The Korea Herald

지나쌤

MBC audition show ‘Fantasy Boys’ to be streamed across Asia

By Lee Si-jin

Published : March 21, 2023 - 16:03

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Cover image of Cover image of "Fantasy Boys" (MBC, Funky Studio)

Terrestrial broadcaster MBC announced that its upcoming audition program “Fantasy Boys,” set to premiere on March 30, will also be available in 12 different Asian countries via video streaming platforms.

While the platform Abema will stream “Fantasy Boys” in Japan, viewers in many Southeast Asian countries, including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam will be able to watch the show through Chinese streamer iQiyi. In Korea, it will be stream on Naver’s streaming service Naver NOW

More than 1,000 people from across the globe applied to take part in audition program and viewers will be able to see 54 trainees flaunt their skills as singers, dancers and rappers to vie for the final prize -- debuting in a K-pop boy band, according to the broadcast.

Helmed by TV director Han Dong-chul, who was behind Mnet’s landmark K-pop competition shows “Produce 101” and “Show Me The Money,” MBC’s “Fantasy Boys” also teamed up with the South Korean internet giant Naver.

The global K-pop boy band audition show was originally scheduled to start March 23, but it was postponed for a week to allow for simultaneous releases on Naver’s streaming service Naver NOW and Abema.

K-pop boy band 2PM’s Wooyoung, B1A4’s Jinyoung, Winner’s Kang Seung-yoon and (G)I-dle’s Soyeon will mentor the contestants, with singer Max Changmin hosting the show.

Viewers can vote for their favorite trainees at the show's official websites on Naver Now and Idol Plus, a site specializing in content created by K-pop idols.

The first episode of MBC’s upcoming Thursday night audition show “Fantasy Boys” will air at 10 p.m. on March 30.