Producer Changes PDs and Heard it Through the Grapevine Changes Production Companies
There aren’t just casting problems with K-dramas lately, this week comes a one-two punch of production issues hitting two high profile dramas. I’ll start with the unknown horse in the pack, namely the KBS variety department produced drama Producer. The drama premieres Friday night on May 8th and has been filming for a few weeks now but there might be some tonal shifts in the first episodes with news from the network that the drama is changing PDs. Out will be variety PD Yoon Sung Ho, who will remain a producer (har har) on the drama, and in is veteran KBS drama PD Pyo Min Soo. Shit, my sorta nemesis!
The official line from KBS for the switch is to bring in a PD familiar with the rigors of drama filming since PD Yoon is a variety and movie director, but keep PD Yoon on as a producer to retain the concept of this drama being produced by the KBS variety team. Can we just say ringer and be done with it. Since the drama hasn’t aired yet, the PD switch might not be noticeable, but over at SBS there is a bigger fracas that went down on the production of currently airing Mon-Tues drama Heard it Through the Grapevine. Midway through airing, Grapevine has abruptly changed production companies behind the scenes with no official explanation for why.
There are always rumored swirling around abrupt or unexpected changes from a drama production and the gossip behind the Grapevine production company change was that the original production company can’t and hasn’t paid any of the salaries for the cast and crew. SBS is denying that is the reason why, only saying that there were internal issues that can’t be divulged, but is definitely not a salary problem. Oooookay, that sounds totally believable. Not. Grapevine has been holding steady with ratings slightly above 10%, a decent showing but no sign of the legs to go much higher.
It’s a 30-episode drama so there is still a lot of episodes remaining, but a change in production company appears merely administrative at this point as the PD, screenwriter, and cast remains the same. Producer may have filmed some footage already with PD Yoon but I can see PD Pyo editing the existing footage in his style to make the flow appear seamless. Neither of the shakeups at these two dramas seem all that dire in the grand scheme of things but it is always fascinating to get a peek into the inner workings of drama production. For Producer, this PD change already seems so meta LOL.
*googles Pyo Min Soo*
Why is he your nemesis? 😀 I mean, what drama in particular? He seems to have some hits and misses in his resume. Can I guess? Is it Iris2?
Heartstrings made me nauseous with his camera whizzing, he was the sucky half of World’s Within, and IRIS 2 was such a self-congratulatory job I can’t even.
and those dramas you mentioned didnt really make a hit! they spent a lot of money for the actors, sooo.. hope, it will not be a mess. big names, good casting, emm.. hope it turns good..
Which half of Worlds Within did he direct? The first half? The drama is consistently good for me from the beginning to the end though.
but, didn’t he directed Ho Goo Love ? That drama turned out well. I know I hate him for Heartstrings and Iris 2, but i blame it to suck script writing. Hmmm …
Korean Entertainment is going through just like Hong Kong movie and drama past glory, when the so called mafia is slowly controlling them.
Sorry to be off topic, but I just found out about Seo In Gook in Hello Monster… is anyone else as deflated as I am? He’s ok, Jang Na Ra is ok, but I can’t imagine any chemistry whatsoever between them. Yet another drama bites the dust for me 🙁
Biggest UGH in recent memory. From Lee Sang Yoon to Seo In Guk is such a major downgrade.
I think SIG is probably a better actor but visually he and JNR are such a no-no… ugh.
I can think of bigger UGHs and prospective UGHs that got prevented and at least Seo In Gook is a good actor, but SIG/Jang Nara…..they’ll have to rewrite it as a noona romance.
You’re not alone. I feel the same way too. I love both JNR and SIG but as you’ve said… the chemistry. It’s just… ugh I can’t even begin to describe it. T~T
They should have stuck with JNR-LSY pairing. It has more potential.
Damn. They seriously need a real life Anthony Kim.
The change of PD made me worried. WHY, KBS?!? W H Y?!?
Grapevine is one of the best dramas of the year, but it sucks that the production company has been slacking on paying the cast and crew. Not that you would know it, by the quality of the work they put out. And they can’t even blame the ratings since all ratings are so low these days.
Koala, why no news from you with regards to let’s eat season 2? Are you enjoying it? Coz am loving it!,
Okay, but wasn’t the point of Producers basically that it was going to be a variety PD bringing something new a fresh with it’s new special time-slot. It’s just basically turning into a normal drama now. Which is fine I suppose, but okay!
It’s probably a lure..bait the actors and actresses with the refreshing idea of a variety pd then switched once they bitten the bait!
