SBS responds to criticisms against IU; Network to air 'Scarlet Heart: Goryeo' director's cut?

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) recently responded to the criticisms raised by viewers against the historical period drama, "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo," and its cast members.

The representative of SBS drama did not just request its audiences to continue watching the show, but also urged them not to judge the female lead Lee Ji-eun a.k.a. IU with "excessive prejudice."

"I don't think that it deserves to be so severely criticised. I rather think that she's shown an improved performance compared to her previous works. I know that there is a prejudice about IU because she made her start as an idol, and also she has many anti-fans," Kim Young Sub, the director of SBS Drama, told OSEN (via Naver).

Although "Scarlet Heart Ryeo" was one of the most-anticipated period dramas of the season, a report suggests that its television rating has come down after the first two episodes. 

So in order to increase the viewership, SBS is apparently planning to air the director's cut of the first three episodes. "For the 'Scarlet Heart: Goryeo' reruns on [September] 3, we will air director's cuts for episodes one to three," a source from SBS said.

However, the followers of "Moon Lovers" will have to wait until Sept. 3 to know more about the telecast of the director's cut as the network and the show's creative team have not released any official details about it.

Meanwhile, several speculations are doing the rounds that the network might cancel the historical drama in near future because of its declining viewership.

The next episode of "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" will be aired on SBS this Monday.