Squid Games was the Korean phenomenon that rocked the world – the unlikely 2021 hit became the number-one show in 90 countries around the globe!
It is no wonder, therefore, that Netflix was keen to capitalise on the show’s success. Whilst the next official season of the Korean thriller does not have a release date, this weekend Netflix released a spin-off version: Squid Games: The Challenge – A Reality Competition.
This new reality version of the Games has a number of key differences: the first being that the contestants (who are real-life people and not actors) don’t actually die in real life.
Netflix clearly decided that killing off real people would have been a little bit costly on the old litigation front.
The 456 contestants are also not Korean, with the majority of players coming from the US and Europe.
One thing that does remain real is the humungous prize fund. The prize pot, which will reach $4.56m is guaranteed to be won by one contestant, making it worth anyone’s while.
The show has already got the nation talking – it is currently ranked number 1 on the most-watched shows in Australia on Netflix.
Despite grabbing eyeballs, however, not all of the viewers were complimentary about the latest iteration of Squid Games.
On Platform X (previously known as Twitter) one unhappy viewer commented “THIS NEW SQUID GAME IS SOOO TRASH OH MY GOD, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?!?!!?!”
Whilst another commented “season 2 is a huge disappointment!!”
It was far from all negative, however, with some fans thrilled by the new format of the show. “I had my doubts but Squid Games: The Challenge is f*cking amazing.”
I had my doubts but
Squid game: The challenge is Fu**ing Amazing.JUSTICE FOR THE OLD MAN!!!!! pic.twitter.com/ZNvEHWyOvE
— JAïr (@jairynwa) November 23, 2023
Another fan said that the show was better than they initially thought.
Now this Squid game the challenge is better than I thought.#SquidGameTheChallenge pic.twitter.com/F5frR81zk6
— George Nickson 🇰🇪 (@georgenickson) November 23, 2023
It seemed the key to enjoying the show is in accepting it is not the same as the original, one wise viewer commented on Google “The 1 star reviews consist of people salty about it not being season 2.(dumb)”.
The show currently has a 44 per cent rating on Rotten Tomato, but an 86 per cent average audience score.
