Attention all players, the moment has arrived. It is now time for the next game, and it goes by the name of Squid Game: The Challenge. The much-anticipated reality TV show based on Netflix’s dystopian hit Squid Game now has a release date and an official trailer. So, here is everything you need to know about the new series.

Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama (also known as death game TV) that was released in September 2021. The plot revolves around a secret contest where 456 players, each facing financial hardship, risk their lives in a series of deadly children’s games, all in hopes of winning 45.6 billion South Korean won.

The show quickly became a global sensation with 1.7 billion hours of streaming by subscribers 28 days after its release. Furthermore, it added 4.4 million new subscribers to Netflix’s already impressive cohort. Quite an outstanding feat, right?

While the second season of Squid Game is still being developed, Netflix decided to bless fans with a real-life adaptation of the game, as they continue to wait for season two’s premiere. And before you worry, the stakes are much lower in this game. It doesn’t end in uncontrolled violence or death. However, there is still plenty of strategising, double-crossing and betrayal going around, from what we can tell from the trailer. So, without further ado, here is a first look at Squid Game: The Challenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O61C8zc8Znk

Squid Game: The Challenge is set to be a ten-episode series that features over 450 contestants, similar to the original show. They will be competing in games inspired by the source material for a cash prize of $4.56 million.

One of these games will be the infamous ‘red light, green light’, with the terrifying, oversized doll shooting red paint balls at failing contestants. Netflix pulled out all the stops to make this adaptation as realistic and haunting as the real deal, from the decor of the competition rooms to the green jumpsuits—an outfit that probably served as a Halloween costume for many gen Zers in the last two years.

Looks like the Netflix gods understood the assignment and turned out the closest possible version of the capitalist hellscape we’ve become used to.

When Squid Game: The Challenge was first announced, some audiences viewed this move by the streaming giant as quite controversial. After all, Squid Game is based on making poor people participate in degrading games for an amount of money that is spare change to some of the richest individuals on this planet. Gamifying this pointed critique about capitalist exploitation seemed tone-deaf and tactless.

On top of this, it was reported in February that some of the contestants are considering legal action against Netflix and the show’s production studios for workplace safety violations that resulted in inhumane working conditions, as well as negligence while filming. This might suggest that it was potentially too much of a close copy of the original.

Whether this is really the opportunity of a lifetime to make a small fortune or just a tasteless scam in which 450 contestants need to squirm for some cash, is something audiences will have to decide for themselves. Luckily, they won’t have to wait too long to make their verdict. Squid Game: The Challenge will be released on 22 November 2023.