I. Introduction
NCT World 2.0 is a variety show that featured all of the members of the NCT boy group competing in customized challenges as part of the promotional support of the NCT 2020 Resonance project. The premise is that NCT is filming a multiverse reality show, "sharing time and space with all NCT across past, present and future." The show aired a few days after the release of the album NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1, with NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2 releasing during the show's run.
II. Overview
The group structure of NCT is unique among K-Pop groups due to the fact that the original concept of NCT was an ever expanding group with "unlimited" members and it is comprised of several individual subunits. At the time of the show, there were 23 members in NCT, making up four individual subunits.
The group unites on a regular basis for an all-unit event, such as NCT 2018 Empathy and NCT 2020 Resonance, supported by albums, concerts, special social content, TV or streaming shows and appearances.
NCT World 2.0 played on this concept of uniting all the groups through time and space. The first two episodes highlighted all of NCT's members with challenges created specifically for them, based on existing skills, past TV shows like the continuing series NCT Life, social media content and fandom-related memes and jokes. They had to clear 23 missions.
Members were placed on a large soundstage in cubes, and could not leave the cubes until members completed challenges. For the next episodes, embers then split into teams to compete and complete challenges in the "past," a high school field day; the "present" including walking at heights and catching octopi; and the "future" to hunt for clues tied into the history of NCT. Finally, members gather to compete in preparing dishes for an evening cookout.
At the end of the series, members also perform songs from Resonance in performance segments and offer behind-the-scenes of music videos.
III. Episode List
The show aired on MNET in South Korea on Thursdays from October 15 through December 3, 2020.
| Episode | Description | |
| 1 | Members must complete 23 missions to escape cubes. First members to play are Jisung, Ten, Yuta, Renjun, Haechan, Taeil, Yangyang, Xiaojun, Winwin, Shotaro and Jeno. | |
| 2 | The remaining members must complete missions: Taeyong, Jungwoo, Jaehyun, Johnny, Hendery, Lucas, Chenle, Doyoung, Kun, Jaemin, Mark and Sungchan. | |
| 3 | All members compete in Field Day events in the "high school past", including soccer penalty shootout, arm wrestling and Chinese fan dance. | |
| 4 | All members continue to compete, including the finish of the Chinese fan dance, a vaulting horse and a relay race. | |
| 5 | Members divide into two teams in the "present" to compete in missions, like catching fish. | |
| 6 | Members wrap up the present missions and move through the portal to the "future" where they hunt for NCT-related clues to return to the present. | |
| 7 | Members continue to look for clues in the "future" | |
| 8 | Members compete to make meals for dinner and gather together. |
IV. NCT Spoilers
This list contains all of the members' specific challenges in the opening episodes, as well as an explanation of why it was selected.
V. NCT Trivia
- There are a lot of long running jokes here for NCTzens.
- On the cube mission, those are covered in the spoilers but there are a lot of references here.
- Non-spoiler note on cube missions: Chenle himself jokes about his big head, which is a long-running joke.
- On the past missions: Jaehyun's competitiveness, Taeil's age as the oldest member; several members lack of athletic skills or strengths in athletic skills; Ten and Winwin's flexibility; Lucas, Johnny and Jeno in arm wrestling; Winwin's past training in Chinese traditional dance; Yuta's past as a soccer player.
- On the "present" missions: Kun as the long-suffering parent; the Dream members heckling each other (especially Chenle and Renjun); Haechan's appetite; everyone messing with Haechan on the challenge because he always messes with them.
- On the "future" missions, the relevance is covered within the show itself.
- On the meal, Kun and Doyoung's excellent cooking skills; Taeyong's parental sentimentality; jokes around cooking ability going back to NCT Life: Korean Food King Challenge; ramen in everything.
- Lucas, Shotaro and Sungchan left the group in 2023.
