Miara23

Ok? I guess in an ideal scenario that's how it should have happened, but unfortunately, that's not what happened?

Oh yeah, no, my comment isn’t with the people who had decided to hold off on watching this show due to the ongoing legal issues and lack of payment(s) with this drama. As I had said in my previous comment, I won’t judge fans for how they were going to react when the ball dropped, because at the end of the day, it’s really none of my business and we’re all strangers here on the internet.

But at the same time, some fans really did take it too far. It was more on X/Twitter than it was on here, but there were literally fans who would pull up SOS’s statements about the issue like it was some part of their foolproof pseudo-“arsenal” as a way to bully other fans who were genuinely still excited for the drama to air and even threatened to sue them for talking about it and hyping it up. Like, wtf? Why were fans threatening to sue fellow fans, why the hell was this negative energy being pointed towards members of the fanbase and not the other studios involved?

It was honestly a bit disturbing to see how determined some of Jeff’s more vocal stans were to play white knight in shining armor for him, and that’s where my main gripe truly is. Lol

The same people who were harassing other fans are now clamoring for Barcode to say something, and like, what more do they want, at this point?

Barcode is already under a new company, and who knows what the restrictions (if there are any) are with his contract with GMM. Is he even allowed to talk about it? Does he have any legal representation of his own? What are the consequences, if he decides to fight for his own pay, while he’s already in a new ship + a boy band? The truth of the matter is, nobody knows the parameters of his contract/situation with GMM, but clamoring for him to say something just so fans can feel at ease watching this drama feels a bit too self-entitled, imo, when none of us knows the full scope of his circumstances.

If he says something, that’d be great, he’s keeping his fans in mind. If he doesn’t, fans really ought to just get over it and decide for themselves whether they’ll watch it or not and leave it at that.

This is why at the end of the day, I question Jeff’s decision to bring all this out in the open, since the way I see it, there is some ethical issues that can be debated about this situation. In layman’s terms, while I understand he may have felt the need to use public pressure to get the other studios on the negotiating table to get his paycheck, it also feels like he weaponized his own fanbase on a matter in which most details weren’t even disclosed (for legal reasons, ofc, but the fact remains so).

Again, Jeff isn’t infallible, and I do hope sincerely that for him and his studio, this is a learning lesson for how they negotiate future collaborations.

I will admit, the most surprising thing about this is the fact that a resolution was carried out so fast, since it’s only been a little over a month or so since SOS had made their first statement. For which I’m glad; I’m assuming either SOS and Studio Genie, et al. settled out of court and the lawsuit was dropped, or one of the parties paid a hefty fee to get this case rushed through the court system. All’s well that ends well, at least for Jeff anyway!

Be that as it may, it also goes without saying that this series has been through the ringer, and even looking at the comments on here, it still kind of is. Again, everyone has the choice to watch or not watch, none of us ought to judge one another since we're all strangers on here, but it is kind of disheartening (and a little tiring) to see how fandom nowadays has cultivated this sort of culture where choosing to watch something or not has become in and of itself a show of moral performative action.

Mind you, my last comment above would be different if it was something like based off of one of JK Rowling's IPs, but this is a BL drama that a lot of fans have been waiting for for a long time. Witnessing the negativity in real time was a strange experience, to say the least.

Like, I’m happy Jeff is getting paid and it’s only right that he IS paid, but to be perfectly honest, I was personally never really that concerned about it? Our boy from Saturn has a lot of brand sponsorships under his belt, and he’s the certified IT boy right now in Thailand; it kinda comes off as a little too parasocial to me that so many were overly worried about his finances. Lmaoooo I feel like it’s this kind of parasocial behavior which blurs boundaries between personal (his paycheck) and professional (his performance in this drama) that’s now heavily contributing to the fans’ mixed feelings and overall awkwardness.

Hell, even SOS had mentioned how the fans had been uncomfortable throughout it all, and let’s be real, Jeff isn’t infallible; there’s a debate that can be had as to whether or not it was wise to bring this all out in the open. At the end of the day, we get the show we’ve been waiting for, but at what emotional cost? Sighs.

So here’s my question to you, just genuinely asking: how do you think the actors are going to get paid?

Do you think studio genie has the budget to pay them? Hanyang is bankrupt and has been for a few years now; even if SOS wins the case, who’s actually gonna fork up the money to pay Jeff? Or any of the actors?

