456 players participating in the competition are competing for a prize of $4.56 million. The competition will test players' strategies, alliances and personalities as competitors around them are eliminated. Does the setting seem a little familiar? That's right, the mega game is being tied to the hit series The Squid Game.
▲ Image from: Netflix
The name of the reality show, Squid Game: The Challenge, suggests a connection to the global phenomenon, but it's actually Netflix's idea inspired by the company's extremely popular original series Squid Game, which launched last year.
▲ Image from: Netflix
From what Netflix has announced , the competitive show is set to feature a series of games inspired by the original show, as well as surprising additions. Of course, it's just a reality show, and even if it fails in the competition, the worst that could happen is that it would come up empty-handed.
▲ Image from: Netflix
The 10-episode competition show, co-produced by ITV Studios' Studio Lambert ( The Circle ) and The Garden ( 24 Hours in A&E ), will be filmed in the UK.
While Netflix has not revealed when the show will premiere at this time, it is already looking for contestants, and English speakers from anywhere in the world can sign up via the website SquidGameCasting.com.
▲ Image from: Netflix
Squid Game has taken the world by storm with director Dong-hyuk Hwang's compelling story and iconic graphics," said Brandon Riegg, Vice President of Netflix. Thanks to his support, we've brought the fictional world to life in this massive competitive and social experiment."
However, this isn't really the first time the world from a Squid Game episode has become a reality. In November 2021, the YouTube channel "MrBeast" posted a video titled "$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!
▲Image from: YouTube
The video is a recreation of this YouTube channel modeled after The Squid Game, with costumes, game segments, and other settings nearly identical to the show's, and the same 456 participants, but with a $4.56 billion prize.
After the video was released, the response was overwhelming, but the cost of this video went but not too shabby either. At just over twenty minutes, the video cost a whopping $3.5 million, which, split evenly over time, is a bit more than the cost of filming the original "Squid Game".
▲Image from: YouTube
But it's actually a project sponsored by mobile game company Brawl Stars, and the branding is featured in the video as well. Although the cost is high, the video has already surpassed 200 million views so far, which is what the video was made for.
Brandon Riegg added: "With 456 real-world contestants taking part in the biggest competition series ever, fans of the show will embark on a fascinating and unpredictable journey that will culminate in the biggest cash prize ever."
▲ Image from: Netflix
Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge" is indeed the "biggest reality series ever" in terms of number of participants and rewards for a single season, but the CBS reality show "Survivor" is the best when you look at the number of participants.
▲Image from: Entertainment Weekly
Unlike the Netflix show, Survivor, which premiered in 2000, is also a survival show, but a "wilderness survival" show. 16-20 contestants compete only on deserted islands or in the desert, and the contestants must survive not only in the natural environment, but also in the competition of the show, with the final winner taking home $1 million in prizes.
▲ Image from: Netflix
Not long ago Netflix announced the renewal of The Squid Game for a second season, and the show may be all about promoting and drawing heat for the second season of episodes. Whatever the purpose, as the show's classic line goes, "It's never more fun to watch from the sidelines than it is to be there." The 456 contestants who took part in Squid Game: The Challenge are sure to feel the fun later on in the show.