Shows coming to Singapore screens this November: Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim, Girl in the Box, Rent-a-Rescue and more
Every month, we’ll tell you about new television shows to hit terrestrial and cable channels, as well as streaming sites in Singapore!
We’ll also highlight shows that you’ve got to be home (or on your phone) to catch every month.
Overview of November shows
It’s a relatively quiet month with niche shows like “Crown” and quirky programmes like “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” that might just pique your interest if you give them a try.
There’s the usual slate of Korean dramas coming up, with “Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim” popping up on two platforms.
Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim
ONE (Singtel TV Ch 513/604, Starhub TV Ch 124/820/8230), 8 Nov, Wednesdays and Thursdays 8.10 pm
Viu, 8 Nov
Boo Yong Joo is a surgical prodigy nicknamed “Hands of God” in recognition of his impeccable skills, who abruptly quits his job and disappears one day. He resurfaces after some time at a small provincial hospital where he is now known as “Teacher Kim,” and where he mentors two younger doctors. Under Teacher Kim’s guidance, the two doctors will learn what it means to be true doctors!
The title pretty much gives away the premise of the show. The titular doctor specialises in medicine, teaches medicine to two younger doctors, falls in love or has some romantic entanglements with his students, and is known as “Teacher Kim” to the both of them.
It probably also means that he’s hiding his identity and they’ll discover what a legend they have on their hands, and since there are two younger doctors, we can look forward to a love triangle at some point.
And it’s so anticipated that it’s on both ONE and Viu! I think that says a lot about the anticipated popularity of the show.
If he learnt magic, then this series could potentially become a hit movie…
Girl in the Box on Lifetime (Starhub Channel 514) (16 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
Based on a chilling true story, “Girl in the Box” is a dark psychological drama. In the spring of 1977, 22-year-old Colleen Stan is hitchhiking to California when she accepts a ride from a young married couple, Cameron and Janice Hooker. But Cameron is obsessed with S&M and bondage, and he’s chosen Colleen to fulfill his fantasy of owning a slave.
Kidnapped at knifepoint, Colleen will spend the next seven years imprisoned for up to 23 hours a day in a coffin-size box beneath the Hooker’s bed. When not incarcerated, she works as the Hooker’s slave and child-minder as she is drawn into a bizarre and complex world of obsession and fantasy.
It’s a horrible premise to begin with, but it also tells you so much about Colleen’s captors and her own situation. It’s got shades of claustrophobia infused into it, and there’s even a hint of Stockholm syndrome in this film. Pretty dark for a telemovie, and it’s a welcome change for made-for-TV films to explore such controversial stories.
Rent-a-Rescue on GEM (Singtel TV Ch 519) (Rent-a-Rescue (29 Nov, Mondays and Tuesdays, 9.00 pm)
Help is but a phone call away! The debt-laden Yugo is at his wits’ end when a mysterious man offers him work as a “multi-purpose rescue rental man”. His job is to accede to every request from his clients, ranging from simple errands to locating missing persons. As he meets and solves the problems of many desperate clients, Yugo will come to find himself unwittingly becoming the town’s hero!
This light-hearted comedy looks like the exact sort of quirky series that Japanese media are known for. It’s got a hero who’s willing to do whatever it takes to solve his issue, who rises to prominence thanks to his work ethic. Then there’s the actual situation and work he has to do, which sounds like a lot of wacky mishaps waiting to happen. In an age where almost every drama is a serious examination of love and morality, it’s fun to see one that dispenses with all that, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and just has fun with its characters.
Suria
PICIT (9 Nov, Wednesday 9.30 pm)
ONE (Singtel TV Ch 513/604, StarHub TV Ch 124/820/823)
Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim (8 Nov, Wednesdays and Thursdays 8.10 pm)
GEM (Singtel TV Ch 519)
Pretty Proofreader (23 Nov, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.00 pm)
Rent-a-Rescue (29 Nov, Mondays and Tuesdays, 9.00 pm)
Animax (Singtel TV Ch 342, StarHub TV Ch 532)
The Seven Deadly Sins -Signs of Holy War- (28 Nov, Mondays and Tuesdays 10.00 pm)
Hello!! KINMOZA! (8 Nov, Mondays and Tuesdays, 8.00 pm)
cHK (Singtel TV Ch 510)
The Mystic Nine (7 Nov, Mondays to Fridays 10.00 pm)
Lifetime (Starhub Channel 514)
Killer Coach (movie) (2 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
Indiscretion (movie) (9 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
Girl in the Box (movie) (16 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
The Wrong Child (movie) (23 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
The Inherited (movie) (30 Nov, Wednesday 9.00 pm)
Entourage Korea (4 Nov)
Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim (8 Nov)
Father, I Take Care of You (13 Nov)
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (17 Nov)
The Expanse (3 Nov)
The Crown (4 Nov)
The Ivory Game (4 Nov)
World of Winx (4 Nov)
Beat Bugs (second season) (8 Nov)
True Memoirs of an International Assassin (movie) (11 Nov)
Roman Empire: Reign of Empire (11 Nov)
Lovesick (second season) (11 Nov)
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (25 Nov)
3% (25 Nov)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
