Mnet Preparing for a Large Scale Girl Group Survival Program

Mnet is preparing for a never-seen-before survival program to find the ultimate K-Pop girl group. According to the insiders, Mnet is planning to spend about four billion Korean Won (approximately $3.4 million USD) in producing a show tentatively titled “Produce 101.” This is on par with “Superstar K,” which is one of Mnet’s flagship programs.

While SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment will not be participating, most other entertainment agencies will take part, each agency sending up to ten promising trainees.

An insider said, “In terms of budget, it is second only to ‘Superstar K,’ which means that Mnet thinks that it will be hugely successful. As in the case of ‘Unpretty Rapstar,’ watching conflicts among girls is entertaining. There will be controversies, but it will be fun.”

The filming is already underway. Many participants have been interviewed, and the filming of the main episodes will start very soon, as it is scheduled to air at the end of this year.

Mnet hopes to let the girls from the same agency compete as a unit, then choose about ten girls to form a team belonging to Mnet for some amount of time. This means that trainees from different agencies could belong to the same team in the end.

Even the girls who do not win will take something away, as they will all get a chance to market themselves and get their names out there, providing motivation for many entertainment agencies to participate.

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