MBC strike threatens to delay Moon/Sun finale

by girlfriday

Some possible bad news for fans of MBC drama The Moon That Embraces the Sun: head PD Kim Do-hoon has joined the ranks in the ongoing labor strike over at MBC, in what will probably be the union’s big last-ditch effort to turn the tables. The drama finally managed to pass the 40% ratings mark and became designated a “national drama,” which means delaying production and derailing this train just before the finale would be the biggest blow the union could deliver to the network. It’s as good a bargaining chip as any, and the timing isn’t trying to deceive anybody — it’s we’re going to leave you hanging when you’ve promised your advertisers 40% ratings. The hit series has two episodes left, scheduled for this coming Wednesday and Thursday.

The labor strike has been going on for over a month now, since January 30. It’s just that dramas haven’t been affected until now because they’re often produced by outside companies. But more and more crew members have been joining up, and last week High Kick took a whole week off due to the strike, airing specials instead, which is something variety shows like Infinity Challenge and We Got Married have done for a month.

Now key drama PDs have joined the ranks, including the head PDs of weekend dramas Feast of the Gods and God of War. The strike is against MBC’s unfair administration and is primarily aimed at forcing the resignation of MBC president Kim Jae-chul. I just know this isn’t the first time they’ve tried to overthrow this guy, so I’m just gonna go on a hunch that this guy isn’t exactly a saint.

MBC claims that Moon isn’t in danger of missing its finale schedule (which of course they’d say), while Moon‘s production team confirms that the PD has joined the strike, along with their head cinematographer. Uh…that seems like a problem, no? The show’s been shooting with two crews simultaneously on a tight live schedule, and the main problem they’d face with a delay is that stars Kim Soo-hyun and Jung Il-woo aren’t available for more days — they’re due on other sets (photoshoots, advertisements, etc.) the day after the original wrap date.

So basically, they’re going to have to complete shoots on schedule, come hell or high water. The production claims that even if they manage to do that, without their head PD, the shows won’t be edited in time for broadcast. My guess is that MBC won’t let it come to that, because it’s not often that a ratings hit rolls around for them, and it would be dumb to let the final episodes just sit there, as potential ratings dwindle away by the day. I guess we’ll find out on Wednesday, whether the Moon/Sun chip was the one to bring down the house.

Via Osen

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