Netflix is promising the biggest cash prize in reality TV show history for its upcoming competition series, Squid Game: The Challenge, which is set to premiere globally on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
Based on the smash hit South Korean survival drama Squid Game, the new series will give 456 real players the chance to compete for a life-changing reward of $4.56 million.
As the players battle through a series of games inspired by the original show (plus surprising new additions), their strategies, alliances, and characters will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.
In the short teaser, we get a glimpse at some of the games, which include Red Light, Green Light and Hopscotch, two of the more memorable games from the scripted series. There also appears to be a human version of Battleships.
“4.56 million dollars, people do a whole lot worse for a whole lot less,” says one of the contestants.
The show is executive produced by Nicola Brown, Tim Harcourt, John Hay, Toni Ireland, Anna Kidd, Stephen Lambert, Louise Peet, Nia Yemoh, and Stephen Yemoh. It is produced for Netflix by Studio Lambert and The Garden.
Squid Game premiered on September 17, 2021, and received critical acclaim and fan attention around the world. It became Netflix’s most-watched series and the most-watched program in 94 countries, attracting more than 142 million member households and 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks.
The series also received 14 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series win for the show’s main star, Lee Jung-jae, marking the first time an Asian actor won the award for a non-English part.
Squid Game was officially renewed for a second season in June 2022, but there is no word as of yet when the series will air.
Speaking to allkpop.com in February 2023, Jung-jae revealed, “Squid Game 2 will begin filming in the summer, and the filming will likely last for about 10 months. We were working on Season 1 for about 10 months as well, but that was with delays caused by COVID-19. But seeing as season two will be bigger in scale, it will probably take longer to complete.”
Squid Game: The Challenge, Premieres, Wednesday, November 22, Netflix