Age of Feeling makes sudden writer switch

by javabeans

It’s never a great sign when a drama that’s currently airing makes drastic changes midway through its run, whether it’s in story direction, actor changes, or replaced directors or writers. It’s the latter case for Age of Feeling, KBS’s romantic action noir that has just announced that its main writer will be quitting the show.

There are four writers on the staff of Age of Feeling, which is rather a large staff by dramaland standards but also understandable as all four are rookies. Three of the four have no other credits to their names, while head writer Chae Seung-dae (the one who is leaving) has a couple of Drama Specials under his belt. No specifics were given to explain Chae’s departure, merely that he leaves because of “personal reasons”; a source with KBS’s drama department added that Chae is still a new writer and found the task of leading a 24-episode project to be too much to handle. What a strangely vague and backhanded explanation.

Chae will stick around through the drama’s tenth episode, which airs this week. Beginning with Episode 11, a new writer will be brought in as head writer, Park Gye-ok. As his credits include the medical melodrama Cain and Abel (which I found plodding and overwrought) and the weekend series Dumb Mom, I am not super enthusiastic about this swap. It’s a sudden move and while ratings aren’t fabulous, they aren’t in flop territory either (averaging 8% or thereabouts, which is usually enough to claim second place against You From Another Star, ahead of Miss Korea) and the show has its niche fanbase, so I don’t know what they hope to achieve at this point.

This also comes on the heels of KBS stepping in to announce that they reduce the number of violent scenes in Age of Feeling, which has had some complaints of excessive depictions of blood and pain. I would’ve thought a certain level of violence was to be expected for a dark period noir show that centers around a fighter hero (and remember Gaksital?), but there’s been enough said about the gratuitous scenes to get the show to back off. It’s possible that the age of its young actors (in the childhood portions) adds a layer of sensitivity to the matter, so there’s that.

Age of Feeling, which airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays, is planned for 24 episodes in totla; the switch does occur before the halfway mark, giving the show plenty of time to find its footing and settle in with a new writer. Whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.

Via Osen, TV Daily

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