Overview
As a drama series, Squid Game might've been the 2021 success that no one knew was coming, but everything that's followed the Netflix hit's popularity doesn't fall into the same category. Of course a second season was greenlit. Of course a television show about 456 people competing to win big was going to spawn a reality TV version that riffed on the concept, but without the death. And of course that IRL take, aka Squid Game: The Challenge, was going to score a second go-around itself.
Squid Game: The Challenge arrived for season one in mid-November, dropping its ten episodes in three batches. Ahead of the finale releasing, Netflix has revealed that more is on the way. Keen to take part next time? The streaming platform has also opened the signup process for green tracksuit aficionados.
So, let the games begin for a second time, with Squid Game: The Challenge still getting its 456 players competing for a huge cash prize while wearing the appropriate attire, being overseen by red-clad figures, and playing hopscotch, marbles, sugar honeycombs and tug of war. Again, there's no murder, but much otherwise takes its cues, look and feel from its inspiration.
If you're one of the hordes of viewers who watched Squid Game when it instantly became one of the best new TV programs of 2021, as we all are, then you'll understand how Squid Game: The Challenge plays out even without the compete-to-the-death angle. The outfits, the games, the decor, the music and, yes, the notorious Red Light, Green Light doll: they're all accounted for.
And the prize? $4.56 million, aka the biggest cash prize in reality-show history, which will be the case again in season two.
How does it work? Again, you already know the details. Those 456 folks — all ordinary people, and not actors — try to score the $4.56 million by playing a series of games inspired by the extremely fictional South Korean thriller, as well as a few new additions. Also, competitors are eliminated as the games go on, and forming strategies and alliances plays a huge part.
So, Squid Game: The Challenge is clearly designed to get as close to the OG Squid Game as possible, just without the body count. It's all overseen by a Front Man, too, because of course it is. Netflix has dubbed it "the biggest reality competition series ever" — and it certainly has the biggest cast.
Making a gripping and brutal TV show that satirises capitalism, then bringing its games into real life does sound like something that might happen in Squid Game itself if the show was getting meta.
Check out the trailer for the first season of Squid Game: The Challenge:
Squid Game: The Challenge streams via Netflix. Season two doesn't yet have a release date, but we'll update you when it does.
Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix .
Images: Netflix.