Can't possibly call this good news, but the actors' safety is always paramount, so it's not so bad either. Recently, on the set of the upcoming KBS sageuk 천추태후 (Empress Cheonchu), veteran Chae Si-Ra injured herself falling from a horse during practice. Despite the injury Chae joined the script rehearsal session at the KBS headquarters in crutches, not to delay proceedings any further. But the injury would get the better of her on her way home, and tests revealed the fracture is more serious than they expected, forcing the star of 해신 (Emperor of the Sea) to eight weeks of complete rest. This puts the drama in a tricky position. Usually weekend historical dramas on KBS tend to take a good 4 months of headstart, to always find themselves shooting at least a month ahead of broadcast -- the reason you tend to see exciting and elaborate battles almost only from that format is because it takes a very long time to shoot them, obviously. Most weekly dramas don't have the luxury, with scripts often coming out a week before the shoot. But with two months of forced rest, it's very likely the drama will have to be postponed.
The most likely scenario now is 대왕세종 (Sejong the Great) being extended a dozen episodes, perhaps until the end of the year. This wouldn't be so bad, because the drama starring Kim Sang-Kyung spent way too long on its introductory phase, and will need to rush during the last twenty episodes, if it really wants to portray King Sejong's reign effectively. Another option could be throwing a 16 episode miniseries in between, but there's really no available substitute at the moment, unless KBS wants to break the "blood-line" that saw historical dramas on weekends become a tradition ever since the early 80s, albeit they changed station from KBS1 to KBS2 and even showed a dubbed Chinese sageuk in the middle. Still, PD Shin Chang-Seok says he will wait for Chae, so we'll have just to wait and see as well. Empress Cheonchu is the long awaited return of the Goryeo series on KBS. It tells the story of Cheonchu, consort of King Gyeongjong; the political schemes that engulfed the Goryeo throne at the time, and the war with the Khitan led by legendary general Gang Gam-Chan. Produced by Shin Chang-Seok of 명성황후 (The Last Empress) and 무인시대 (The Age of Warriors), it's written by Son Young-Mok of the forgotten (not by me!) gem 천둥소리 (Roll of Thunder), and is filled to the brim with sageuk veterans. Other than Chae, cast includes Choi Jae-Sung, Lee Deok-Hwa, Kim Suk-Hoon, Jung Jin, Shin Ae, Kim Myung-Soo, Im Hyeok, Kim Ho-Jin and more.
SOURCES
[Daum News], [Daum News]