Two of South Korea's largest broadcasting company, KBS and SBS, are having a sparring session over the rights of the upcoming drama series "Incarnation of Envy." However, reports say that KBS has conceded, handing the rights for the drama to SBS.
The show, which stars Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Suk, was caught in the middle of a tug of war between the two rival networks, as they prepared to include the drama in this year's lineup. On April 19, the production company for "Incarnation of Envy" began discussions with KBS about the show, but later switched to SBS due to scheduling conflicts with KBS.
However, KBS contended that they were not just arguing about scheduling conflicts. According to Soompi, KBS and SM C&C, the series' production company, had already agreed on the casting and production for the second half of 2016. What happened, however, was that KBS received a notice informing them that SM C&C has decided to move the "Incarnation of Envy" to another network.
It was also said that Gong requested to have the drama released in August, a condition KBS could not comply with since it already had a different drama scheduled for that slate. The actress reportedly made other demands, such as using a non-KBS producer.
SM C&C had denied the allegations, saying the actress did not make such demands to the production company or network. SM C&C also claimed that KBS changed the broadcast schedule without their approval, and even sought to limit the drama to 20 episodes instead of 24.
Furthermore, on May 2, insiders revealed that KBS was already searching for another drama to put in the timeslot initially reserved for "Incarnation of Envy," Soompi reported.
"Incarnation of Envy" stars Gong and Jo, and is written by Seo Sook Hyang, who is credited for past dramas such as "Pasta" and "Romance Town." The drama centers on the love story between a reporter and weather forecaster working at the same news station.
If SBS did truly acquire the rights to air the drama series, then "Incarnation of Envy" may premiere sometime in August.
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