Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 Fate Decided

Netflix VP of Nonfiction Series Brandon Riegg was quite cheeky when announcing the return of Squid Game: The Challenge, noting how “There was no red light in our decision to greenlight Season 2.” He claims the show is “the most ambitious unscripted show we’ve premiered at Netflix.” That may sound like a bit of empty marketing fluff, but the numbers prove that the series has been a true breakout hit for the longtime streaming service.

For example, Squid Game: The Challenge has spent the last two weeks among Netflix’s Top 10 English-language shows. In its first week, the show had an impressive 20.5 million views, and in its second week, it still had 11.4 million views. Now, with the season finale premiering on December 6 at 9 p.m. ET, we imagine there will be a bump in views, both from old fans wanting to relive the season from start to finish and new fans who have just been waiting to binge the entire season in one go.

If you haven’t checked it out for yourself, you probably have a simple question: what is Squid Game: The Challenge all about? In short, it’s a reality competition with trials based on the ones from the original show, but there is one important exception: nobody in this show dies, though the use of black ink squibs to denote the losers might remind you of some of the more gruesome deaths from the show. 

Some contestants have alleged that the reality show is more dangerous than it should be, and several contestants are actually suing Netflix for subjecting them to cold temperatures for a long time for the “Red Light, Green Light” challenge. Worse, these contestants allege they “were pressured not to wear jackets” over their thin tracksuits “to ensure that their black ink squibs and tracksuit numbers were visible.” Squid Game: The Challenge contestants further allege they experienced hypothermia and nerve damage: if true, Netflix may have accidentally created an accurate homage to the show’s satire of cruel capitalism in the worst possible way.

Despite these frightening allegations, the sheer popularity of the original Squid Game (with 1.65 billion views in its first 28 days, it remains Netflix’s most popular show) has helped make the reality show spinoff a runaway success. Now, the first season of Squid Game: The Challenge has come down to a showdown between players Same (Player 016), Ma,(Player 287), and Phil (Player 451), and fans at home are eager to see which one emerges the victor. Ambitious fans can now visit Squid Game Casting if they want to be a part of the second season, but we have one bit of advice for those who make it: be sure to bring extra jackets.