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The Reboot (더리부트) is a South Korean survival show produced by HKRT and LSG Entertainment.
The show officially premiered on December 7, 2024 and concluded on January 25, 2025, resulting in the addition of Esther Kwon, Madison Thao and Marina Brahimi to pre-existing girl group The Girl.
Concept[]
The Reboot's 12 contestants are the female members of LSG Rookies, a selection of LSG Entertainments most prominent trainees. The contestants will compete against each other in weekly solo challenge in each episode, to be rated by judge & LSG Entertainment CEO Lee Seo-geon. At least one contestant will be eliminated each episode, with the final 3 winning the show and becoming members of The Girl.
Background[]
The Girl debuted on March 1, 2024 as LSG Entertainment's second girl group with a lineup made up of Ku Nahyun, Mayuree Chaisongkram, Leila Phan, Jang Yeoreum, Sofiya Kan and Alice Chen. After a successful debut, 4 members suddenly left the group in late 2024, leaving only Jang and Chen left. 2 days before The Reboot was announced, on November 13, 2024, VIIXEN member Amélie Zhang was added as the group's 3rd concurrent member.
Following Zhang's addition, on November 15, 2024, LSG Entertainment announced The Reboot would begin to air in just over 2 weeks. Following the announcement, viewers noted that the show likely began filming in or before early October, citing contestant Malibu Han's black hair, which had been dyed red on October 7, 2024. This, paired with the information that Ku and Chaisongkram left The Girl on November 3, 2024, implies that the show was not only conceived but filmed prior to the members' departure.
Originally set to air on November 30, 2024, HKRT delayed the show's first episode's release date to December 7 due to scheduling conflicts.
Tanaka and Han, despite ranking 2nd and 3rd respectively, were disqualified from the show in Episode 6 by Lee Seo-geon, who stated his decision was made due to the two not meeting LSG's debut age requirement of 14 (Tanaka & Han were both 13 at the time). This move met widespread criticism, as it was Lee's choice to include them on the show in the first place. This led to accusations of only including underage members to create noise marketing, implying Lee had intended to disqualify them before the show began. Viewers also pointed out LSG's hypocrisy, as Alice Chen was 13 years old when announced as a member of The Girl. The backlash was exacerbated when The Girl's comeback was announced to be released in mid-2025, when Tanaka and Han would have already turned 14.
The finale aired on January 25, 2025, with Esther Kwon, Madison Thao and Marina Brahimi winning the show and joining the lineup of The Girl. LSG revealed they would make their debut in mid-2025.
Episodes[]
Contestants[]
| Name | Nationality | Date of birth | Training length | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kim Jia (김지아) |
September 3, 2004 | 2 years, 7 months | Episode 8 | |
| Hoang Tien (황티엔) |
February 2, 2006 | 2 years, 6 months | Episode 2 | |
| Esther Kwon (에스더 권) |
March 13, 2007 | 1 year, 10 months | Winner | |
| Madison Thao (매디슨 타오) |
May 31, 2007 | 1 year, 4 months | Winner | |
| Esmae Santana (에스메이 산타나) |
December 25, 2007 | 7 months | Episode 4 | |
| Hong Jiseo (홍지서) |
April 16, 2008 | 1 year, 4 months | Episode 5 | |
| Nelly Psarrou (넬리 프사루) |
January 14, 2009 | 1 year | Episode 8 | |
| Kim Joobin (김주빈) |
March 3, 2009 | 1 year, 4 months | Episode 7 | |
| Marina Brahimi (마리나 브라히미) |
September 30, 2009 | 1 year, 4 months | Winner | |
| Jasmine Pinchantha (재스민 핀찬타) |
September 14, 2010 | 6 months | Episode 3 | |
| Iyah Tanaka (아이야 타나카) |
April 4, 2011 | 7 months | Episode 6 (*disqualified) | |
| Malibu Han (말리부 한) |
April 5, 2011 | 4 months | Episode 6 (*disqualified) |