Player (TV series)
South Korean television series
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Player (Korean: 플레이어) is a South Korean television series starring Song Seung-heon, Krystal Jung, Lee Si-eon, Tae Won-seok, Oh Yeon-seo, and Jang Gyu-ri. The first season aired on OCN from September 29, to November 11, 2018, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:20 (KST).[7] The second season aired on tvN from June 3, to July 9, 2024, every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 (KST).[8][9]
| Player | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster for season two | |
| Also known as | |
| Hangul | 플레이어 |
| RR | Peulleieo |
| MR | P'ŭlleiŏ |
| Genre | |
| Developed by | Studio Dragon (planning; season 2)[2] |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
|
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kim Gin-hong |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | OCN (season 1) |
| Release | September 29 – November 11, 2018 |
| Network | tvN (season 2) |
| Release | June 3 – July 9, 2024 |
Synopsis
Season 1
The story about the four talented individuals in their respective fields who create an elite team to solve crimes in partnership with a righteous prosecutor. Together, they confiscate black money and make sure that those who earn money through crimes will be arrested.[10]
Season 2
Series overview
Cast and characters
Main
- Song Seung-heon as Kang Ha-ri / Choi Soo-hyuk
- A veteran conman from a family of investigators who was born bold and gifted with words.
- Krystal Jung as Cha Ah-ryung (season 1)
- A skilled driver who grew up in an orphanage after being abandoned by her parents.[11]
- Lee Si-eon as Lim Byung-min
- A talented hacker who had a past with Chairman Chun.[4]
- Tae Won-seok as Do Jin-woong
- A powerful fighter who had accidentally worked for "that person".[12]
- Oh Yeon-seo as Jeong Soo-min (season 2)[13]
- An assistant to Ha-ri and the team's watcher.
- Jang Gyu-ri as Cha Jae-yi (season 2)[14]
- Ah-ryung's younger sister who is also a skilled driver. Her real name is Cha Hae-ryung.
Supporting
Public Prosecutors' Office
- Kim Won-hae as Prosecutor Jang In-gyu
- The prosecutor who teamed up with Ha-ri and his team.
Target
- Kim Jong-tae as "that person" (real name: Yeon Je-seok)
- A consultant and power broker for politicians.
- Kwak Ja-hyung as Cheon Dong-seob
People around Ha-ri
- Huh Joon-ho as Choi Hyun-gi
- Ha-ri's father and former team leader of Special Corruption Division.
- Yoo Ye-bin as Cho Yeon-hee
- A doctor and the only person who knows Ha-ri's past.[17]
Others
- Min Joon-hyun as Team Leader Shim Dal-soo[18]
- Kang Min-tae as gangster
- Kim Hyung-mook as Na Won-hak[19]
- the corrupt president director
- Lee Hwa-ryong[20]
- Min Joon-hyun
- Kim Sung-cheol as Ji Sung-gu[21]
- Lee Chung-mi as Yang Hae-joo
- Jin Mo as Wang Seob
- Kim Seo-kyung as Mike
Special appearances
- Yoo Seung-ho as a security guard (Ep. 1)[22]
- Hong Seok-cheon as a driving instructor (Ep. 1)[23]
- Wang Ji-hye as Ryu Hyun-ja (Ep. 7–8)[24]
- Kang Hye-won as Mi-woo (season 2, ep. 2)[25]
- Im Jin-ah as Eun Na (season 2, Ep. 5)
- Lee Soo-hyuk as Mr. Myeong (season 2, Ep. 6–7)
- Yoon Ji-on as Kim Soo-chan (Season 2, Ep. 7)[26]
- Heo Sung-tae as Lim Sang-sik (season 2, Ep. 8–9)
- Lee Sung-kyung as A mysterious woman (season 2, ep.12)[27]
Production
Early working titles of the series were Hustle (허슬) and Round (판; Pan).[28][29]
