The first season of Squid Game: The Challenge was released on Netflix during Thanksgiving week and quickly became one of the top shows for the streaming giant.
The reality series follows the premise of the original show – sans much of the violence, as a group of 456 players compete in a series of challenges to be the last one standing.
The contestants competed in recreations of games from the original show, including Red Light, Green Light with the iconic killer doll, and the Dalgona cookie game.
Much like the original series, players are also eliminated in the living quarters as they interact, break the rules, and fall for traps, such as answering a ringing phone and then having to convince someone else to take the phone.
In those instances, they are met by a mysterious figure wearing that familiar red jumpsuit and black mask with a white circle on the face while a dye pack is set off as they fall over “dead” or get escorted out of the game.
Apart from the lack of graphic violence that we saw in the scripted series, Squid Game: The Challenge is a near-perfect reality TV recreation.
Will Squid Game: The Challenge return for Season 2?
Despite the first season not even being over yet, viewers are already looking for renewal information as they anticipate Season 2.
It’s easy to see why that is the case, considering Squid Game: The Challenge is the top trending show on Netflix right now — five days after the series premiered.
It’s unclear how many people have tuned in to see the new show since Netflix hasn’t released those statistics yet, but it’s expected to be a substantial number.
One clue that the series is doing exceptionally well, in addition to having the top spot on the trending list today, is that the original Squid Game series is also trending right now.
That means the original series, which already boasts a viewership of more than 142 million, is either being rewatched or gaining new viewers due to the popularity of the reality series. The original show was released in 2021.
Based on this, expect that there will be a Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2, though Netflix has not officially released information about the return of the reality series at this time.
If and when it does return, the reality version of the popular K-drama will likely drop around the same time next year, so sit tight because there will be a bit of a wait.
Stay tuned, as we will pass on official renewal news and the return date information when it gets announced by Netflix.
What to expect when Squid Game: The Challenge returns?
The premiere season of Squid Game: The Challenge mimicked the Squid Game series so much that it sometimes felt like the scripted series but with different players and some confessional-style interviews.
The games played were roughly the same, and the players were even “killed off” in the same manner, though they weren’t actually killed in the reality series.
If and when the reality series returns we expect much of the same. However, with Squid Game Season 2 coming ahead of any possible reality series return, we would expect any changes in the format made for the scripted version to be implemented in the reality TV version to keep the content fresh and keep viewers coming back.
Squid Game: The Challenge is currently streaming on Netflix.