This drama was on my watchlist for long since I absolutely loved Reply 1988 , it’s the same writer - director duo, plus the ensemble cast and the premise had caught my attention. I was just delaying it thinking it might be a grim watch cause of the prison setting and the 1.5hr length of each episode. Episode 1 was slow to take off but from episode 2 onwards this show was unstoppable! I was bingeing one episode after another.

Story: I admire this writer for her ability to take such an excellent ensemble cast and weave meaningful, heartwarming stories for each no matter how small or big their role is in this drama. She has done it splendidly in Reply 1988 and she does it again here. Kudos to the director and casting director for on-point casting as always.

What I loved:
1. I enjoy slice of life dramas and this one blended the grim prison life with heartwarming backstories really well. The humour & satire was subtly built and that is a sign of intelligent writing to me.

2. The dynamics between the prison guards and prisoners - Prison life is hard but it was nice to see some cheerfulness, comic relief, and ample tender human moments existing on both sides of the prison door.

3. I’m willing to ignore some of the loopholes, simply because the drama served some great life lessons especially in friendship and mutual respect. Also the villains or bad guys didn’t get too much footage and most of them got duly punished ( may not happen in real life).

What didn’t work for me: The main leads love story fell flat. Partly cause the female lead was meh , the age gap didn’t sit right given that she was his coach’s daughter whom he knew since she was a kid. And it didn’t add any value to his personal arc or prison story.

My sole gripe with this drama which made me strike off 0.5 points from a perfect score : Two characters had abrupt ending to their story and third one who was dealt a raw deal. Yes reality is that prison cell mates don’t get farewells and goodbyes, transfers happen randomly and it’s hard to stay clean once you are deep into addiction - but this is not reality, it’s television and for such a feel good story that the writer wove, she could have given the 3 characters a more fulfilling ending.

Acting/Cast: This ensemble cast was mind blowing. After Park Hae Soo’s character Kim JeHyeok enters the correction facility, I literally opened my notes to tick off which actor I had seen before in which series! The bromance between the cell mates , and how they all stand by Kim Ji Hyeok at all times. The bromance between Jung Kyung Ho and Park Hae Soo’s characters - how is this pair not on every best bromance in Kdrama list.

This was an insanely great cast . Like in Reply 1988, I cannot pick a favourite character in this ensemble - they were all so wonderful in their portrayals. I enjoyed every minute of their banter, camaraderie and constantly looking out for each other, If you have come so far reading my review - read about my favourite characters here:

https://kdramagab.tumblr.com/post/682806971461779457/prison-playbook-favourite-characters-my-quick

Music: The title track was catchy but none of the other tracks stuck with me much,

Overall : For this writer director duo (apologies to HP fans here) but for me Reply 1988>Prison Playbook >>>>>>>>Hospital Playlist in terms of writing, characters development - their story and arc and the amount of times I welled up watching the series.


As you can see, this is my longest review here so far - so you must have got it by now that I loved this drama and I will not stop raving about it! It’s a must watch and rewatch recommendation from me :)