Netflix announces Squid Game-inspired reality show with $4.56 million cash prize

Netflix has announced a new 10 episode series – Squid Game: The Challenge.

The show inspired by its most popular series of all time, Squid Game, would offer the ‘largest cast and lump cash prize in reality TV history’. Netflix termed it the ‘biggest reality competition ever’. Unlike the Korean dystopian drama, life or death will not be at stake in the new reality series. 456 recruits from around the world will play games to win or ‘miss out’ on a $4.56 million cash prize.

Players will compete through a series of games inspired by the original show – plus surprising new additions, Netflix announced on Tuesday. The player’s ‘strategies, alliances, and character’ will be put to the test, while competitors are eliminated around them.

Earlier in June, Netflix also confirmed that the popular Korean series Squid Game would be renewed for a second season. The show saw contestants from different backgrounds compete by playing childhood games for a chance to win a huge cash prize. After releasing in September 2021, it became the streaming platform’s most-watched series.

The first season holds the record as Netflix’s most popular series of all time, with over 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days, the company said.

The new 10-episode reality competition will include games inspired by the original show, as well as new additions, Netflix said. One of YouTube’s top US creators, MrBeast, did an unofficial iteration of this idea by recreating aspects of the South Korean drama’s set and hosting games featured in the show, like “Red Light, Green Light.” The YouTuber also opted out of the killing aspect but strapped a device to all 456 players that mimicked a bullet shot when a player was ruled out.

The reality show will be filmed in the UK and is currently only casting English speakers. The announcement comes just days after the scripted series was renewed for a second season.