I mean I’m sure one of the reason why Cha The Hyun signed on was because of the variety pd since she’s also in charge of 2d1n
What is the reason behind for you dancing differently between to decently average shows in the splendid politics and heard it through the grapevine.. all over the other one but this dismissive to the other one.. expertise are personal and lack of judgement is common with you..
It’s an embarrassment reading thru hypocrisy and contradicting articles.
I will also add that you come off aggressively silly which means your not the one watching the shows for the people back home in there comfortably living rooms.. take that in notice before you start screaming allover the place next time.
@Sasha, your comments are so funny, since Koala was full of praise for both Splendid Politics and Grapevine in the previous article. And where in this article is she dismissive of Grapevine? All this article is about is that Grapevine recently changed production companies!
And this is a blog and Koala’s opinion is her opinion, just as mine is mine and yours is yours.
And who’s acting aggressively and doing the screaming here? LOL!
I agree this is a highly controversial blog and has no credibility and it seems mostly like fanfics when fantasy meets reality or something.
This blogger has for sure issues and the contradicting is out of this world which comes with personal emotions after all and plzzz whatever your doing its beyond amateurish and embarrasing.
I would definitely agree with you on the fanfics comparison since all facts is sadly lost in the article infos..
I see no difference between this place and Asianfanfics.com period
Urmmm it’s called an opinion. Every blogger has that unless if she’s writing to get many hits then it won’t matter. Sure, she doesn’t always have the facts but I think the main reason people visit this blog is to read HER takes on all things dramas. I don’t necessarily agree on everything she says, sometimes I hated it but I do enjoy reading her thoughts. If u want legit & informative blogs then by all means, go find it yourself. There’s plenty to choose from. If you don’t like her opinion then why are you even here?
Agree with you. This is her blog. She’s definitely entitled to her opinions and whatever she would like to say about drama. BTW, I didn’t see anything seriously wrong about what Koala said. Can’t people have their personal taste and preference in whatever entertainment is concerned?
So many haters on this blog, especially after the not so favorable articles on some actresses.
I was one of the first to call out the fantasy narrations on this blog for lack of infos and basically being immature rants for emotional reasons. fanfics would be an understatement more like robin hood way of fanfics pushing publishing lies must of the times
If you have such low regard for the blogger, then you shouldn’t have been here so often. Are you trolling her or her readers? Don’t forget this is her blog and she has never forced anyone to read her posts.
I truely believe that when facts are lost in between of your emotions you should just quite writting and tbh with you as an international k-drama watcher this type of narrations or publishing articles is an embarrasment for Korea and its productions when blogger like this mix reality with fantasy as many of you mentioned on the above.
I think there is alot of politics in this blog as well for some weird reasons which I find awkward and somewhat disgusting and the fans are getting robbed here.
I hope whoever was paid for this just quits and saves what is remaining of there pride and the archive is bleeding.
This blogger is a disturbed individual
I have seen my bias get ripped open here like a deer surrounded by predators for no fuckin reasons just pure personal hate.
https://koalasplayground.com/2014/11/08/kim-soo-hyun-deliciously-dark-and-intense-for-fila-winter-down-campaign/
@ Aisha and lil-yasiie, both KSH and LMH are my favorite K actors and I would never miss any of their dramas. But I don’t feel so offended by Koala’s personal opinions about these two hot guys. Everyone has right to claim his/her preference. Why can’t you just respect others’ taste and opinions? At least there’re many regular readers of Koala including me who love KSH or/and LMH or/and other actors but Koala never bashed us back when we expressed our admiration (or even obsession) for our favorite.
I don’t like this writter at all only based on the half-assed misinformed articles and that is easily described with fantasy articles
So why are you torturing yourself by coming to this website? Life is too short to suffer through things you don’t like.
Hello I’m a long time reader of koala’s blog and this also happens to be my first time posting a comment in this space. In response to all the negativity here I would just like to say that reading what she has to say about news/dramas/everything really makes me happy. For me, what makes this blog special is that no matter what, mrs koala always has a opinion and sticks to it, even if it’s not popular. I don’t agree with her on many, many things – for example I don’t find Kim Woo-bin a good actor (and koala has heaped superlatives on him) and City Hall was really very ordinary for me – but I still enjoy reading what she has to say because I know for sure it’s personal and sincere and she isn’t typing something on the Internet for more views/clicks. To mrs koala, i truly hope you won’t change your style of writing because of a few disapproving comments. In fact, please continue and rock on 🙂 your voice is incredibly valued in the kdrama blogosphere so don’t lose it
And to all the very negative people above, may I just suggest that you guys get your kdrama updates from a news source instead of a blog? I just find it so puzzling that you guys would expect 1000% accurate legit news from koala o______o
It has nothing to do with what you are saying.. she can hate whoever she wants but FFS correct your infos and judge rightly so on there ratings fairly but not your personal taste because we are all different in taste.. forcing your will on a drama that people like comes off like a bitch.