Think of it from Studio Genie’s point of view, and Korean entertainment culture, in which it’s common practice not to pay actors until after a drama airs fully. Exploitative af, most definitely, but in this case, it would no longer just be a simple issue of Jeff or any of the other actors not getting paid, it’s a systemic issue.

Do you genuinely think not airing this drama helps the situation or not? After all, common sense says that a drama that doesn’t air doesn’t generate revenue for the studios to fight over in court.

I guess what I’m trying to ask is, at the end of the day, do you think Jeff’s fans thought this situation through to its most logical possible conclusions, or is all this huffing and puffing just a knee-jerk reaction that’s more performative than anything else and doesn’t actually address the actual reality of what that lawsuit means?

Not gonna lie, I feel like this entire situation is being way too oversimplified due to the fact that this entire issue was brought out into the court of public opinion to begin with, which does nothing but muddle the understanding of what’s going on.

At this point, people have to realize that “don’t watch, don’t support” is not as simple as it sounds, considering it still hurts the actors in some form, in that it doesn’t help the situation in regard to the compensation they still haven’t received.

To put it simply, Studio Genie currently has the rights to this show, and they also finished post-production. When Hanyang, the original owner and production studio, sold the rights to Studio Genie, most likely they didn’t disclose the fact that the actors never received compensation or anything else for that matter. That’s probably why they cut off all communications with SOS after initial filming had finished.

It also doesn’t help the fact that in Korea, some actors in drama productions aren’t usually paid until the drama has finished airing. It’s another whole ass conversation AND a controversial system, but alas, that’s the state of k-drama entertainment as it stands in the Year of our Lord 2026: exploitative af.

So in a way, Studio Genie is also in a bit of a pickle; for one, we have to ask, do they even have a budget to pay the actors? They most likely bought WB on a fire sale, hoping they can air it for the world to see and make their money, but it turns out the production they bought from Hanyang came with some skeletons in the closet.

They technically have the rights to still air WB, and whatever revenue it generates can hopefully be used to pay the actors. But again, on that front, SOS, Studio Genie, Hanyang, Cinema Upright, et al. will all have to hash that out in court.

I’m not guilt tripping anyone to watch WB, since atp, I’m kind of in the same boat, but do realize that whatever choice you make, please don’t equate it as some moralizing decision based on a knee-jerk reaction to support your fave(s).

If this does end up airing though on April 10th of this year, I'm curious what platform it's gonna be streaming in. Either way, a little over two weeks before we find out whether it's for real this time, or a bust, as always lol

fwiw, if SOS does actually move to sue Studio Genie or whoever now owns the rights to this drama, a huge good luck to them, because have y'all seen how big Studio Genie actually is?

The fact that this drama has a potential air date, but somehow there’s so much negativity involved surrounding said air date because of where the top billing actors are currently with their respective careers (with one of them threatening litigation, mind you), will no doubt be the funniest thing to come out of all of this.

I will say at least that I still have some hope for a season 2, even if it's unlikely to happen. Never say never, yknow?

There's still a lot of unfinished story threads based on where they left off, and Mile himself has expressed interest in wanting to play Kinn again a few months ago. I feel like since he's the one with the money, if he truly wanted KP S2 to happen, he can definitely make it a reality.

It's interesting to note a few of the KP cast members still follow Poi on soc med, even if most of them have unfollowed Build. Besides that, DAEMI no longer consists of Poi/Yok, so if BOC ever wanted to work with that writer group again, they'd be dealing with different people. Although the copyright issues of KP is a bit murky (does the copyright belong to Yok/Poi or DAEMI). KP definitely skyrocketed the main cast to stardom in Thailand and overseas, so I'm sure none of them would be opposed to a second season if it would contribute to the growth of their careers (maybe except Build).

The issue of Build is sore topic for a lot of people, ngl. Me personally, either recast him or write him off the story, LOL

I am very excited for this drama, if only because the story is so out of this world and of course, I'm a KimChay fan. Lol Having said this, I'm very curious about the Filipino actors who are also in this drama; I'm dying to know whether they will be speaking in Tagalog or English!

My fellow enjoyer of KimChay, this is the perfect time to give you and everyone a friendly reminder that the actors ≠ the characters they play. JeffBarcode have an age gap, yes, but that’s like saying the sky is blue or that rain is wet. None of us here actually know what their relationship is in RL, so best not to speculate on it, yknow? Just enjoy their chemistry via the characters they play and leave it at that.