Netflix has announced a new reality TV series based off their hit drama series Squid Game titled Squid Game: The Challenge. The streaming service made the announcement of the upcoming series at the Banff World Media Festival on Tuesday.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is advertising the series as the “biggest reality competition ever.” Squid Game: The Challenge will have 456 players competing in a series of games for the chance to win $4.56 million. Netflix claims the payout is the largest lump-sum cash prize in TV history (though Fox’s X Factor has previously given out recording contracts worth $5 million), and that the show likewise also sports the largest competition series cast ever assembled.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s VP of Unscripted and Documented Series, made a statement on the upcoming Squid Game-based reality show.
“Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] captivating story and iconic imagery,” Riegg said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment. Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest-ever cash prize at the end.”
The Hollywood Reporter also reported that the series will consist of 10 episodes. The announcement comes after Netflix announced on Sunday that a second season of Squid Game was officially on its way.
The original show’s debut season was released in September 2021 and holds the record as Netflix’s most popular series of all time, which had gained more than 1.65 billion view hours in its first 28 days.
Casting for Squid Game: The Challenge is now open for applications on the Squid Game Casting website. It is unclear when the show will debut, but the casting website says contestants must be available for at least four weeks in early 2023.