‘Squid Game’ Gets a Reality Competition Series at Netflix

If you ever thought you’d like to play Squid Game without the risk to your life, you’ll want to pay attention to the casting call for Netflix’s new reality competition series.

The streaming service has ordered Squid Game: The Challenge just days after officially renewing the global phenomenon for Season 2. (Squid Game holds the record as Netflix’s most popular series of all time, with over 1.65 billion view hours in the first 28 days after its September 2021 premiere.) Recruitment is now open at squidgamecasting.com, and the Front Man is looking for English-language speakers from any part of the world. The series will be filmed in the UK. Watch the promo below.

Squid Game: The Challenge features the largest cast (456 real players) and lump sum cash prize ($4.56 million) in reality TV history. As the players compete through a series of games inspired by the original show, as well as surprising new additions, their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them. The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is going home empty-handed.

“Squid Game took the world by storm with Director Hwang’s captivating story and iconic imagery. We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment,” Brandon Riegg, Netflix VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series said in a statement. “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 10-episode competition series is a co-production between Studio Lambert and The Garden, part of ITV Studios. Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt, and Toni Ireland from Studio Lambert and John Hay, Nicola Hill, and Nicola Brown from The Garden will serve as executive producers.