The eight-episode first season premiered on August 19, 2020, on the South Korean pay television network JTBC and the online platform Weverse, and features the band taking a break from their busy lives in the city to spend a week together at a remote forest location where they relax and engage in various hobbies.

The series' tagline, "between everyday life and rest",[2] is reflected heavily throughout, as the band members follow no structured schedules while there and freely pursue various indoor and outdoor hobbies together and on their own.

[13] Filming took place at a private lakeside property known as Lake 192, a popular airbnb site also used for hosting corporate workshops, family events, and small weddings.

Located at Gail-ri, Sabuk-myeon, Chuncheon, in the Gangwon-do province, the property has featured in various media and commercials, and was awarded the "Korea Architecture Prize" for its modern design.

The production staff made various modifications to the premises, including bringing in a campervan as an additional sleeping space;[16] installing a large saltwater fish tank with flatfish; providing a 4 hp engine[c] fishing boat;[16] installing an outdoor pool and hot tub; setting up a boxing bag, exercise equipment, and goal post in the main yard;[17] creating an outdoor eating area under a large tarp (referred to as "the Tarp") in the main yard.

Los Angeles Times writer Dakota Kim called In the Soop a "surprise" in comparison to other reality series the band has had.

She wrote that the series "reveals another side of the fierce septet" through "serious heart-to-hearts" about how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also providing "a view into rustic life, from the time-honored Korean tradition of cooking outdoors to learning how to fish.

She noted that the "much looser structure" of the series "allow[s] the band to relax a bit more", and wrote that "BTS has given us many gifts during the COVID-19 pandemic, but In the Soop may be the greatest.

[57] BTS In the Soop aired on cable channel/pay TV network JTBC, which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters such as KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS.