THE NCT SEARCH IS ON

MGM Worldwide Television Group and South Korea’s SM Entertainment are partnering on a new competition series that will scout prospective members for a U.S. NTC K-pop group.

Open to males between the ages of 13 and 25, the reality series will see emerging artists compete for a spot in the NCT Universe, specifically for the new boy group NCT-Hollywood. The NCT collective currently has 23 members from across the world who make up sub-groups NCT 127, NCT DREAM and WayV.

Contestants will be flown to Seoul for a K-pop bootcamp at the SM campus. Competing in challenges designed to test dance skills, vocal ability and personal style, they will be judged and mentored by SM founder Soo-Man Lee and current NCT members.

“This series is exactly the type of innovative programming that MGM is committed to creating on a global scale,” said MGM Chairman Mark Burnett. “K-pop is more than a genre of music; it’s a cultural phenomenon and we’re so excited to partner with the incredible Soo-Man Lee and the team at SM to bring K-pop to the U.S!”

“I look forward to making an unconventional audition show that all music fans around the world can enjoy,” said Lee. “I hope the audience enjoys watching the journey of new stars being born in Hollywood.”

Over the last decade, K-pop has become a $5b global industry, generating more than 20b downloads and streams while garnering 65m+ monthly listeners on Spotify alone.

MGM Television’s current unscripted projects include NBC’s The Voice, CBS’ Survivor, ABC’s Shark Tank and FOX’s Beat Shazam, among many others.