On July 12, 2022, it was announced that the series would return with second season in the second half of 2023, under the title Player: War of Gamblers (플레이어: 꾼들의 전쟁; Peulleieo: kkundeurui jeonjaeng).[8] On January 27, 2023, it was reported that filming was scheduled to begin in March 2023, and actresses Oh Yeon-seo and Jang Gyu-ri were in talks for the main roles.[13][14] In January 2024, it was officially announced that the second season is included on tvN's 2024 drama line-up.[2]
Original soundtrack
| Player OST | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Recorded | 2018 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Languages | |
| Labels |
|
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Player" (플레이어) |
|
| Dok2 feat. Jinsil (Mad Soul Child) | 03:05 |
| 2. | "Player" (Inst.) |
| 03:05 | ||
| Total length: | 06:10 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Changer" | Kim Ho-kyung | 1601 | The Vane | 03:15 |
| 2. | "Changer" (Inst.) | 1601 | 03:15 | ||
| Total length: | 06:30 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yesterday" | Min Yeon-jae | 1601 | JK Kim Dong-wook | 04:00 |
| 2. | "Yesterday" (Inst.) | 1601 | 04:00 | ||
| Total length: | 08:00 | ||||
Part 4
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Born to Be a Player" | Jung Min-wook |
| Hey Men | 03:01 |
| 2. | "Born to Be a Player" (Inst.) |
| 03:01 | ||
| Total length: | 06:02 | ||||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Anyone" |
|
| Nam Tae-hyun | 03:57 |
| 2. | "Anyone" (Inst.) |
| 03:57 | ||
| Total length: | 07:54 | ||||
Viewership
Player : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.[30]
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||
| 1 | 1.217 | 1.381 | 1.136 | 1.165 | 1.003 | 1.171 | 1.122 | 1.221 | 1.200 | 1.169 | 0.928 | 0.958 | 1.117 | 1.515 | 1.165 | |
| 2 | 0.940 | 0.911 | 0.905 | 0.671 | 0.805 | 0.757 | 0.866 | 0.913 | 0.778 | 0.860 | 0.920 | 0.952 | – | 0.857 | ||
| Average TV viewership ratings (season 1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share[31] | ||
| Nielsen Korea[32] | TNmS[33] | |||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | ||
| 1 | September 29, 2018 | 4.474% | 5.226% | 4.3% |
| 2 | September 30, 2018 | 4.876% | 5.638% | 4.9% |
| 3 | October 6, 2018 | 4.092% | 4.433% | 4.8% |
| 4 | October 7, 2018 | 4.186% | 4.180% | 5.5% |
| 5 | October 13, 2018 | 3.720% | 4.196% | N/A |
| 6 | October 14, 2018 | 4.573% | 5.097% | |
| 7 | October 20, 2018 | 4.415% | 5.393% | |
| 8 | October 21, 2018 | 4.904% | 5.302% | |
| 9 | October 27, 2018 | 4.723% | 5.531% | |
| 10 | October 28, 2018 | 4.640% | 4.928% | |
| 11 | November 3, 2018 | 3.993% | 4.425% | |
| 12 | November 4, 2018 | 3.879% | 4.116% | |
| 13 | November 10, 2018 | 4.553% | 4.780% | |
| 14 | November 11, 2018 | 5.803% | 6.249% | |
| Average | 4.488% | 4.964% | —[a] | |
| ||||
| Average TV viewership ratings (season 2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |
| Nielsen Korea[34] | |||
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | June 3, 2024 | 4.185% (2nd) | 4.658% (2nd) |
| 2 | June 4, 2024 | 3.966% (2nd) | 4.065% (2nd) |
| 3 | June 10, 2024 | 4.188% (2nd) | 4.310% (2nd) |
| 4 | June 11, 2024 | 3.537% (2nd) | 3.594% (3rd) |
| 5 | June 17, 2024 | 3.531% (2nd) | 3.722% (2nd) |
| 6 | June 18, 2024 | 3.570% (2nd) | 3.519% (3rd) |
| 7 | June 24, 2024 | 3.810% (1st) | 4.178% (1st) |
| 8 | June 25, 2024 | 3.789% (1st) | 3.752% (1st) |
| 9 | July 1, 2024 | 3.681% (1st) | 3.785% (1st) |
| 10 | July 2, 2024 | 3.929% (1st) | 4.302% (1st) |
| 11 | July 8, 2024 | 4.096% (1st) | 3.953% (1st) |
| 12 | July 9, 2024 | 4.344% (1st) | 4.446% (1st) |
| Average | 3.886% | 4.024% | |
| |||
Notes
- Due to some unpublished ratings, the exact average rating is unknown.
