It's official! Netflix's breakout hit Squid Game has been renewed for a second season.
Co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarantos confirmed the news in a recent interview and fans are in for a ride because the Netflix exec made it evident that there's more to look forward to for the Korean drama series.
Scroll down to see what the Netflix executive said about the hit show.
The first season of Squid Game debuted on Netflix on September 17, 2021 and quickly rose to the top charts, gaining 1.65 billion viewing hours in just 28 days.
The show's unique storyline and gritty shots piqued the interest of the viewers. The story centers on Gi-hun, who finds himself fighting to win a ₩45.6 billion prize pool (about $38.5 million).
The catch - players have to participate in children's games with deadly consequences.
Billion-dollar business, high fashion, philanthropy and more
The overwhelming response of the viewers made it easy for the dystopian series to break records. It became the most-watched series of the streaming platform and quickly turned into a global sensation.
But the series wasn't just racking up streaming numbers, it also received critical acclaim. It got nominations for cast in a drama series, actor in a drama series (Lee Jung-jae), actress in a drama series (Jung Ho-yeon), and stunt ensemble at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards. It is the first ever non-English series to score a nomination.
On Netflix’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings interview, co-CEO Ted Sarandos was asked if there would be a second season for the hit show.
“Absolutely,” Sarandos replied. “The ‘Squid Game’ universe has just begun.”
Sarandos also shares that the franchise has the potential to grow outside just streaming. There could be live experiences, games and merchandise lined up in the future for fans of the series.
Sarantos also praised his Netflix team for the surprise success of Squid Game.
“They didn’t try to make the show different so that it would travel, but tried to find all the things about Korean cinema and Korean drama and build them up in a way and new levels of production values,” he said.
“It’s not like we had to go in and teach anyone in Korea how to make great content. It’s an incredible market for that. There’s always been curiosity around the world, [the] K Drama market has always had pockets of success all over the place, but the ease of delivery that we’ve offered has pushed that into the mainstream.”
There is no word yet on when season 2 will be ready but according to writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk, he is already in the planning process.
