It looks like we’re not quite done yet with the Squid Game buzz. After announcing the second season of the popular show, Netflix has announced that it is working on bringing the game to reality.
The streaming platform recently announced a real-life Squid Game reality show, which will see 456 recruits competing against each other for a $4.56m prize. The OTT platform also made some big claims during the announcement, saying that the 10-episode series called Squid Game: The Challenge would offer “the cast and lump cash prize in reality TV history”.
A statement released by the company read, “As [players] compete through a series of games inspired by the original show – plus surprising new additions – their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.”
Think you’d like to participate? Here’s the set of selection criteria you need to meet 1) Participants needs be to at least 21 years old. 2) They must be able to converse in English 3) They must be available for up to 4 weeks in early 2023 for filming.
The last requirement confirms that we won’t be seeing the reality TV show coming to life until later next year. Could it coincide with the release of the second season of the show? Perhaps not. While Netflix did confirm that it has green-lit the series for an additional season, there has been no buzz about any casting update or pre-production work.
Coming back to the reality game show though, the 456 participants is a nod to the fictional series, which features the same number of players. If you remember, our primary protagonist Seong Gi-hun is also seen donning the 456 number throughout the season.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a “real-life” version of Squid Game is being adapted into a Whiplash-like game show. Popular YouTubers like Mr Beast and his team organised their own version of the game, with a cash prize of $456,000. Similar events have been popping out all over the world ever since the release of the show.
The South Korean series blew up last year and went on to become Netflix’s most popular series of all time with 111 million users streaming it during the first 28 days of its launch.
Creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk, recently released a statement which read, “It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever.”
