Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game became a world phenomenon as the South Korean survival series brings a secret contest where players fight for their lives in exchange for the highly coveted ₩45.6 billion prize. Since the title became a global sensation, Netflix unveils Squid Game: The Challenge on the streaming platform as a reality TV show which brings the K-drama series into a real-life competition. However, with the macabre deaths faced by the competitors in the original series, what happens to the contestants in the reality show is a common question that surfaces.
In 2022, during the height of the hype of Squid Game, Netflix announced that there will be a reality series based on the K-drama show and they sought 456 contestants from across the globe to compete. This is, by far, the highest number of participants to form part of a reality TV show in the whole history of television. The players will vie for the $4.56 million cash prize which is the largest single cash prize ever given in the television and game show history. There are ten episodes lined-up for the reality series.
Squid Game: The Challenge: What happens when players are eliminated?
Squid Games showed the macabre deaths of the players when they get eliminated or when a challenge results to violence between the players. This, for sure, is not the case for Squid Game: The Challenge being a reality TV series because no one would be allowed to kill anyone on set or on screen. Squid Game: The Challenge gives a "fake death" for those who do not make it to the next round.
As seen on the trailer above, the "fake death" on Squid Game: The Challenge involves the players getting splashed by black ink on their chest to mark that they are already out of the competition. Needless to say, Squid Game: The Challenge will not be a blood bath, but rather, a black ink bath, as the competitors' number grow smaller and smaller each time until one emerges victorious in the end. Netflix assured that there are no real-life deaths involved in the reality show.
Were there injuries during the filming of Squid Game: The Challenge?
While there were no deaths in the reality show unlike the K-drama series, this does not mean that Squid Game: The Challenge is a hundred percent safe through and through. When it was filming in the UK, a report from BBC confirmed that ambulances were called to the set where three people needed to be treated for real life injuries sustained during the production of the show. Netflix averred that the injuries were minor and that they have prepared for these kinds of emergencies.
Following these medical incidents, Deadline reported that Squid Game: The Challenge was subjected to Britain's Health and Safety Executive to be reminded about the proper plans for risks present during the production. The same report cited inhumane conditions faced by the players, a woman convulsing due to the extreme weather conditions, and muscle and bone related injuries which were sustained on set. Netflix later responded, "Netflix, Studio Lambert, and The Garden have done everything required by the health and safety legislation and the HSE have said they have assessed and closed the matter.”
Squid Game: The Challenge arrives on November 22, 2023 on Netflix worldwide. The reality TV show is expected to have new announcements and updates at the Netflix Geeked Week 2023 this November 6th to 11th.
