"Squid Game" Reality Series Gets Green Light at Netflix
by Peter White
June 14, 2022


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"Squid Game" is becoming reality. The dystopian Korean drama series – Netflix’s biggest series ever – is being turned into a reality competition series with 456 players competing.

Presumably, the contestants are not being killed off.



Netflix has ordered ten-part series "Squid Game: The Challenge", which will see English-language speakers from around the world compete for a $4.56M cash prize – the largest cash prize for a reality series.

The contestants will compete in a series of games inspired by the show plus some new ones and their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them. Casting is now underway

https://deadline.com/2022/06/squid-game-reality-series-netflix-1235045051/

Squid Game: The Challenge is Netflix's tone-deaf attempt at cashing in on its wildly successful hit shot (https://gizmodo.com/netflix-squid-game-reality-show-in-development-1849060143)

The streamer's announcement that it will have 456 players competing for $4.56 million, the largest cash prize ever for a reality competition, totally misses the point of the original series. "The irony of this announcement is not lost on anyone who watched Squid Game, which is a narrative that is explicitly against the kind of voyeuristic cash-grab competition show and the kind of systems that would encourage down-on-their-luck individuals to compete for money at the risk of their lives," says Linda Codega. "While I doubt Netflix is going to murder people for entertainment, there’s no way to spin this show as being anything other than completely antithetical to the very ethos of Squid Game. (Let’s not forget when MrBeast, the YouTuber, did the same thing a few months ago, and also missed the point.) What part of a show that encourages people to commit incentivized murder for entertainment feels like something that Netflix should seek to emulate via the reality show format? This announcement feels like the embodiment of a horrible, uncaring timeline where art is relegated to content, and IP is only ever in existence to make money, rather than telling any kind of story. If it were any other Netflix show, it might be funny (I wouldn’t mind a Black Mirror reality show, or a Stranger Things D&D actual play, why not?), but there’s something insidious about American capitalists taking this show and making it into something that emphasizes and celebrates exploitative corporate entertainment capitalism."

ALSO:


Netflix is undermining the integrity of Squid Game by turning it into a glorified version of MTV’s The Challenge (https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflix-orders-squid-game-reality-series-which-sounds-insane-but-is-just-dumb)
If the reality competition just uses the games but takes the violence and meaning out of them, what does that say? (https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/06/netflix-squid-game-reality-show-casting/)
Netflix seems intent on inducing Squid Game fatigue before we see Season 2 (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40289038/squid-game-netflix-reality-show/)

"Squid Game" Creator Addresses Concerns about Reality-Show Spin-off Handling Such a "Heavy Message"
by Matt Webb Mitovich
September 13, 2022


"Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk knows that there are “concerns” about how the announced reality-competition offshoot will handle the “heavy” themes of the South Korean survival drama.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, appearing backstage at the Emmys on Monday night after winning Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (for the episode “Red Light, Green Light”), revealed that this past weekend he had met with the creator of the reality-TV offshoot, “and they had many questions for me.”

“What I hope is that they will be carrying on my vision and intention as much as possible for the show,” Hwang said.




"Squid Game: The Challenge" promptly was derided by many for aiming to make light of a dark drama that was embedded with important messages about class and the ugliness of capitalism.

But Hwang said in the Emmys press room, “I think that even though our show does carry quite a heavy message — and I know that there are some concerns on taking that message and creating it into a reality show with a cash prize — I feel like when you take things too seriously, that’s really not the best way to go for the entertainment industry. It doesn’t really set a great precedent.”

“So, I would say that reproductions of such efforts are going to bring new meaning to the industry,” he added, “and I hope that this is going to be a great new direction for the industry overall.”

https://tvline.com/2022/09/13/squid-game-creator-reaction-reality-show-competition-spinoff/

Netflix Sets Premiere for "Squid Game: The Challenge"
by Peter White
May 17, 2023


The reality competition version of "Squid Game" is coming later this year.

Netflix revealed that "Squid Game: The Challenge" will premiere on its service in November. It comes 17 months after the series was handed a greenlight by the streamer.

https://deadline.com/2023/05/squid-game-the-challenge-netflix-sets-premiere-competition-series-1235370697/

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Netflix Renews "Squid Game: The Challenge" for Season 2
by Sydney Bucksbaum
December 6, 2023


Before the winner has officially been crowned on "Squid Game: The Challenge", Netflix has already given the green light for a second season.

The streaming service announced the news on Wednesday, hours before the Squid Game reality competition series debuted its season finale.



"There was no red light in our decision to greenlight season two of Squid Game: The Challenge, the most ambitious unscripted show we've premiered at Netflix," Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of Nonfiction Series, said in a statement.

"We're so excited to continue the franchise of Squid Game with our team in Korea, and producers at Studio Lambert and The Garden for this epic competition series."

https://ew.com/squid-game-the-challenge-season-2-ordered-at-netflix-8411216