Lee Je Hoon’s New Drama The Long Shot Trial Faces Broadcast Schedule Shift Following Premiere Delays for Signal 2

Is Lee Je Hoon’s new drama facing broadcast delays again? Following Signal 2 (The Second Signal), the broadcast plans for The Long Shot Trial (also translated as There Is a Chance of Winning) have also encountered unexpected changes.

The upcoming SBS legal drama The Long Shot Trial, starring Lee Je Hoon and Ha Young, was originally slated to air in February. However, the release plan has become uncertain due to a controversy surrounding Ha Young’s great-grandfather, who was named in historical documents linked to pro-Japanese activities during the colonial era. SBS confirmed on the 19th that adjustments have indeed been made to the programming lineup. Discussions regarding the updated schedule are ongoing, and a final broadcast date has not yet been determined.

The Long Shot Trial is a legal detective comedy centering on a law firm led by Kwon Baek (played by Lee Je Hoon), a former lawyer turned office director who strives to turn around lawsuits with seemingly slim chances of winning. Although filming has been fully completed, the drama was excluded from SBS’s upcoming broadcast schedule.

In August, Ha Young became embroiled in controversy after public reports revealed that her great-grandfather, An Sang-ho, was listed as an evaluation committee member of the Taisho Affinity Society in 1916. After initially denying the allegations, Ha Young examined historical records, changed her stance, and issued a handwritten letter of apology. She subsequently stepped down from Seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix series The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, with former Lovelyz member Jeong Ye-in taking over her role. At that time, SBS stated that the production team was aware of the controversy and closely monitoring developments. Now, with the schedule for The Long Shot Trial officially adjusted, the future release timeline remains uncertain.

This is not the first time Lee Je Hoon’s projects have faced scheduling setbacks. tvN’s 20th-anniversary flagship drama Signal 2 (The Second Signal) completed filming last year, but ran into major obstacles when past records involving co-star Cho Jin-woong came to light. Cho Jin-woong subsequently announced his retirement from the entertainment industry. Signal 2, originally scheduled to air in June, was pulled from the network’s broadcast lineup, and its premiere remains unscheduled.

With The Long Shot Trial now facing similar uncertainties, fans who have been eagerly awaiting Lee Je Hoon’s return are expressing heightened concern. As two of his fully filmed projects encounter unexpected delays back-to-back, whether and when Lee Je Hoon can greet viewers with new work has become a major topic of interest.