Uh-oh. MBC may be getting ready to let that axe fall for the third time this year. I’m reading conflicting reports about its soccer drama Heading to the Ground, but it’s not looking good.

KBS’s blockbuster drama IRIS has just premiered with a very strong rating in the 20% ballpark. (Official ratings aren’t out yet, but the preliminary report places it close to 20%. UPDATE: The number was a whopping 24.5%. As it just aired four hours ago, no I haven’t seen it yet, but I plan to.) That means that the poorly performing Heading, which has several weeks still left to go, is now essentially dead, with Iris and You’re Beautiful getting most of the attention.

One report says that Heading will end early and allow Hero, the Lee Junki vehicle, to begin a week earlier than planned, which would give MBC more to work with in the Wednesday-Thursday ratings battle. That would mean that the 20-episode Heading would need to wrap up by its 18th episode instead. However, Star News reports that MBC has “strongly denied” the curtailment rumors. In a phone interview on the 14th, the MBC source said, “Rumors of cutting it early are ridiculous” and that the drama would end as planned.

As you know, MBC cut Tamra the Island and Strike Love, but strongly denied rumors of cutting Friend, Our Legend, which went on to complete its original run. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see which side prevails.

Via Star News, Today Korea

RELATED POSTS

• Iris and Chuno run into production disputes
• The business of kdrama extensions and cuts
• Heading’s abrupt story changes prompt viewer complaints
• Yun-ho braces for criticism
• Friend will not be ending early
• Sports dramas struggle to stay in the game
• Fans are spitting mad at Tamra’s curtailment

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 27 Comments →

With only a day before its airdate, the premiere of Iris was thrown into question as the drama’s production company, Taewon Entertainment, announced a dispute with its broadcaster, KBS. After a day of negotiations, the two sides did reconcile and come to an agreement, meaning that the Wednesday premiere of the high-profile action series will continue as planned. But not without some major issues built in, as we learned from the grievances aired by Taewon.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 18 Comments →

There have been several discussions on this site about this topic, so I found the following article pretty timely. I both agree and disagree with the points outlined below, but regardless of my personal take on the matter, I’m certain there is enough room for convincing arguments on both sides of the issue…

“Who’s to blame when characters are criticized?”… “Incomprehensible” lead characters, damaged dramas

“I can’t understand my character myself, so how can I act in a way that viewers would sympathize? It’s disappointment upon disappointment.”

This is the confession of Ryu Shi-won, who was thrown into confusion at his incomprehensible character in SBS’s Style, which ended on September 20. With twenty years of acting experience, he found his character’s sudden changes difficult to handle. And it’s not just with Ryu Shi-won. Jung Il-woo, who is currently appearing in KBS’s My Fair Lady, expressed disappointment for similar reasons.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 85 Comments →

I stopped watching Style a while ago (I couldn’t take it anymore, it got on my nerves), but I’m still keeping an eye on the news about it, since it’s holding steady in the ratings in the mid-upper teens. (It hasn’t yet broken 20%, and has recently slipped into second place behind KBS’s weekend drama Iron Empress.) It doesn’t surprise me that the drama is now being criticized for its excessive shilling of products — as the article below points out, product placement in and of itself is fairly common these days, but when it crosses the line, viewers will notice that the drama starts feeling empty of actual story.

“A magazine 100% free of advertising? Are you joking?”

That’s a line of dialogue that magazine editor Park Ki-ja (Kim Hye-soo) fires at Seo Woo-jin (Ryu Shi-won) in SBS’s drama Style. Replace the word “magazine” with “drama” and you’ll hit the mark regarding Style.

Watching Style, with its fancy visuals, is like watching an hour of advertising. To some extent, it’s unavoidable to show what the characters like to drive, wear, eat, and use. However, Style is also coming under fire for this display and the characters’ conspicuous dialogue.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 35 Comments →

(Hyun Bin, is that really you?)

One of the buzzworthy dramas this year is the remake of the 2001 film Friend [친구], which is being adapted for television in MBC’s Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설]. Aside from the casting, the drama has a few things going for it that’s drumming up early interest: It’s being written and directed by the film’s director, Kwak Kyung-taek, and it’s just announced that it’ll get all 20 episodes in the can before premiere time.

The production company, ZinInSa Films (which also produced the film), stated on May 10 that filming is currently about 80% completed: “Filming and editing are being done together, so the entire production will be completed prior to broadcast.”

[Read more →]

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 40 Comments →