Jang Nara and 2PM's Chansung have both signed on to star in the romantic comedy "Housewife Detective" which was expected to replace MBC's "Ruler of the Mask". However, fresh reports now hint that the drama has become stuck in pre-production with no news of resumption, leading sources to believe that the project is pretty much dead in the water.

According to a report by Drama Beans, Mstar Media, the production outfit in charge pf the drama, has reportedly declared bankruptcy last April 19 but even before the announcement, "Housewife Detective" has stopped production as early as February. The project had high hopes in the beginning as a pre produced series which will air simultaneously in Korea and other countries in the second half of 2017.

Things are looking bleak for "Housewife Detective" since sources have indicated that everything about the show remained at a pending status. After the first table reading for the show, all the schedules have been pushed back to an indefinite time frame, All Kpop reported.

While speculations are rife that the announcement for the cancellation of "Housewife Detective" is imminent, Mstars has reportedly denied reports that it is stopping production entirely. The production outfit said that they are still negotiating with broadcasting outfits to push through with the drama.

Aside from the budget issues, "Housewife Detective" may also be faced with the challenge of losing its main cast members. 2PM's Chansung has recently signed on for the KBS2 drama "Queen of Seven Days" which topbills Yeon Woo Jin, Park Min Young and Lee Dong Gun which is slated for a release this May.

2PM's Chansung, who is supposed to play the role of the detective in "Housewife Detective" was supposed to be paired with Jang Nara's character Myung Yoo Jin, a single parent who gets a job as a detective's assistant to earn income. "Housewife Detective."  Chansung is also slated to cameo in Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun's "Suspicious Partner" and make his stageplay debut this June.