Produce 101 features a host of passionate, talented girls from across China and pits them against each other in an intense reality competition. It yields a compelling look into a market which is still in its infancy, and the hopes and stories of a group of performers who are still searching for the chance to shine onstage.
General
- China's idol pop industry is mostly uncharted territory as far as music scenes go, and being talented and having lots of money are not guarantees of long-term success in the industry. While Produce 101 China aims to change this reality, the fact is that not everyone who tries to be an idol will make it. The pressure on the girls throughout the three months of Produce 101 reflect this.
- The most prominent example of struggling idol groups is former 1931, five of whose members compete in the show. Despite being backed by generous sponsors and selling out tickets at their theater, the group wasn't popular enough to last or outgrow their niche market. Their leader remarks that the most notability they ever got was when Tencent announced their group's disbandment. They ended up watching their old theater get dismantled, and described the experience as making all their pasts efforts feel invalidated.
- Said leader ends up being the last surviving member in the competition, and even she doesn't make the cut to top 22. With Produce 101 finished, it is unclear whether the group will continue to operate or go their separate ways outside of the music industry.
Episode 4
- The first round of eliminations is a tearjerker-fest, for both viewers and the contestants. It's sad enough that half the girls didn't make it despite putting their all into their performances, but also the leaders of the most successful teams can only save one of the members from their group that didn't make the cut. This leads to many of the leaders being torn on who to save, while some of those who failed to make the cut try to reassure them despite being in tears themselves.
- Ni Qiuyun, the leader of DS 98, apologizes to her two teammates for bringing them to the competition and failing to protect them from elimination when she got eliminated herself. Zixuan, who made the cut, shouts, "I can also protect you guys!"
- Whether it's out of personal beliefs or peer pressure, many of the girls who have the chance to be saved insist that their teammates should remain instead of them, despite clearly wanting to remain so that they can perform once again onstage. It's an especially poignant testament to their friendships when one remembers that they are there originally to compete with each other.
Episode 5
- Tao snaps at the girls when they keep running to grab songs instead of helping up their teammate who fell and got injured. While the appropriateness of the timing of his speech is debatable, it is clear that Tao is greatly upset by the whole situation. He describes struggling during his time training overseas, and having to share a single apartment with 20 other men while being unable to eat because he didn't know how to ask for food in Korean.
- It's sad in another way when you realize that Xuanyi and Meiqi have more than likely gone through the same experiences as Tao, being members of the WJSN (Cosmic Girls) girl group in Korea, but still have to listen to him berate them for not appreciating what they have.
Episode 6
- During their training for the upcoming performance, Jiang Shen, a vocal, struggles immensely with learning the moves for Tan Te, an extremely energetic dance which is tough even for her teammates, who are all strong dancers. She ends up breaking down and crying while her teammates console her.
Episode 9
- While on the cruise, each of the girls writes down their wishes for themselves on a pink balloon, and stands on the bow of the ship while shouting their personal feelings at the river before them. Some of their words are especially poignant.
- Chiao Manting hopes that in ten years, she will love herself more than she does now.
- Zixuan wishes for a happy family and a beautiful baby. It's touching when you realize that she came from a family with an emotionally distant mother.
- Aojuan tells her father that she remembers how he used to take her to school on his bike when she was little, and though he is no longer with her, she still feels him at her side every step of her journey.
- Mengjie's words start out funny and then quickly take a sad turn. She says that she doesn't want to make any more chicken feet kebabs, and then goes on to say that more importantly, she doesn't want her parents to have to keep making chicken feet kebabs. Once it is revealed that her parents run a barbecue shop, you realize that she is using it as a metaphor for being able to support her parents financially.
- After their live show, the top 22 girls are played videos recorded by their families offering them support. It gives insight into their lives which was previously unknown.
- Meiyun reveals that she was raised by a single mom and never knew her father. The reason she was able to pursue performance arts was because her mother wanted her to do the things that she herself was never able to experience in her youth.
- Chaoyue is troubled as the other girls' families are shown. When asked what's wrong, she admits to being torn over not knowing what a happy family is like, since her mother walked out on her dad when she was 12 years old and she worked from a young age instead of attending high school so she could support herself and her father.
- Many of the girls express that they aren't used to hearing the words, "I love you", from their parents, since their love was usually expressed through actions rather than words. Huang Bo reminds them that their parents are quickly growing older, and they should tell their parents how they feel before it is too late.
