility as chief of the medical ward. But his attempt to start over quickly leads to an intra-facility war for power, which becomes a matter of life and death for those within the prison walls.
One of the new posters features the main cast, Namgoong Min with his co-stars Kwon Nara, Choi Won-young, and Kim Byung-chul. The color palette is dark and the tone bleak, reflecting the mood of the dilapidated prison backdrop and the tense atmosphere between the four characters. The other poster is of Namgoong Min and Kwon Nara and the composition of the shot is very interesting. Namgoong Min is in the foreground, in focus, with Kwon Nara positioned behind him. Though she’s behind him, she looms large over him and is slightly out of focus. The caption reads, “If you’re curious, why don’t you partner with me?”
The teaser starts with Namgoong Min in a voice-over: “Chaebols and politicians who commit economic offenses. These VIPs are handled separately, it’s called special management.” As he speaks, we see a man sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a face mask as he’s wheeled through a swarm of press. Next, there are quick and disjointed shots of a bus driving into a corrections facility, handcuffs being taken off, and a fancy box lunch being served to someone. We then see Namgoong Min speaking to a serious Kim Byung-chul as he continues to say offhandedly, “I’m just asking that you let me take over that special management.” The screen then switches to text: “Special management of Korean VIP in custody”.
We next see a prisoner dressed in a brown uniform assaulting someone in blue. The scene then cuts to a camera lens recording the prisoner in brown, gradually switching focus from the camera lens to the prisoner as he sits in front of the camera. As we watch this, we hear Namgoong Min’s character again in voice-over: “He is suffering from intermittent explosive rage disorder and delusional disorder. It will be difficult for him to remain imprisoned.” It then cuts to a court scene and a prosecutor asks, “So you’re requesting a suspended prison sentence…” The scene then changes to a female prisoner talking to someone, and then Kwon Nara’s character flipping someone over. We see two bits of text on the screen. The first says, “The one who wants to get out;” the second says, “The one who wants to get them out.”
Namgoong Min walks through a corridor as we hear a woman asking, “How will you be able to get me out?” Namgoong Min replies nonchalantly, “Your body will have to be wrecked.” The scene changes to a nurse pouring medication into the female prisoner’s mouth as we hear the woman speaking again, “What is it that you want?” It then cuts to Namgoong Min with Kim Byung-chul as Kim asks, “The list of the names of the VIP, will that satisfy you?” The scene changes to a crowd of inmates cheering, “Na Yi-jae!” and Namgoong Min stands with his hand raised. The teaser then ends with Namgoong Min and Kim Byung-chul standing face-to-face again as Namgoong Min says, “From now on, I’m the king of this territory.”
It’s almost unsettling how good Namgoong Min is at playing these kinds of characters. Not sure how I’ll fare watching this, but hopefully I can get through the episodes without biting my fingernails clean!
PD Hwang In-hyuk will be directing Doctor Prisoner, and writing will be done by Park Kye-ok. The show is set to premiere this month on March 20, and will be airing Wednesdays and Thursdays on KBS after What’s Wrong Mr. Poong-sang concludes.
