Green light, red light game played in 'Squid Game'. Photo: Netflix
Green light, red light game played in 'Squid Game'. Photo: Netflix
A scene from 'Squid Game'.
A scene from 'Squid Game'.
In the Netflix show, participants die when they fail to complete the games.
In the Netflix show, participants die when they fail to complete the games.
Oh Yeong-su plays Oh Il-nam, an elderly man with a brain tumour.
Oh Yeong-su plays Oh Il-nam, an elderly man with a brain tumour.
Jung HoYeon and Heo Sung-tae play characters who risk their lives to compete for the prize money.
Jung HoYeon and Heo Sung-tae play characters who risk their lives to compete for the prize money.
Lee Jung-jae as lead character Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict.
Lee Jung-jae as lead character Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict.
Anupam Tripathi as Pakistani worker Ali Abdul.
Anupam Tripathi as Pakistani worker Ali Abdul.
The show has been a runaway hit for Netflix since it premiered on September 21.
The show has been a runaway hit for Netflix since it premiered on September 21.
In 'Squid Game', players compete in adapted versions of popular children’s playground games in the hope of freeing themselves from financial burden.
In 'Squid Game', players compete in adapted versions of popular children’s playground games in the hope of freeing themselves from financial burden.
Jung HoYeon plays a North Korean defector in the series.
Jung HoYeon plays a North Korean defector in the series.
Masked enforcers ensure losers from each game are duly eliminated.
Masked enforcers ensure losers from each game are duly eliminated.

Culture

Television

'Squid Game' being made into non-fatal reality show for Netflix with $4.56m winnings

The new series, titled 'Squid Game: The Challenge', is a 10-episode competition inspired by the South Korean hit

Reuters

June 15, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Netflix's most-watched series is no longer only a fictitious television show after the streaming service greenlit "its biggest reality competition ever" called Squid Game: The Challenge.

Unlike the series where the stakes are life or death, the worst possible fate in this 456-player competition will be leaving without the $4.56 million winnings, which Netflix claims is the largest lump sum prize in reality TV history.

Squid Game became Netflix's most-watched series when it was released in September 2021. It told the story of cash-strapped contestants who play popular Korean children's games for a chance to win life-changing sums of money.

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

The 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, such as 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 fired when a player was ruled out.

Netflix’s reality show will be filmed in the UK and is currently only casting English speakers.

The announcement comes only days after the scripted series was renewed for a second season.

“And now, Gi-hun returns,” director, writer and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote in a letter to fans. “The Front Man returns. Season 2 is coming.”

Hwang revealed teasers about new characters and developments in his letter for season two.

“The man in the suit with ddakji might be back,” he wrote, referring to the mysterious man who recruits players.

Viewers will also meet Cheol-su, the “boyfriend” of Young-hee, the show's much-recognisable animatronic doll.

— The National contributed to this report

Real-life 'Squid Game' in Abu Dhabi — in pictures

Mohamed as The Front Man, left, with a guard during the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi. All Photos: Victor Besa / The National
Mohamed as The Front Man, left, with a guard during the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi. All Photos: Victor Besa / The National
The Squid Game event was held only over one day and featured 15 participants competing against one another in two sessions at the Korean Cultural Centre
The Squid Game event was held only over one day and featured 15 participants competing against one another in two sessions at the Korean Cultural Centre
Players who did not successfully complete the challenge get 'shot' with soft sponge toy guns to signal their elimination
Players who did not successfully complete the challenge get 'shot' with soft sponge toy guns to signal their elimination
In the dalgona game, players tried to cut out a preset shape in the honeycomb toffee without breaking it
In the dalgona game, players tried to cut out a preset shape in the honeycomb toffee without breaking it
Players were required to sign a paper agreeing to the rules before beginning the games – just like in the show
Players were required to sign a paper agreeing to the rules before beginning the games – just like in the show
The guards kept their eyes on everyone
The guards kept their eyes on everyone
The honeycomb toffee game, also known as the dalgona game, has become a viral trend on its own
The honeycomb toffee game, also known as the dalgona game, has become a viral trend on its own
A Squid Game guard holds up the South Korean and UAE flags at the Korean Cultural Centre
A Squid Game guard holds up the South Korean and UAE flags at the Korean Cultural Centre
The Korean Cultural Centre presented players with the same card as seen on the hit show
The Korean Cultural Centre presented players with the same card as seen on the hit show
Tin boxes with snacks were distributed to players after the Squid Game event
Tin boxes with snacks were distributed to players after the Squid Game event
Players begin playing green light, red light at the Korean Cultural Centre
Players begin playing green light, red light at the Korean Cultural Centre
Two players face off to play Ttakji during the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre
Two players face off to play Ttakji during the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre
Two other players compete in a marble game to see who can get their marble closest to the circle
Two other players compete in a marble game to see who can get their marble closest to the circle
Nam Chan-woo, director of the Korean Cultural Centre, before the start of the Squid Game event
Nam Chan-woo, director of the Korean Cultural Centre, before the start of the Squid Game event
Players get ready to play green light, red liight
Players get ready to play green light, red liight
Those who were eliminated had to put on skull stickers over the numbers on their shirt
Those who were eliminated had to put on skull stickers over the numbers on their shirt
The Korean Cultural Centre's version of glass stepping stones mean that players had to guess the right combination of numbers to cross over
The Korean Cultural Centre's version of glass stepping stones mean that players had to guess the right combination of numbers to cross over
The guards for the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre
The guards for the Squid Game event at the Korean Cultural Centre
A player takes a photo ahead of the event at the Korean Cultural Centre
A player takes a photo ahead of the event at the Korean Cultural Centre
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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Updated: June 15, 2022, 6:17 AM
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