While K-pop stars BTS are enjoying their break from touring, it turns out their label is hard at work producing a TV series focused on the band’s “universe”. 

Announced yesterday (August 21), Big Hit Entertainment is creating a drama show based on the band’s lives before fame. Speaking at a press conference, the label said it hopes to air the series in the second half of 2020.

The coming-of-age story will follow the lives of the seven members of BTS, focusing on their teenage years as they meet each other for the first time. Much to the disappointment of the group’s stans, BTS won’t actually star in the show, and will be played by actors instead.

The series will be made in collaboration with Chorokbaem Media, the production company behind other popular South Korean shows including My Mister and Memories of the Alhambra. Big Hit Entertainment also revealed they are developing a second BTS-themed game, following the success of mobile game BTS World, where fans pretend to be the band’s manager. 

Discussing the motivation behind the forthcoming show, the label’s CEO Bang Si-Hyuk made a slightly weird statement: “The core point of Big Hit’s intellectual property business rests on bolstering the brand value created by our artists, securing powerful influence and expanding it to business based on the brand.” BTS may currently be taking an “extended break” to “enjoy the ordinary lives of young people in their 20s”, according to Big Hit, but a drama presents the company with an opportunity to monetise their story without the band’s involvement.

Following their time off, BTS will return to the stage in October for their debut performance in Saudi Arabia. For fans who can’t wait until then – or don’t live in the Middle East – Bring The Soul, a fly-on-the-wall documentary series about the band, is set to premiere on Big Hit’s social media app, Weverse on August 27.