Kingston
Canadian Royalty
So for anyone who hasn't seen it, this is a Netflix documentary series about HYBE (that's BTS's company) and Geffen putting together a new global girl group. They bring in a bunch of trainees from all over the world, put them through this intense Training and Development program filmed over two years, and then, surprise, the girls don't know this yet, it turns into a full survival show to decide the final lineup. The group that came out of it is Katseye, who debuted in 2024. I binged the whole thing over the weekend and have a lot of thoughts.
The first four episodes focus on Training and Development, and I found it very refreshing to see them working with raw talent. This is an era where modern talent shows tend to focus on pre packaged talent that is already television ready. So seeing the opposite here was a nice change.
I also loved that this series took a documentary style, more behind the scenes. The reason I lost interest in these kinds of shows is because they stopped showing the growth and the making of an artist. This series brought that back.
Another aspect I enjoyed was that they worked with legitimate industry professionals, not established celebrities. Missy and the other mentors and instructors are the heart of the series. Their feedback wasn't sugarcoated, but it wasn't unnecessarily harsh either. You could tell that they set up Training and Development to see the girls succeed and further develop their craft. You see many times just how attached they are to these girls.
I also enjoyed that the narration was explanatory and provided real insight into the process, rather than narrating what we were about to watch unfold for ourselves.
The focus was on building up relationships and bonds. They even brought in a psychologist. I am not sure exactly how accessible the psychologist was to the girls, but overall they seemed pretty sound throughout Training and Development, so I am assuming it was not just for show. This focus on connections makes sense because most girl groups that are formed under these survival show conditions fail precisely because there are no real relationships between the members.
Overall, this process felt like an old school reality show with modern production values. What it lacked in those high drama moments meant to break contestants down or fuel animosity, it made up for in heart. It felt real and authentic. Because this was filmed over two years, the stakes and the growth feel real. This was not just a reality show shot in a couple of months. It pulled back the curtain on the industry in a way that feels authentic, which is something seriously lacking in modern reality shows.
Then the show takes an abrupt turn. We are told early on that Training and Development will lead to a survival show that will help decide who makes it into the group, but this is purposefully not told to the girls until it is already happening. The tone completely shifts from one of personal dedication and growth to borderline toxic.
The survival show was set up in a similar fashion to a modern talent show, with fan voting and social media being taken into account along with the executives. It consists of three missions and a live performance show. Hearing producers talk about needing to introduce drama is jarring. And the girls being exposed to social media comments in real time completely flips what was established in the early series.
I am still struggling to process the first elimination, especially given the success of one particular girl and what has been happening recently with another who eventually made it into the group. The introduction of social media completely flipped the script. One contestant who had been a top Training and Development performer suddenly fell to the bottom. Meanwhile someone else who had been shown as low skilled, and who seemed to lack the same passion and dedication as the other girls, turned out to be extremely popular with the online fanbase. I genuinely struggle to understand what the disconnect is there. How did the evaluation system during Training and Development diverge so wildly from what the audience latched onto? As the title of the episode states, the math just is not mathing.
And to be clear about the broader narrative confusion, the story the show itself was pushing made sense. One contestant was very obviously more suited to being a solo artist. But the narrative that emerged from fans online does not match reality at all. I do not know how that got so mixed up.
Another criticism of the survival show is how impersonal it is. The girls are eliminated by an AI bot on a screen instead of a real person. Then we hear producers discuss their thought process, but the girls themselves are not given this feedback. The contrast again from the Training and Development phase to this is jarring. The second elimination leads to someone quitting because of this element.
Another aspect that I find extremely jarring is that we are in an era where shows like America's Next Top Model are being ripped to shreds by the internet, while still serving up toxic comments about someone's looks, engaging in toxic stan culture, or pushing false narratives like labeling someone a "mean girl" just because they said something about someone you liked, regardless of whether what they were saying might have had some truth behind it.
I also did not care for producers engaging in the reality television trope of lying to the girls. There is a moment where they are told something would not be aired and that they should speak honestly, which was then in fact aired for everyone including the girls to see. This is then followed up with production giving themselves a pat on the back as it was their highest rated part of the series. Again, it felt at odds with the tone that had been set.
As for the final lineup, I was mostly happy with who made it, with one exception. I am not here to send hate toward anyone, but this particular contestant came across as selfish and unnecessarily cocky. I also think there was an element of favoritism and an overreliance on her existing social media following that allowed her to get as far as she did. If I had to choose a villain, it would be her. It is rather unfortunate that the narrative was flipped and projected on to someone else.
On a more positive note, three of the final members are fantastic. And one contestant who did not make the group has since launched a solo career that some circles are calling the next big thing in pop music. I genuinely love what she has put out, but I tend to prefer my pop artists as cult queens rather than mainstream stadium fillers. As for Katseye itself, I like the girls well enough, but their brand of pop music feels a little too mainstream and commercial for my personal taste. It is not bad, it just does not have the longevity for me that other artists have had.
