SNL Korea's Smile Clinic Is Becoming a Sitcom
A sketch from Saturday Night Live Korea is turning into a full comedy series. It is the first spin-off from any international version of the show, according to Deadline, which broke the news as an exclusive.
The series is called The Smile Clinic. It started life as a digital short, meaning a brief sketch made for online viewing, that came out of Season 8 of SNL Korea. Now it becomes a sitcom, or situation comedy, of 10 episodes, each about 30 minutes long.
The show takes aim at Korea's cosmetic dermatology business, the clinics that offer skin treatments, and the office politics of the people who work in them. Five cast members from the sketch will return: Lee Su-ji, Kim Won-hun, Gong Min-jeung, Kim Kyu-won and Ji Ye-eun.
The deal was struck by NBCUniversal Formats, the arm that licenses TV show formats to other broadcasters and streamers, with Coupang Play, a Korean streaming service. CP Entertainment is producing the series. Coupang Play already lists Smile Clinic as a series on its platform, and describes it as SNL's hit segment set in a clinic where laughter is the cure.
Clips from the sketch have amassed more than 17 million views on YouTube, Deadline reported.
Sketches like this often spread far beyond the show that made them. This one has now moved from a few minutes of online comedy to a ten-episode run, which means a writers' room, a crew, and a set to build. Those are the pieces that turn a clever clip into something people can watch from start to finish.
