Director's cut of 'Anna' is being released

The director's cut of the Coupang Play series "Anna" will be released today at 8 p.m., after recent conflicts between the streaming service and the show's director Lee Zoo-young. "In addition to the six-episode series 'Anna,' which ended last..

Actor Bae Suzy in the Coupang Play series ″Anna″ [COUPANG PLAY]

The director’s cut of the Coupang Play series “Anna” will be released today at 8 p.m., after recent conflicts between the streaming service and the show's director Lee Zoo-young.

“In addition to the six-episode series ‘Anna,’ which ended last month, we will release an eight-episode director’s cut version that respects the director’s editing direction,” Coupang Play said in a statement.

Lee said earlier this month that she had originally made eight episodes of “Anna,” and Coupang Play edited the footage without her consent into six episodes, and therefore “interfered with the show’s narrative, filming, editing and intention.”

She demanded Coupang Play release a public apology and delete her name from the six-episode version currently on the platform.

Coupang Play later said in a statement that the director’s version was significantly different from what was initially agreed upon, and despite multiple requests to fix it, Lee “refused to do so over several months.”

Since then, other people involved with the series asked for their names to be removed from the credits as well.

“Anna” is a psychological thriller starring actor Bae Suzy. Bae plays a character named Yu-mi, who ditches her identity and lives as someone else named Anna because of one lie that she told.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]