JTBC turns to 7-year-old drama to fill scheduling gap, banking on Byeon Woo-seok and Park Ji-hoon nostalgia

JTBC is reaching into its archive to fill a programming gap caused by production delays stemming from the broadcaster's financial difficulties.

JTBC announced Wednesday that "Joseon Matchmaking Agency: Flower Crew" will air Aug. 22 as the follow-up to the weekend drama series "Apartment." The series, starring Kim Min-jae, Gong Seung-yeon and Seo Ji-hoon, originally aired on JTBC in 2019 and closed its run with a 4 percent viewership rating in the Greater Seoul area.

The show centers on the Flower Crew, Joseon's most elite matchmaking agency, and follows a king's first love and his efforts to protect her in a grand romantic comedy set in the Joseon era. The series also offers a look at the early careers of Byeon Woo-seok and Park Ji-hoon — both now established leading actors — alongside Kim Min-jae, Gong Seung-yeon and Seo Ji-hoon during their rookie days.

In the series, Byeon plays Do-jun, Hanyang's top informant and a carefree matchmaker with a love of drinking and dancing, while Park portrays Go Young-su, the charming, fashion-forward youngest member of the crew.

JTBC said it was "bringing out the drama jewel box 'Flower Crew' to fill viewers' weekend nights without a gap," adding that "the fun of seeing the now-towering actors in their fresh-faced early days makes 'Flower Crew' feel all the more new."

Following "Flower Crew," the drama series "Fly, Butterfly," starring Kim Hyang-gi and Choi Daniel, is set to air from Sept. 19. The show was originally scheduled to air on JTBC in 2021 but was pulled from the lineup due to a controversy involving one of its cast members and instead aired in Taiwan. Now receiving a domestic broadcast five years later, "Fly, Butterfly" is set in a hair salon and tells the story of people who love themselves and those who are trying to learn to do so.