Netflix’s global hit, South Korean dystopian drama series released in September 2021, Squid Game, has been adapted into the “biggest competition series” ever on television and is set to premiere on Netflix later this year.
The streaming giant made the announcement on 14 June 2022 when it green-lit the project titled Squid Game: The Challenge. A mammoth cash prize of USD 4.56 million for the winner was also declared.
Here’s what we know about Squid Game: The Challenge
About the game show
The upcoming TV reality show will follow the format of Netflix’s blockbuster hit thriller series Squid Game. However, you don’t need to worry, as the stakes will not be life and death.
“The stakes are high, but in this game, the worst fate is going home empty-handed,” read the Netflix’s press release which came out last year. Besides thrilling games, as depicted in the series, the show will also include some new additions that will test the “strategies, alliances and character” of the players who will keep getting eliminated throughout the reality competition series.
Number of episodes and participants
To keep things as close to the Korean series as possible, Netflix said there will be 456 participants who will strive to survive till the end to take home the cash drop ever.
Squid Game: The Challenge will have 10 episodes, one more than those in the first season of the show. Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series, had said, “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 makers of the show are quite particular when it comes to language and strict rules regarding the same. It was said that participants must understand and speak English but can converse in other languages among themselves. The participants had to be at least 21 years old. The filming for the reality TV show took place in the UK as it was mentioned by the streaming giant last year.
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The crew of Squid Game: The Challenge
The project “is a co-production between Studio Lambert (The Circle) and The Garden (24 Hours in A&E), part of ITV Studios,” says Netflix. Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt and Toni Ireland from Studio Lambert, along with John Hay, Nicola Hill and Nicola Brown from The Garden are on board as executive producers.
Squid Game season 2
The news about the reality show came after the streaming giant had announced the renewal of a second season last year. The first season starred Lee Jung-jae as Song Gi-hun or Player 456, Park Hae-Soo as Cho Sang-woo, Hoyeon as Kang Sae-byeok and Oh Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam. Lee will reprise his role in the second season, which will usher in some more thrilling events and characters.
“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,” said the director, writer and executive producer of Squid Game Hwang Dong-hyuk. The series was streamed by over 111 million users and garnered over 1.65 billion view hours in the first 28 days of release.
Watch the trailer of Squid Game: The Challenge below:
(Main and feature image credit: Squid Game/ Photo by Noh Juhan – © 2021 – Netflix/ IMDb)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
