Season 1 of Produce 48 premiered on June 15, 2018.

Produce 48 brings together 96 trainees, of which 39 girls are from Japanese idol group AKB48 and 57 girls are from different entertainment companies in South Korea, to form a Korean-Japanese group that will promote for two and a half years. They will adopt the AKB48's concept of "idols you can meet and greet" and be able to perform in their own theatre. Members of the group will be able to promote under their own agencies concurrently, as the show, and the groups' promotions thereafter, are recorded in batches.