IU and Lee Joon-Gi star in the SBS drama 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo.' (Photo : YouTube/Yunn 1203)
SBS has officially dismissed recent rumors of a "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" extension, confirming that the historical drama will end at the scheduled 20-episode on Oct. 31. The ongoing drama star Lee Joon-Gi and IU as 4th Prince Wang So and Hae Soo, respectively.
Despite growing demand for it, a source from SBS stressed they would not be extending "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo," according to local newsoutlet OSEN, as cited by The Kpop Herald. The unnamed source added that it is impossible to run more episodes than initially planned, as the drama was completely filmed before airing.
The filming for the SBS historical drama commenced in late 2015 and successfully concluded on June 30 at a set in Incheon, South Korea. It is said that SBS has yet to figure out whether the finale episode will air on Oct. 31 as initially planned or a week earlier on Oct. 25, with both the 19th and 20th-episode back-to-back broadcast.
Still, many avid viewers are hoping that the network will run a special episode on Nov. 1. The speculation increased when fans noticed that the new drama "Romantic Doctor: Teacher Kim," which is set to take over "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo's" current timeslot, is scheduled to premiere on Nov. 7.
Meanwhile, "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" just reached 1 billion views on China's top online video streaming service Youku. On Sept. 21, Wednesday, the "Scholar Who Walks the Night" actor took to Instagram to thank the fans for supporting the SBS drama.
The news comes as a surprise for the entire cast and crew of the SBS historical drama, considering "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" has been experiencing low viewership ratings. As early as the fourth episode, decrease in viewers was noticed, which seemingly proceeded through its ninth episode.
Regardless of being behind in viewership ratings, the SBS historical drama was crowned the most influential television show for the first week of September, according to CJ E&M, as cited by One Hallyu. With a record of 294.3 total points, "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" ruled over KBS 2TV's "Moonlight Drawn By Clouds" and MBC's "Infinite Challenge."
Check out SBS's "Scarlet Hear: Ryeo" below:
