Reply series director Shin Won-ho is back with a new drama called Wise Prison Life and it is confirmed today that actors Jung Kyung-ho (Missing Nine) and Park Hae-soo (The Liar and His Lover) will play the lead roles in the upcoming drama.

Wise Prison Life is a black comedy focusing on the lives of prison inmates. It is a brand new series coming from PD Shin Won-ho, who directed the hit tvN dramas Reply 1997, Reply 1994, and Reply 1988. It is a complete departure from his three previous dramas not only because of its unusual story that centers on inmates but also because he and his production staff personally selected its leading cast, unlike in the Reply series in which the leading stars were chosen from auditions. PD Shin confirmed that Jung Kyung-ho and Park Hae-soo will play the leading roles in his new drama but he did not disclose their character descriptions, nor did he state whether or not both actors will really be playing as prisoners.

The director also said that unlike in his previous works, the black comedy drama will have only a few central characters and he expects Jung Kyung-ho and Park Hae-soo to excel in their roles.

In a press release in March, PD Shin clarified that Wise Prison Life is literally a drama about the lives of “people in prison”. It does not contain plots as complex and dark as escaping jails or false charges but it is only about how these people live their daily lives. He stated that the idea came to his mind while he was looking for new materials. When he thought of prison, he then decided to show how people in this kind of place live in the form of a 16-episode drama.

The director will co-direct the drama with a junior PD from the Reply series while Jung Bo-hoon, a junior writer from the same series, will write its script. Lee Woo-jung, the main writer of the Reply franchise, will also help in producing the drama as a creative director.

Shin Won-ho revealed in October 2016 that he was preparing for the fourth installment of the Reply franchise. However, he suddenly announced earlier this year that he will instead work on making Wise Prison Life which he intends to broadcast on tvN this October on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The drama may follow the upcoming crime thriller Criminal Minds.

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