A Street Dance Show Worth Fighting to Watch

 

Photo: The CHOOM/YouTube

Have you heard that there’s a world war starting right now in Korea? Alright, alright, it’s not as violent as it sounds. But there definitely are going to be plenty of international battles happening on Mnet’s World of Street Woman Fighter this summer … Dance battles. While the hit street-dance reality competition series and its various spin-off shows have previously featured dancers who are not from Korea, the newest season of the Street Woman Fighter series is a full-blown country-versus-country competition. According to chief WSWF producer Choi Jung-nam, season three is “massively scaled up,” with each crew filming their mega crew segments in different locations around the world.

“Season 1 served as a window to introduce the dance scene to the public, and Season 2 – our first to feature international teams – showed us the potential for global expansion. From Season 3, which is this season, we want to, and are ready to create content on a global scale,” Choi said in a statement to Vulture. “We’ve already pushed boundaries with gender, age, and genre through Street Man Fighter, Street Girl Fighter, and Stage Fighter, so now felt like the perfect time to break down geographical barriers. Our dream for this show is to become a must-watch for dance lovers everywhere, not just in Korea.”

Of course, Street Woman Fighter already managed to attract an international fanbase during its first season in 2021 — even in countries where the show wasn’t officially streaming and the only way to keep up was through social-media clips of battles and choreography challenges. But season three finally has a few more official options for fans in the United States (and nearly 40 other countries) who want to watch full episodes with subtitles. Below, what to know about Street Woman Fighter, from this season’s lineup of crews to how long you’ll have to wait to tune in on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Who’s competing in World of Street Woman Fighter?

Japan sent two teams, so there are six crews representing five different countries:

Motiv (U.S.)
Marlee Hightower leads this crew, which headlined World of Dance New York earlier this year and has an Olympian on the roster: Logistx represented the United States in breaking at the Paris Olympics and won the Red Bull BC One World Final in 2021. Meet the full crew here.

Bumsup (Korea)
This crew has been called an “Avengers team” because all of its members — leader Honey J, Monika, Lip J, Aiki, Ri.Hey, Hyojin Choi, Gabee, NO:ZE and Leejung — were standout competitors on the first season of Street Woman Fighter. Meet the full crew here.

Royal Family (New Zealand) 
Yes, that Royal Family. This team has been described as the new generation of the internationally renowned dance crew founded by Parris Goebel (though longtime fans know that leader Teesha Taulepa has also been dancing with the Royal Family for years). Meet the full crew here.

AG Squad (Australia) 
Although they’re here representing Australia, this crew will be particularly familiar with their New Zealand competitors. Leader Kaea Pearce is one of several first-gen members of the Royal Family who are now dancing as AG Squad. Meet the full crew here.

Osaka Ojo Gang (Japan) 
Leader Ibuki is one of several members on this team whom fans might recognize from another international competition, Street Dance of China. Momo from Twice might be cheering on this team, since her sister Hana is one of the members. Meet the full crew here.

RHTokyo (Japan)
This crew is led by Riehata, who served as a guest judge for the mega crew mission on Street Woman Fighter 2. (RHTokyo member Rena competed on that season as part of the Tsubakill crew.) Meet the full crew here.

Who’s judging World of Street Woman Fighter?

The judging panel includes K-pop veteran J.Y. Park, head of JYP Entertainment (and one-time collaborator of Conan O’Brien). “Many of these contestants are actually people I’ve asked for choreography work before,” JYP said at a May 27 press event for the show. “So while I’m watching them as dancers, I’m also evaluating them through the lens of K-pop producer, thinking, ‘Would I hire this person for my next project?’” He’ll be joined by Aliya Janell, a renowned heels choreographer who has danced on tour with Beyoncé and worked with Korean singer Hyolyn. Mike Song of the acclaimed L.A.-based dance crew Kinjaz rounds out the panel as a familiar face for fans who have watched him judge past seasons of Street Woman Fighter and Street Man Fighter.

Who’s the MC for World of Street Woman Fighter?

Sung Han-bin from the K-pop group Zerobaseone is hosting. What are his qualifications? Well, the show quizzed him on the participating dance crews to prove that he’s studied up. He’s also a dancer in his own right — before he was an idol, he had a street dance background in tutting and waacking, and his predebut videos had some fans calling him mother.

When does World of Street Woman Fighter air?

The nine-episode season premiered on May 27 at 9 a.m. ET / 10 p.m. KST. New episodes will drop weekly on Tuesdays at the same time, with the finale scheduled to air on July 22.

Where can I watch World of Street Woman Fighter?

It depends where you are. If you’re in the U.S., the first two episodes are streaming live with English subtitles on the Mnet Plus App and on Mnet’s YouTube dance channel, The CHOOM. The key word is live — the first episode was unlisted from YouTube after it premiered on May 27, so if you want to catch episode two in real-time, set an alarm for 9 a.m. ET on June 3. As for the rest of the season, there are finally a couple different subtitled streaming options for Americans who are willing to wait. World of Street Woman Fighter will be available in the U.S. on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ via the CJ ENM Selects add-on (after a 7-day free trial, it’s $6.99/month on Prime and $4.99/month on Apple TV+). Vulture has confirmed that episodes are set to arrive on Prime one week after the original broadcast, meaning that episode one arrives on June 3. For Apple TV+, there will be an 11-day delay, so episode one will arrive on June 7.

If you’re in a different country, consult the graphic below to see which streaming options you have, if any. (Spoiler: World of Street Woman Fighter’s map doesn’t appear to include Europe or Latin America.)

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 Americans finally have streaming options with subtitles for the new global season of Korea’s Street Woman Fighter. 

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