Despite the controversy that preceded Squid Game: The Challenge — including allegations that the reality competition based on the hit South Korean series was “rigged” — Netflix has opted to give the show a second season.
Ahead of the airing of today’s season finale, where one of the 456 contestants will win $4.56 million, the streaming service announced plans for a second season, citing how it was Netflix’s top-viewed show for weeks in America and widely watched in 93 countries.
“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.”
Like the fictional show, the reality competitions subjected players to win-or-die games like Red Light, Green Light, and Dalgona while also including more American games like Battleship. In between games, players formed alliances while being housed for the duration of a competition in what looks like a giant airplane hangar.
After just one day of filming, reports of the series’ “cruel” conditions began to emerge, as Rolling Stone reported, including a nine-hour ordeal while filming that Red Light, Green Light game that witnessed over half of the contestants being eliminated, seemingly strategically and unfairly.
Three former players described what contestants called the “38-second massacre,” when a large group of contestants made it across the finish line with time remaining on the clock, meaning they had successfully made it through to the next round. However, as they waited for producers to go over footage and get drone shots from the round, their blood squib packs went off minutes later — signifying their elimination — despite making it across the finish line.
“Instead of Squid Game, [they] are calling it ‘Rigged Game.’ Instead of Netflix, they’re calling it ‘Net Fix,’ because it was clearly obvious,” one former player said. Additionally, one person claimed they saw a contestant eliminated, only to be added back to the game.
While two former players threatened legal action against the companies behind Squid Game: The Challenge, no lawsuits have been filed yet.
Netflix’s announcement Wednesday added that Season Two of the Squid Game is still in the works, while the streaming service is also making a video game based on the franchise.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
