Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga, commonly known as Girls Planet 999, is a South Korean reality competition show based on the themes and aesthetics of space and aims to debut a new 9-member girl group.

The competition follows three groups, each representing a planet, where the three groups comprise trainees and idols from China, Japan, and South Korea.

In addition, the planet theme of the survival show is derived from a new collaboration between Mnet and NCSoft's new platform called UNIVERSE, which is centered around K-pop and allows voters from other countries outside of the participating three and hosts.

'Girls Planet 999' Concept and Groups

As stated earlier, Girls Planet 999 brings a pool of talented girls from three different countries, divides them into three groups, and eventually makes them compete against each other to win the final prize.

Each group of girls is called "cells," and upon dissatisfying performance or low votes, an entire cell of girls could be eliminated all at once.

But there is a twist — the "Planet Top 9" is introduced to counteract the elimination. The contestants selected or voted to be part of the "Planet Top 9" can reorganize cells to help lower the chances of elimination. In the end, the top 9 most-voted contestants will debut regardless of nationality.

Besides the girls' groups, there will be a "Master Council" made up of the two "K-pop Masters" to mentor the girls, four "Vocal/Dance Masters" to train the contestants' vocal, rap, and dance skills, and a "Planet Master," who is assigned with the role of connecting the viewers with the show.

Yeo Jingoo will serve as the "Planet Master," Sunmi and Tiffany Young will serve as "K-pop Masters," while Back Kooyoung, Jang Juhee, Lim Hanbyul, and Jo Ayoung are cast as "Vocal/Dance Masters."

The fans are also recognized by the show as the "Planet Guardians," and they are given the role of determining the ranking of each contestant and ultimately become the judges of Girls Planet 999 through voting.

The Number of Contestants

The total number of contestants in the show is 99, and they are split into "cells." Each "cell" has a name: the K-Group, the C-Group, and the J-Group.

The youngest contestant in the show is Kuwahara Ayana, 14, who belongs to J-Group, whereas the eldest contestants are Choi Yujin, Cai Bing, and Xu Ziyin, all of whom are 25 years old.

Show’s Announcement and Release Date

Girls Planet 999 was first announced by the Mnet network in January 2021. The same month, the production held an audition as well as released its first teaser.

"This is a story about the girls’ first steps as they take on the challenge to head towards their dreams," the voice in the teaser said.

The show eventually aired its first episode on August 6, with its finale scheduled on October 22.

Where to Watch 'Girls Planet 999'

The original rights of the survival show are with Mnet, and the network airs the show in South Korea.

However, one can watch the show on iQIYI in China and on AbemaTV in Japan. And if you are from another part of the world, you would need to find these broadcasting channels to watch the show or watch it online on iQIYI's official website.