Fans of Netflix’s Squid Game will be happy to hear that season two of the survival drama has finally been officially confirmed by its creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk.
The show has become the streaming service’s biggest series launch of all time, reaching a reported 142 million homes worldwide, and expected to rake in an estimated $900 million for the company, so it’s no surprise Netflix would be on board to bring the show back, though Hwang has said in previous interviews he was hesitant to helm the show’s return due to the tremendous amount of stress it was to write and direct each episode.
That hesitation was apparently dissipated as Hwang has recently confirmed to reporters “there will indeed be a second season.”
The South Korean show centers around people on the brink of financial ruin being recruited by a shadowy organization into a macabre contest. The 456 competitors are told if they win in a series of children’s games, they get a life-changing sum of $38 million. But the catch is if they lose, they die.
Hwang didn’t reveal much as far as concrete plot details, but our protagonist, Lee Jung-jae’s Seong Gi-hun will be returning.
“So, there’s been so much pressure, so much demand, and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice…But, I will say there will indeed be a second season. It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently. But I do think it’s too early to say when and how that’s going to happen.”
The show has proven to capture the zeitgeist, so to speak, inspiring everything from bank advertisements to TikTok trends and a cryptocurrency that turned out to be a scam.
Indeed, there is a dark side to the show’s popularity. There have been some reports in the U.K. of children recreating the games in the show on schoolyards and dishing out physical punishments for the losers. This has led to many schools, a town council, and even a psychologist issuing warnings to parents to not let their children watch the mature-rated show.
If you are old enough to handle its graphic content, you can watch all nine episodes of Squid Game on Netflix now.