'Squid Game' Is Coming Back for Season 2, Netflix Boss Confirms
Squid Game is back for more.
Netflix is officially moving forward with a second season of its breakout survival drama of 2021, the streaming service's co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed on an earnings call Thursday.
Sarandos shared the news when he was asked about the future of the Korean series, following indications from cast members and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk that Squid Game would be back for a new installment. "Absolutely," he said on the call, as Variety reports. "The Squid Game universe has begun."
The confirmation comes at the 21-minute mark from Netflix's earnings call, which was also captured in the below video.
A move for more Squid Game comes after Netflix crowned the international phenomenon, led by storied Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, as its biggest and most popular original series ever. The streamer said last fall that in the first 28 days of release since its Sept. 17 debut, it had reached 111 million fans. In November, Netflix shared that Squid Game had pulled in 1.65 billion hours of viewing in its first four weeks, over twice the amount for its No. 2 show, Shonda Rhimes' Regency drama Bridgerton.
At a November event celebrating Squid Game's success, Hwang indicated that he was already working on a plan for a sophomore season.
"Season 2, I'm in the middle of brainstorming. Yeah, I mean after this huge success, we've got to do something about season 2," Hwang shared with ET's Leanne Aguilera at the time, acknowledging that he's not sure "how and when it will come out." "So it will come out. I believe it will come out."
"Season 2, it's all cooking in his brain right here," Lee, who walked the carpet with Hwang, told ET. "So there's high expectations for the second season. Because of such huge success for season 1, I feel like a lot of expectations have been built up, so it's going to be tough to meet them. But again, it's all in his head right here."
The series has been recognized for numerous high-profile awards, including three Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Lee Jung-jae) and Best Foreign Language Series, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. It won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Television for O Yeong-su.
Squid Game follows 456 participants from all walks of life, who are locked into a secret location where they play deadly games in order to win 45.6 billion Korean won (equivalent to $38.2 million). Every game is a Korean traditional children's game, such as "Red Light, Green Light," but the consequence of losing is death.
Squid Game is streaming now on Netflix. For more, watch below.
‘Squid Game’: What to Know About Netflix’s No. 1 Show
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