Squid Game: The Challenge trailer – first look at epic Netflix game show

❘ Published: 2023-10-23T15:55:52

Contestants in gameshow Squid Game: The Challenge.

Netflix

The first trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge has been released, giving a first glimpse at the 456 contestants competing for the $4.56 million prize.

Squid Game was a little short of a phenomenon for Netflix. The South Korean thriller revolved around a secret contest wherein 456 players competed for ₩45.6 billion prize. However, to win that money, players had to compete in a series of children’s games that frequently ended in death.

The brain-child of Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show became the streamer’s most-watched series globally, amassing a whopping $1.65 billion hours viewed in its first four weeks of release.

So it’s no surprise that Netflix wants to cash in on the show’s success, with a second season set to follow as well as this real-life version of the game show which hits next month.

Squid Game: The Challenge trailer – first look at epic Netflix game show

The first trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge can be viewed below – and certainly looks like the show it’s spinning off from, with the Dalgona honeycomb challenge, and Red Light/Green Light both making an appearance.

No one actually dies in this version, however. Instead, ink packs on their chest explode when players are eliminated, simulating their death.

Here’s how the streamer describes the show: “Though the reality version of Squid Game isn’t a matter of life or death, there’s still a lot on the line: 456 players will compete to win $4.56 million, Netflix’s largest cash prize in reality television history. Through a series of games, each player will be pushed to their limits and forced to ask themselves just how far they’ll go to win, with opportunistic alliances, cutthroat strategies, and timely betrayals to follow.”

We can hear allusions to those betrayals in the trailer, with one contestant stating: “I’m going to be your best friend, but I will absolutely double-cross you.” And another warning that “People’s true colors are starting to come out.”

Here’s how Netflix’s vice president of unscripted and documentary series Brandon Riegg previously described the show: “Later this year we’ll also debut our most ambitious competition series ever. Squid Game: The Challenge has 456 real players competing for $4.56 million – the largest lump sum cash prize in the history of reality television.”

“Squid Game took the world by storm with director Hwang [Dong-hyuk]’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.”

Squid Game: The Challenge arrives on November 22, 2023, with new episodes debuting weekly until the game’s conclusion, on December 6, 2023. While you can check out more Netflix previews below: