Mnet Introduces Their Newest Survival Show, “Queendom Puzzle,” And K-Pop Fans Have Strong Feelings

What do you think of the concept?

Mnet has announced a new survival show, Queendom Puzzle, slated to air in June.

Poster for “Queendom Puzzle” | Mnet

 

Mnet’s survival show Queendom, and similarly the boy group focused Kingdom, featured six artists competing against each other in a series of performances that highlighted their incredible skills.

WJSN won “Queendom 2” in 2022

As Queendom 2 aired in 2022, K-Pop fans expected Mnet to announce that the next season of Kingdom would be airing soon. So fans were confused by the announcement of the new survival show.

Unlike Queendom, which focused on mainly groups, along with one soloist in both seasons, Queendom Puzzle seems to feature individual artists from girl groups competing to form a special unit group.

The show’s premise is somewhat similar to Kakao Entertainment‘s recent survival show, GIRL’S RE:VERSE, where currently active girl group idols competed via virtual avatars to debut in a new virtual girl group.

“GIRL’S RE:VERSE” poster

Mnet’s first teaser for the show included songs from popular artists like BLACKPINK,(G)I-DLE, Girls’ Generation, IZ*ONE, LE SSERAFIM, OH MY GIRL, Red Velvet, STAYC, and WJSN (also known as Cosmic Girls).

And the music used in the first teaser surprised netizens, many of whom are wondering if that means some of these groups will be included in the show.

Although other netizens pointed out that it seems very unlikely that artists like BLACKPINK or Red Velvet would be competing, meaning the songs were simply likely chosen for being popular K-Pop hits.

After the announcement of the new show, some fans felt it would be a good chance for some of their favorite artists to get promoted…

But many don’t want their favorites to join the show, especially given Mnet’s typical “evil editing” or the likely fanwars that would start from voting for contestants.

And ultimately, many netizens believe the concept is a “terrible idea,” since they don’t want their favorite groups to temporarily lose a member.

Stay tuned for more updates on the show.

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