SBS' newest reality show "Roommate" has become an overnight sensation, and at the same time has stirred a bit of a controversy after it was revealed that the show may be having some romantic pairings. On this issue, the show's main producer issued a comment on viewer's criticism on the "love lines" that will somehow happen on the show.
"Roommate" PD Park Sang Hyuk told OSEN on May 6, "After the pilot episode [aired], we received some criticism about the 'love lines' (pairings). But [how that happened] was not intended by the program."
He added, "The celebrities were just expressing their interests in each other, and that's it. It seems that many viewers have misunderstood that portion of the [house rule] that did not prohibit dating [among the house mates]."
"[That rule] was added to add fun to the program and make viewers laugh. It wasn't the staff's intention to weave romantic pairings," the PD further explained.
PD Park Sang Hyuk continued, "The celebrities' love lines are not happening as a result of a mandate from the staff. If the existence of love lines were our main purpose for the show in the first place, we would've recruited house mates in the same age range. [Our goal for] 'Roommate' is to try to show how complete strangers who are completely different from each would cohabitate together. It is up to the staff to patch together an honest storyline about people who are living together."
PD Park also explained that he doesn't think he will be going with reality show trend of having a main MC or having the cast members go through missions throughout the program. He shared, "Instead of having grand missions, finding fun in the little things is the goal of 'Roommate'. We will try to draw out the fun from everyday life like a sitcom."
Finally, he said, "Starting with the second episode, there will be a lot of footage featuring the 11 members together. Please look forward to their chemistry."
Meanwhile, "Roommate" stars Lee Dong Wook, Shin Sung Woo, Lee Sora, Hong Soo Hyun, EXO's Chanyeol, 2NE1's Park Bom, Jo Se Ho, Song Ga Yeon, Seo Kang Joon, Park Min Woo, and After School's Nana who are all living under one "share house".