The dystopian Korean drama became Netflix’s “greatest television show of all time” since its release last year. This was followed by 456 players, all of them in deep financial distress, risking their lives to play a series of deadly children’s games. The show, in Korean, showed brutal scenes of desperate people fighting to the death to be the last player and get the cash. The new reality challenge, however, will not compete to the death! Contestants will go through a series of games inspired by the original show, but the hardest limits will be to test their strategies, alliances and character as others are eliminated around them. Netflix said: “The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is to go home empty-handed.” The 10-episode competition series is co-produced by producers behind the social media reality show The Circle and the award-winning 24 Hours in A&E documentary series. It will have both the largest cast and the largest one-time cash prize in the history of reality. Brandon Riegg, vice president of Netflix Unscripted and Documentary Series, said: “Squid Game has destroyed the world with its enchanting story and iconic images by director Hwang. “We are grateful for his support as we turn the fantasy world into reality in this huge competition and social experiment. “Fans of the drama series are on an exciting and unpredictable journey as the 456 real-world contestants navigate the biggest competition series of all time, full of intensity and twists, with the biggest cash prize ever at the end.” Squid Game was a hugely popular children’s game in Korea in the ’70s and’ 80s, around the time the series’ director grew up in Seoul. In the game, the children were divided into attack and defense and played inside a squid-shaped board drawn on the ground. In June, Netflix confirmed that the second season of the series’ dramatic release had been ordered.
