Netflix has released the first teaser trailer and launch date of Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality TV show version of the hit K-drama that dazzled the world in 2021. The reality show will run 10 episodes and will premiere on 22 November 2023.
The prize stake of the show is set at USD 4.56 million, for which 456 contestants from across the world will compete in a series of games inspired by Squid Game — the most-watched Netflix series of all time. The cash prize will be the largest ever in reality television history.
According to Netflix, though the Squid Game reality show features tough challenges it isn’t a ‘matter of life and death’. The competitors hear the words “Mugunghwa kkochi piotsseumnida” (“the Hibiscus flower has bloomed”) in the characteristically eerie voice of the animatronic doll in the reality-show version of ‘Red Light, Green Light’. However, there will be no ‘deaths’ involved.
“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 timely betrayals to follow,” added the streaming giant.
The trailer shows the pink-uniformed guards and contestants in a huge maze-like setting with the contestants wearing the distinctive green uniform featured in the K-drama. Interestingly, the prize money is seen in a large globe-shaped glass piggy bank.
A contestant is heard saying, “4.56 million dollars? People do a whole lot worse for a whole lot less.”
Exactly which games the contestants will be part of is not clear. But Netflix has said there will be some new games alongside the familiar ones. In the final shot of the trailer, the contestants are seen charging towards the doll.
The series was filmed in the UK and was produced by Studio Lambert and The Garden. The reality show is set to increase the anticipation for Squid Game Season 2. Netflix in its Tudum event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 17 June 2023, revealed a lineup of new actors who will be joining some of the Season 1 cast in the next installment.
