Reality TV ‘Squid Game’ Coming to Netflix – The Hollywood Reporter

Netflix It is real life organization squid game The series has been described as the “biggest reality competition ever”.

The broadcast company announced a reality TV production based on its miserable global success at Banff International Media Festival on Tuesday.

While the stakes would not be life or death (presumably), Squid Game: Challenge It will feature 456 players competing in a series of games for a chance to win $4.56 million. Netflix claims the payout is the biggest cash prize in TV history (though Fox’s x factor It has previously given $5 million in recording contracts), and the show also features the biggest competition series ever assembled.

“squid game Take the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] “A captivating story and iconic visuals,” said Brandon Rigg, Netflix Vice President of Unwritten Documentary Series. “We are grateful for his support as we transform the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experience. Drama fans are on a fascinating and unexpected journey as 456 contestants navigate the real world in the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest cash prize ever in the the end “.

The announcement was made at the festival by the head of global TV broadcasting Bela Bajaria during a panel moderated by The Hollywood ReporterManaging Editor Nixa Mumbai Modi.

The reality contest will consist of 10 episodes (one more than the first season of the drama series) and has also released a teaser video:

This announcement comes on the heels of Netflix Official renewal squid game for a second season. The first season of the survival drama was released in South Korea in September and holds the record as the most popular Netflix series of all time, with over 1.65 billion watch hours in its first 28 days. The fourth season of . has been released Weird things It ranks second in the most watched live broadcast.

The idea of ​​making a realistic copy of squid game Probably a no-brainer, and it was obvious enough for someone to actually do it – YouTube star MrBeast spawned an unofficial comment squid game The competition has garnered more than 250 million views since its release in November. 25 minute video He received acclaim from Hwang, (“I watched some of it, I loved it, it helps me promote the show,” he said), while Netflix has not commented on it.

casting for Squid Game: Challenge Now open to applications in SquidGameCasting.com. Netflix is ​​looking for contestants from all over the world, but they must be English speakers – a controversial mandate perhaps given that the original series was almost entirely in Korean. The language rule is a realistic rule, the gameplay directions are given through the loudspeaker and every player must be able to understand what is being said. Players are allowed to speak other languages, as long as they can also speak and understand English. If the show is successful, other language versions may be produced, just as Netflix reality shows like Circle And the love is blind It has been adapted to different countries.

Production will be particularly difficult, as the producers won’t know who’s going to survive in advance, and so they must get enough coverage of all 456 contestants in the early stages of the game in order to craft a mod that will follow the show’s “champions” all the way through. The challenges will be inspired by the drama, but there will be variations and additions to keep players away.

squid game It tells the story of a divorced father and gambler (Lee Jung-jae) who enters a secret competition where 456 players compete in a series of court games such as tug of war. Losers are executed each round until one victor remains.

It is not yet clear how the $4.56 million will be distributed to the reality show. Will the winner get it all like in the drama? Or will the money be distributed to a certain number of finalists, as in other competitions with a large number of competitors such as the World Series of Poker?

the challenge It is a co-production of Studio Lambert (Circle(and the garden)24 hours in A&E), which is part of ITV Studios, and will be filmed in the UK. Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt and Tony Ireland of Lambert Studio; John Hay, Nicola Hill and Nicola Brown of The Garden will serve as executive producers.