And really misinforming the masses which is highly unpressional
@ Aisha. I’m sorry I have to say I don’t get what points you’re trying to make. Instead, I read a lot of emotions from your comments. I agree with Kate. A blog is never meant to be a credible news source although it could be. Blogs are characterized by personal opinions, values, and taste which mostly are subjective. Nothing is wrong about being subjective in the entertainment world. I did not agree with Koala from time to time and her preference of actors/actresses. But her personal taste and reviews never bothered me to a degree I had to call her out and bash/mock her. I think some people making negative comments here are overreacting. If you understand AN OPINION is AN OPINION and respect others who differ from you in thinking, then you shouldn’t get so pissed.
@aisha “misinforming” which part?
I really don’t like Pyo Min Soo’s style. Too much repetitive scenes. I hope this PD take Jin Hyeok PD’s spot in China, and stick there for a long time. And of course, I like Jin Hyeok PD, so he must comeback to KDrama soon!
And nobody is forcing them to read this blog. Go to other blogs or news site instead of being rude and bitter here.
Sorry my reply was meant for the previous comment on koala haters:(
wow … so much hate @.@ seriously girls if you dont like this blog, just go to somewhere else. dont check this blog .. thats way better than spread your hatred here ..
btw, I love this blog .. I am a regular visitor since sweet mess drama Marry me Mary hehee
wow I believe you have been spammed with hate posts. Seems like the same or several people from the same group. The language and comments are rather familiar. It’s amazing why they even bother with a blog of personal opinions lol. I don’t agree on a lot of her opinions too but wowsers why the need to defend your favourite actor/actress HERE. Koala doesn’t represent Korea or all of drama watching community you know. The stars don’t give a fig on whether certain people don’t like them or not.
What is with all the negative comments on an article related to a change in production teams/companies for some dramas? There wasn’t any bashing of any actors or actresses in the post as far as a I can see.
And going by how the tone or phrasing seems similar, it seems to be 1 or 2 persons posting under different usernames.
Grapevine is just an excellent drama and I hope the production upheaval won’t mean more stress for the staff and crew.
wth is with people trashing koala? It’s a blog, HER blog, and if you hate it why on earth are you stll here? Good grief, people, logical much?
I can’t even be bothered to address any substantive comments from certain individuals since it’s all from the same commenter. I personally find it distasteful and cowardly to post criticism under different usernames just to make it seem like more people share the same viewpoint when it’s just one individual.
@ aisha, Nabila, Ouch, Maxi, Mama, Leila, Sasha are all the same person posting under these 7 different usernames. Forget the fact that I can see your IP address, even other readers can tell you are the same person since you write the exact same way LOL. I’ll keep your comments but if you have something to say then at least have the guts to say it without hiding under different usernames.
Haha it really is obvious.It’s easy to change your e-mail and IP but not so easy to change the style of your expression and language,specially when one is so full of maliciousness.Let me guess,it must be that Joey100 right? haha S/he iss shamelessness personified!
It likely is. One of the usernames @Nabila used in this post was used previously by @Joey100 as a username in a different post. Oh well, someone has way too much time and imagination on hand.
Arg! That Joey! I remember her/him who posted comments on this website before like an angry bird. I guess this person is here to troll. And thanks Koala for revealing the single true identity of multiple person(s)(oops! almost added “ality”). I wasted my time and sincerity responding to this mocker.
Stop being blind and open your eyes to the reality surrounding you.. you are hated and thats the truth.
To the person with 7 Heads and one IP – I think you are spamming the wrong post.
If you are going to spend all this time writing your hate words, at least make it seem like you read the original story. You are entitled to an opinion, and Koala has never deleted your comments, but they are left here for ever and ever and ever. All of these words will represent you and your online persona to all who read. Is it your goal to bring folks over to your side or are you just taking shots for fun?
I feel bad that you feel bad, but let’s be honest here. You get to hide behind a fake name, at least let us see your real motivations.
koala I Love You. Your Blog Became the most important for me so don’t be angry please you’re nice person doing a lot of effort to translate articles to make us happy .aha i love Woo bin like you XD
I remember the Grapvine drama is the same case as Kim Hyun Joong’s drama Youth Generation. Team production didn’t pay the casts and it was published and know by many. I think they solved the problem already. I hope everything will be okay for Grapvine casts too. Not watching the drama but I heard the story is refreshing. Such kind of black comedy?
** haters gonna hate.. poor you..