tvN’s long-delayed drama ‘Second Signal’ is reportedly set to premiere on December 7, according to an exclusive report from South Korean outlet MyDaily published on October 25. The report says the series has been scheduled in tvN’s Monday-Tuesday slot, after an earlier plan for November 30 was pushed back by one week.
Under the reported schedule, episodes 1 and 2 will air together as a special broadcast on December 7, with one episode airing at a time from December 8 onward. MyDaily describes the December 7 date as final, based on its own reporting. No confirmation from tvN itself was included in the report, and readers should treat the date as reported rather than officially announced until the network confirms it.
That caution is warranted by recent history. An earlier MyDaily report that ‘Second Signal’ would begin on November 30 was met with a response from a tvN official that nothing had been confirmed about the scheduling. The network has repeatedly declined to confirm dates for a drama whose release has already been postponed several times, so a new reported date deserves the same careful reading.
The sequel reunites the three leads of the original 2016 drama ‘Signal’: Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo, and Jo Jin-woong. Writer Kim Eun-hee, who wrote the first season, returned to write the sequel, and Ahn Tae-jin directed it. The story follows detectives in the present and the past who are connected by a walkie-talkie signal from the past, working together to solve long-unsolved cold cases. The first season won best drama at the 2016 Baeksang Arts Awards and remains one of tvN’s most acclaimed series.
Filming for the sequel was completed in August last year. It was originally planned as a flagship project for tvN’s 20th anniversary, with a broadcast expected in June of this year, ten years after the original aired. That plan collapsed after reports about Jo Jin-woong’s past emerged. According to MyDaily, Jo’s juvenile record came to light just before the planned release, prompting an indefinite postponement, and Jo subsequently announced his retirement from acting.
MyDaily reports that the production team considered several options for Jo’s footage, including heavy editing and AI-assisted work, but concluded that his role was too large to cut. The report says the team decided to keep all of his scenes intact rather than attempt edits that would damage the story. That decision explains much of the delay: unlike a supporting role that can be trimmed, Jo’s character is central to the plot, and removing him would have required rebuilding the drama.
The report also says the production initially planned to release the drama with no promotion at all, given the sensitivity around Jo. It now says the team is considering whether to hold a pre-recorded press conference featuring the cast other than Jo, with various options still under discussion. No final decision on promotion was reported.
The background to the controversy has been widely reported in South Korean media. In December last year, reports alleged that Jo had been involved in serious offenses during his high school years and had received a juvenile protection disposition. The Korea Herald reported that Jo acknowledged having a juvenile record but denied allegations related to sexual assault, apologized for disappointing those who trusted him, and announced that he would end his acting career. Other outlets reported that broadcasters distanced themselves from him, including removing his narration from documentary programming.
For viewers, the reported December 7 date would end a long wait. ‘Second Signal’ has been finished for more than a year, its cast has moved on to other projects, and its anniversary slot has already been filled by other dramas. If the new date holds, the sequel will finally reach audiences in a very different climate from the celebratory anniversary launch originally planned, with its troubled production history impossible to separate from its premiere. Until tvN confirms the schedule, however, December 7 remains a reported date, not an official one, and that distinction is the most important detail in this story.
