'Squid Game' Competition Series Goes Forward on Netflix
Days after hit drama is renewed, Netflix greenlights related reality series
Netflix has greenlit the competition series Squid Game: The Challenge. A full 456 players will enter, with one taking home $4.56 million. They will compete in games inspired by the series, and new additions. There will be 10 episodes.
“The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is going home empty-handed,” said Netflix.
“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.”
Casting happens at SquidGameCasting.com.
The series is a co-production between Studio Lambert and The Garden, part of ITV Studios, and it will be filmed in the UK. Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt, and Toni Ireland from Studio Lambert and John Hay, Nicola Hill, and Nicola Brown from The Garden are executive producers.
Squid Game premiered in September and Netflix calls it the network’s most popular series ever. Earlier this week, Netflix renewed Squid Game for season two. ■
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Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.