The Insane Number Of Hours Spent On Filming A Survival Show Episode, According To An Ex-Contestant

Tammy Wu was a contestant on Mnet‘s survival program Girls Planet 999.

She talked to host Grazy Grace about the difficulties of being in this show, explaining that they had certain restrictions imposed on them. They also had to endure difficult filming periods.

Tammy recounted the time the contestants stayed in a single venue for almost two days straight. They were filming the first episode of the program where the 99 girls performed for the first time in groups.

The first stage was so nerve-wracking but the filming was so long that like by the time I got on the stage I was kind of too tired to be nervous.

— Tammy

Because everyone had their chance to sing and dance on stage, they had to wait a long time until the last group finished. This meant they stayed in the venue for up to 36 hours.  Though they had the chance to take breaks to eat food and use the restroom, the girls had to stay seated for the most part.

It was 30-something hours. We had food breaks but we didn’t go back to our dorm for almost 36 hours. That’s what I was told. I asked one of the writers, ‘What time is it? How long have we been filming?’ She said 36 [for that one episode].

— Tammy

Tammy recalled several girls who even fell from their chairs out of exhaustion.

Contestants were falling off their chairs. It was kind of dangerous.

— Tammy

Check out the full video below to learn more about what it’s like to be a trainee.