Get ready, participants: Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge” is set to defy your expectations.
On Wednesday, the streaming powerhouse releases the sequel to Hwang Dong-hyuk’s 2021 South Korean sensation, “Squid Game.” However, this isn’t another intense instalment of the ominous survival drama where contestants face deadly challenges in a grim secret competition featuring twisted children’s games.
“Squid Game: The Challenge” (initially streaming five episodes on Nov. 22) presents a 10-episode reality series, showcasing 456 real participants engaging in those same children’s games for a chance to win a cash prize of $4.56 million. This means no bloodshed (thankfully) and, of course, no fatalities.
Here’s what’s unfolding with “Squid Game: The Challenge,” with four more episodes arriving on Nov. 29 and the grand finale on Dec. 6.
How did Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ become ‘The Challenge’ reality show?
“Squid Game” became a global sensation, earning Netflix’s acclaim as its most-watched series with 14 Emmy nominations and six wins, including the prestigious Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-Jae, the stellar performer behind contestant Seong Gi-hun, also known as Player 456.
Faced with a substantial gap before the anticipated Season 2, Netflix opted for a unique approach by introducing the reality series “The Challenge,” inspired by the “Squid Game” premise. Collaborating with the United Kingdom’s Studio Lambert, renowned for reality hits like Netflix’s “The Circle” and the BBC’s “Race Across the World,” the streaming giant aimed to extend the immersive experience.
Stephen Lambert, an executive producer of ‘The Challenge,’ notes, “‘Squid Game’ was not only an immensely popular scripted show about a game, but it was also a game that you could put real people in to play. It was almost inviting this unscripted series to be made.”
To recreate the entire “Squid Game” setting, six expansive stages were constructed around London, providing the backdrop for 456 primarily British and American contestants, including a mother-son duo. These participants, assigned numbers and clad in the iconic green tracksuits, delved into the “Squid Game” universe for 16 days, residing in sprawling dorms equipped with stacked bunk beds.
Executive producer Tim Harcourt emphasizes the immersive nature of the experience, stating, “It’s a very immersive world that people genuinely didn’t leave. People showered, used the restrooms, and ate there. They really have their heads in the game.”
What carries over to the ‘Squid Game’ reality show ‘The Challenge’?
All the iconic features that made “Squid Game” memorable are seamlessly integrated into “The Challenge.” Contestants step out of dorms, navigating eerie, labyrinthine stairwells guarded by masked sentinels. The chilling Red Light/Green Light game, one of the most haunting sequences in “Squid Game,” is replicated in a separate 100,000-square-foot former aeroplane hangar. The imposing rotating child’s doll, responsible for eliminating contestants moving after the “Red Light” command, is crafted in the U.K.’s largest 3D printing facility.
Unlike the original series, there’s no shooting involved. Contestants, adorned with tracking devices, face consequences if they move after “Red Light” – a black dye-pack canister on their uniform detonates, signalling their elimination. The (fictional) peril from the children’s games is replaced by a substantial grand prize, heightening the stakes and drama.
“The prize, the biggest in Netflix history, compensates for the fact that obviously, we weren’t going to shoot our contestants,” explains Lambert. “We needed something of a huge scale so that (players) could be invested.”
“The Challenge” introduces an additional layer of suspense by allowing players to betray and eliminate fellow contestants, striving to be the last one standing. The dorm piggy bank accumulates more money with each eliminated player, mirroring the intricate computer graphic effect from “Squid Game.” In “The Challenge,” the tangible piggy bank is fully realized, filling with the equivalent of $10,000 with every elimination.
What’s the ‘Squid Game’ controversy around ‘The Challenge’?
Criticism surrounding “The Challenge” revolves around two main issues: Fans anticipated a new drama season, the first of which streamed more than two years ago in September 2021, but were surprised with a reality show centred around children’s games. The series has received mixed critical reviews, earning a 63% positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator.
Compounding “The Challenge’s” challenges, a February exposé by Rolling Stone featured anonymous participants contemplating legal action. They claimed their experience was fraught with real “torment and trauma” and asserted that the show was “rigged” from the start.
Lambert vehemently refutes these claims, labelling them as “completely untrue.” He emphasizes that the welfare of the participants was a top priority, and the games underwent rigorous scrutiny. Lambert dismisses the anonymous claims, stating, “It’s very easy when you’ve been eliminated from a game to anonymously make all kinds of claims.” He asserts that every elimination was overseen by a team of independent adjudicators and deems the notion that Netflix would compromise the fairness of their largest-ever prize as “just ridiculous.”
When is ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 coming?
For those who aren’t following “The Challenge,” creator Hwang is currently involved in the production of the second season of “Squid Game.” Filming commenced in July, featuring Lee and a fresh cast of participants engaged in a life-or-death struggle in this new scripted drama. However, fans will need to exercise patience, as the series is not expected to debut on Netflix until late 2024 at the earliest.
