Popstars

Serving as a precursor to the Idol franchise, Popstars first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl group TrueBliss.

The series originated in New Zealand, broadcast on TV2 in 1999, where producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss.

Dowling then licensed the concept to production company Screentime in Australia,[2] who then on sold it to TresorTV in Germany before taking it worldwide.

The show was the inspiration for Simon Fuller's Pop Idol franchise which would dominate reality TV, (along with Big Brother and Survivor) for the next few years.

Although Popstars started successfully in most countries during the early 2000s, the shows gradually began to fail and were dropped by many broadcasters due to poor ratings.