Netflix’s list of the top 10 shows and movies has been taken over by a controversial reality show that came out earlier this month. This is, of course, Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge, which was inspired by Hwang Dong-Hyuk's original Squid Game series. Squid Game: The Challenge has gathered over 20.1 million views ever since the first five episodes were released on November 22, making the show the #1 Non-English TV series on Netflix.
The reality show will have a total of 10 episodes, with episodes 6-9 having been released on November 29. This leaves us with the series finale, which will premiere on Netflix on December 6. The release of the reality show also sent the original series, which was already the most popular Non-English Netflix TV show of all time, to the #6 spot on Netflix's Non-English Top Ten list.
Squid Game: The Challenge does a great job of simulating the life-and-death stakes of the original show by using squibs (or ink packets) instead of bullets to eliminate players. The visual effects also make it look like the player is falling through the glass into an empty void below.
Many have described the competition as "brutal" and "depressing", with two contestants even threatening to file a lawsuit against Netflix for suffering hypothermia and nerve damage during filming. However, Netflix responded by giving a statement to Deadline in which they said, "No lawsuit has been filed by any of the Squid Game contestants. We take the welfare of our contestants extremely seriously."
What’s Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge about?
Squid Game: The Challenge was initially announced in June 2022, and similar to the original Squid Game series, it features 456 contestants. These contestants compete against each other in multiple Korean-inspired childhood games almost identical to the ones that were previously seen on the popular show, such as "Red Light, Green Light." and "Dalgona Cookie."
The players compete in order to win $4.56 million, the biggest cash prize in reality television history. Through several games, each player will be greatly tested till they question themselves and their want for the cash prize. They have to be careful with whom they trust and come up with lethal strategies in order to take home the cash prize.
The show’s official synopsis reads, "Through a series of games, each player will be pushed to their limits and forced to ask themselves just how far they'll go to win, with opportunistic alliances, cutthroat strategies, and ugly betrayals to follow."
