Home Flashbox

Netflix Taking Wrong Lesson From ‘Squid Game,’ Making Actual ‘Squid Game’ Competition

For ethical and legal purposes, the worst outcome of participating is going home without the $4.56 million reward, rather than not going home at all

Published by

For everyone who tuned into Squid Game and left the series not with a deeper understanding of the violence of capitalism, but with an over-confident belief that you’d be able to win the whopping cash prize — you’re in luck. Netflix has announced it’s begun recruiting for Squid Game: The Challenge, a 10-episode reality series in which 456 people will enter a real-life re-creation of the game with a $4.56 million reward at stake.

The network is searching for English-language speakers to participate in a series of challenges inspired by the South Korean survival drama. In pursuit of the largest cash prize in reality TV history, the contestants will try to outperform each other in games designed for children — tug of war, the honeycomb cookie game, marbles, or red light/green light — with heightened stakes.

Of course for for ethical and, uh, legal reasons, the worst outcome for any participants in Squid Game: The Challenge will be going home broke, rather than not going home at all.

“Squid Game took the world by storm with Director Hwang’s captivating story and iconic imagery. We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series. “Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest ever cash prize at the end.”

The competition series announcement comes days after Netflix confirmed that Squid Game would be returning for a second season. The series, created by writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk, remains the network’s most popular series of all time, having racked up 1.65 billion view hours in the first month of its release.

“It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever,” Hwang wrote in a statement. “And now, Gi-hun returns. The Front Man returns. Season 2 is coming. The man in the suit with ddakji might be back. You’ll also be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend, Cheol-su.”

From Rolling Stone US.

Recent Posts

‘Why’s Mike Doing This?’: On the Ground at Paul v. Tyson, the Fight America Deserves

The former heavyweight champion went head-to-head with a megastar content creator for one of the…

November 18, 2024

Inside the New Documentary ‘Beatles ‘64’

Director David Tedeschi gives a guided tour of the film, produced by Martin Scorsese and…

November 18, 2024

See Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams Perform ‘Us’ Together in Toronto

Singers celebrate collaboration's Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at latest Eras Tour gig

November 18, 2024

‘SNL’: Watch Charli XCX Perform ‘360,’ ‘Sympathy Is a Knife’

Both are from Brat, the British pop singer's most recent Grammy-nominated album

November 18, 2024

‘Look Back’ Review: The Road Not Taken

A new adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga takes a good long look at friendship, art,…

November 18, 2024

Five Must-Watch Korean Drama Films

Features classics including ‘The Way Home,’ ‘Treeless Mountain,’ ‘Poetry,’ ‘Right Now, Wrong Then,’ and ‘House…

November 18, 2024