K-drama midseason recap: River Where the Moon Rises – period drama weathers crisis with casting triumph
- The sacking of the lead actor Ji Soo after allegations of school bullying forced a swift recasting
- His replacement, Mr Queen actor Na In-woo, has good chemistry with the rest of the cast, and has made the role of On Dal his own
This article contains spoilers.
Following a scattered and lacklustre opening, period-romance action-drama River Where the Moon Rises has, in fits and starts, gradually gained some focus. Yet the most exciting thing that has happened to date was the drama that unfolded behind the scenes, which quickly forced the show to take drastic action.
K-dramas have traditionally been made very quickly and typically remain in production even as shows start airing. These compressed timelines, though stressful for everyone involved, keep production costs down and give writers a chance to focus more on things viewers like, or correct them if too much criticism comes their way.
In the case of River Where the Moon Rises, this production method gave them an opportunity to make a massive change midseason – switch out their embattled lead actor. Ji, who had already shot 18 of the show’s 20 episodes, was fired on March 5 and his replacement Na In-woo was confirmed later that day. Three days later, episode seven aired – Ji was gone, and in his place was Nam, sort of.