Why "The Scandal" Viewers Thought Their TVs Were Broken

Netflix's new Joseon-era drama "The Scandal" is dividing viewers, and not over its story. The show shifts aspect ratios between the present and past, and the change has left many fans wondering if something is wrong with their TVs.

Rated for viewers 18 and older, "The Scandal" is an eight-part series set in the Joseon dynasty. It follows Lady Jo, played by Son Ye-jin, and Jo Won, played by Ji Chang-wook, as they enter a dangerous romantic bet. Nana co-stars as Hee-yeon, whose life becomes entangled in their game. Director Jung Ji Woo helmed the project, which is based on the 2003 Korean film "Untold Scandal," itself an adaptation of the French novel "Dangerous Liaisons."

Since the show's release, online communities have filled with questions about the visuals rather than the plot. "The screen suddenly looks stretched," one viewer wrote. "I thought something was wrong with my computer," said another. Others said they thought their TVs were broken. Some viewers even restarted Netflix or checked their devices' display settings.

The shift is intentional. "The Scandal" uses different aspect ratios depending on the scene. Most present-day scenes are shown in a wide format close to 2.39:1. Flashback scenes switch to roughly 2.00:1. The change is most noticeable in scenes featuring the characters as children, where the frame narrows and faces and bodies appear vertically stretched. International viewers have raised the same concern, saying the image looks abnormally elongated.

The choice appears designed to visually separate past and present, especially in scenes involving child actors. Rather than relying on the usual flashback cues, the show alters the shape of the frame itself to mark a different time period. It is an unusual approach in a Korean drama.

For some viewers, though, the effect initially caused confusion. Because the show opens with the stretched format before audiences understand the visual rule, many assumed there was a problem with their screen or playback settings. "At first I thought my TV was broken," one viewer wrote online. "I thought I had messed with the display settings," said another. A third wrote, "It was only after I noticed the change only happened in past scenes that I realized it was intentional."

As a marker between past and present, the shifting aspect ratio clearly distinguishes the two timelines. But if viewers spend the opening minutes checking their screens instead of following the story, some of that effect is lost. "The Scandal" has made a bold visual choice, and viewers have responded with a mix of curiosity and confusion.