If you enjoyed early talent shows like Popstars and Idol, you will enjoy this just as much as I did. Anyway, anyone else watched this? I would love to hear your take, especially on that massive tonal shift between Training and Development and the survival show. Did it bother you as much as it bothered me? And which girls were your favourites? I am curious to know.
The first four episodes focus on Training and Development, and I found it very refreshing to see them working with raw talent. This is an era where modern talent shows tend to focus on pre packaged talent that is already television ready. So seeing the opposite here was a nice change.
I also loved that this series took a documentary style, more behind the scenes. The reason I lost interest in these kinds of shows is because they stopped showing the growth and the making of an artist. This series brought that back.
Another aspect I enjoyed was that they worked with legitimate industry professionals, not established celebrities. Missy and the other mentors and instructors are the heart of the series. Their feedback wasn't sugarcoated, but it wasn't unnecessarily harsh either. You could tell that they set up Training and Development to see the girls succeed and further develop their craft. You see many times just how attached they are to these girls.
I also enjoyed that the narration was explanatory and provided real insight into the process, rather than narrating what we were about to watch unfold for ourselves.
The focus was on building up relationships and bonds. They even brought in a psychologist. I am not sure exactly how accessible the psychologist was to the girls, but overall they seemed pretty sound throughout Training and Development, so I am assuming it was not just for show. This focus on connections makes sense because most girl groups that are formed under these survival show conditions fail precisely because there are no real relationships between the members.
Overall, this process felt like an old school reality show with modern production values. What it lacked in those high drama moments meant to break contestants down or fuel animosity, it made up for in heart. It felt real and authentic. Because this was filmed over two years, the stakes and the growth feel real. This was not just a reality show shot in a couple of months. It pulled back the curtain on the industry in a way that feels authentic, which is something seriously lacking in modern reality shows.
Then the show takes an abrupt turn. We are told early on that Training and Development will lead to a survival show that will help decide who makes it into the group, but this is purposefully not told to the girls until it is already happening. The tone completely shifts from one of personal dedication and growth to borderline toxic.
The survival show was set up in a similar fashion to a modern talent show, with fan voting and social media being taken into account along with the executives. It consists of three missions and a live performance show. Hearing producers talk about needing to introduce drama is jarring. And the girls being exposed to social media comments in real time completely flips what was established in the early series.
I am still struggling to process the first elimination, especially given the success of one particular girl and what has been happening recently with another who eventually made it into the group. The introduction of social media completely flipped the script. One contestant who had been a top Training and Development performer suddenly fell to the bottom. Meanwhile someone else who had been shown as low skilled, and who seemed to lack the same passion and dedication as the other girls, turned out to be extremely popular with the online fanbase. I genuinely struggle to understand what the disconnect is there. How did the evaluation system during Training and Development diverge so wildly from what the audience latched onto? As the title of the episode states, the math just is not mathing.
And to be clear about the broader narrative confusion, the story the show itself was pushing made sense. One contestant was very obviously more suited to being a solo artist. But the narrative that emerged from fans online does not match reality at all. I do not know how that got so mixed up.
Another criticism of the survival show is how impersonal it is. The girls are eliminated by an AI bot on a screen instead of a real person. Then we hear producers discuss their thought process, but the girls themselves are not given this feedback. The contrast again from the Training and Development phase to this is jarring. The second elimination leads to someone quitting because of this element.
Another aspect that I find extremely jarring is that we are in an era where shows like America's Next Top Model are being ripped to shreds by the internet, while still serving up toxic comments about someone's looks, engaging in toxic stan culture, or pushing false narratives like labeling someone a "mean girl" just because they said something about someone you liked, regardless of whether what they were saying might have had some truth behind it.
I also did not care for producers engaging in the reality television trope of lying to the girls. There is a moment where they are told something would not be aired and that they should speak honestly, which was then in fact aired for everyone including the girls to see. This is then followed up with production giving themselves a pat on the back as it was their highest rated part of the series. Again, it felt at odds with the tone that had been set.
As for the final lineup, I was mostly happy with who made it, with one exception. I am not here to send hate toward anyone, but this particular contestant came across as selfish and unnecessarily cocky. I also think there was an element of favoritism and an overreliance on her existing social media following that allowed her to get as far as she did. If I had to choose a villain, it would be her. It is rather unfortunate that the narrative was flipped and projected on to someone else.
On a more positive note, three of the final members are fantastic. And one contestant who did not make the group has since launched a solo career that some circles are calling the next big thing in pop music. I genuinely love what she has put out, but I tend to prefer my pop artists as cult queens rather than mainstream stadium fillers. As for Katseye itself, I like the girls well enough, but their brand of pop music feels a little too mainstream and commercial for my personal taste. It is not bad, it just does not have the longevity for me that other artists have had.
If you enjoyed early talent shows like Popstars and Idol, you will enjoy this just as much as I did. Anyway, anyone else watched this? I would love to hear your take, especially on that massive tonal shift between Training and Development and the survival show. Did it bother you as much as it bothered me? And which girls were your favourites? I am curious to know.