"Content is ultimately destined to live or die by viewers’ choices. If you fall all the way to rock bottom, won’t you eventually bounce back?"On the 20th, producer Kim Tae-ho met with reporters at TEO Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, to talk about the MBC variety show "Manitto Club."

Premiering on the 1st, "Manitto Club" is an undercover gift variety show built around the concept of "a gathering of people who know how to share one thing into two." Jennie of BLACKPINK, Lee Soo-ji, Go Youn-jung, Dex, and Yoshihiro Akiyama, some of the hottest stars at the moment, came together and drew huge buzz even before the show aired.The show began with a proposal from Jennie. Kim said, "We first started talking about it last summer. Jennie suggested, ‘How about doing a project this winter that could be a gift to viewers?’"

His collaboration with Jennie was grounded in the trust they built on their previous project, "My Name is Gabriel."Kim explained, "When Jennie is given a concept, she thinks deeply about it and follows through with her actions. Her level of immersion is incredible," adding, "Because we shot great content together in Italy and built mutual trust there, it felt natural for that to lead to this ‘Manitto’ proposal."He went on, "I was reminded of the year-end events that Hollywood stars do. On top of that, many stars had told me, ‘If there’s a project with a good intention behind it, I’d love to join.’ While thinking along those lines, the word ‘gift’ naturally led us to the idea of manitto."The "chase" element was added because of the competitive streak of first-season cast members Jennie and Dex. The production team had envisioned a calm, healing show, but their passionate participation pushed it in an unexpected direction.

"We were thinking of a laid-back reality show that blends into everyday life, something you could watch comfortably on weekends or weeknights, like the old variety show ‘10,000 Won’s Happiness.’ But because of the rule that you must not reveal your identity and the notice that ‘the person whose gift arrives first gets an advantage,’ Jennie and Dex became so immersed that the show turned into a kind of chase. The second- and third-season cast members who watched that also became conscious of it. As we filmed, the genre of the show started to shift."Dex, as a "senior" from season one, also shined by giving advice to the next batches of cast members. Kim said, "He would go around suggesting casting ideas himself and really played the role of a ‘missionary’ for the show," adding, "He brought out the raw, unfiltered feeling that reality shows need, which helped us a lot. Watching him give advice to the next group of guests, I could tell he was genuinely invested."

Season one member Yoshihiro Akiyama also delivered an unexpected performance. At first, he didn’t fully understand the rules and didn’t even know that his manitto was Noh Hong-chul. But he chose to approach everything with sincerity.

"We relied on Yoshihiro Akiyama a lot. Not every citizen has to know who Noh Hong-chul is, but the fact that there are people who don’t was actually refreshing. While thinking about what gift to give Noh Hong-chul, he took an early-morning flight to Japan the next day and gifted him a YouTube video project. I loved that he values gifting ‘time and experience’ the most. We shot that with a very raw, unpolished feel, which we hadn’t done in a while."

It was the most expensive gift, yet Akiyama covered all the costs except the airfare. Kim said, "Not just Yoshihiro Akiyama—when we asked the cast, many of them wanted to pay out of their own pockets, maybe because they thought of it as a ‘gift.’ I think they truly wanted to give something from the heart." He then added with a bit of wit, "When we pay their appearance fees, we can at least keep things like the cost of the gifts in mind."