Is ‘The Escape of the Seven’ Controversy the Reason Behind the Show’s Declining Rating? Here’s What Happened

After the successful premiere of the SBS K-drama "The Escape of the Seven," it seemed like the viewers were losing interest in watching as the mystery thriller K-drama entered its second half.

From kicking off the series with an impressive viewership of the pilot episode to unstoppable ratings every episode, the weekend K-drama is recently facing dwindling ratings after facing a controversy.

'The Escape of the Seven' Gets Complained for 'Excessive and Provocative Content'

After airing its first two episodes, "The Escape of the Seven" found itself in hot waters after viewers criticized the show for showing excessive violence and provocative content.

Since the director and writer were the creators of the hit SBS drama "The Penthouse: War in Life," the show has similarities to the 2020 K-drama that focuses on revenge, power, and crime.

In the first episode, the main highlight was the hellish life of Bang Da Mi at the hands of her biological mother and classmates.

The scenes featured Geum Ra Hee, played by Hwang Jung Eum, who was assaulting his own daughter physically.

As for Lee Yoo Bi's character, who played high school student and K-Pop star wannabe Han Mo Ne, she engaged herself in sexual activity with agency owner Yang Jin Mo, played by Yoon Jong Hoon, which led to a childbirth at school.

Not only that, the second episode showcased the abuse of Ra Hee by Bang Da Mi, sparking disappointment from viewers.

Due to this, the show faces eight counts of complaints filed with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).

 READ MORE: Han Ji Min, Lee Yoo Bi Neck-and-Neck at Top Spot in October's Drama Actor Brand Reputation Rankings

In addition, outlets also mentioned that a group of teachers conducted a rally against the show, condemning the problematic premise of the K-drama.

Amid this, SBS has not addressed the issue but mentioned that there are going to be major changes in season 2.

'The Escape of the Seven' Season 2 Announces a New Director

Before the resume of "The Escape of the Seven," after the temporary postponement due to various activities, a media outlet shared that the director of the show, Joo Dong Min, will no longer continue working on the series for the sequel.

The drama, which began filming season 2, is being supervised by their director, Oh Joon Hyuk, who is the co-producer of the show's season 1.

According to the report, the reason was "unknown," and SBS and drama officials are yet to address news regarding changes to the K-drama.

Unfortunately, amid all this, "The Escape of the Seven" continues to show dwindling ratings, especially now that new K-dramas have joined the rating race.

After hitting an all-time high of 7.7 percent in the fourth episode, the show's viewership starts to decline during the fifth episode after scoring 5.6 percent.

Thankfully, "The Escape of the Seven" episode 6 showed a major increase after bouncing back to 7.3 percent.

However, the SBS K-drama fell slightly to 6.8 and 6.5 percent for its seventh and eighth episodes.

Will they be able to bounce back from the slump in the upcoming episodes? 

IN CASE YOU MISSED: 'The Escape of the Seven' Star Lee Yoo Bi Reveals Interesting Story Behind Her Casting & Dealing With Haters of Han Mo Ne

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Written by Geca Wills