Netflix has released a new teaser announcing the return of the popular South Korean show Squid Game for a second season.
Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, this 2021 Korean Netflix Original series became a massive global phenomenon on the streaming giant. People worldwide enjoyed the violent and gruesome premise, which was a sharp commentary on capitalism, hierarchy, power structures, economic problems and the general degradation of human morality.
The vicious and brutal show starred Lee Jung-Jae, Park Hae-Soo, Jung HoYeon, Anupam Tripathi, and Wi Ha-Joon. The nine-episode series saw 456 odd participants confined in tight spaces manoeuvered by strange shapes while constantly overseen by masked men. They are compelled to participate in brutal children’s games that cost them their lives just for the winner to win whopping prize money worth 45.6 billion Korean Won.
While Squid Game struggled to get picked for nearly ten years, Netflix acquired it for $21.4 million before becoming an international success. With a viewership of over 142 million households, the series garnered $890 million in “impact value”, which is Netflix’s measure to see how good a show is to the company.
Pon the news of its renewal, Bucket Studio shares rose by 24%. Bucket Studio holds a stake in Lee Jung-Jae’s agency.
While Netflix has been facing massive subscriber loss and falling stock prices, a stock price rise seems hopeful for Netflix. Perhaps, the arrival of season two would help restore Netflix’s original glory.
Korean content has been quite popular, with Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite and the K-Pop band BTS causing ripples worldwide. However, Squid Game helped local K-Drama content receive international acclaim, introducing the world to its current Korean pop-cultural high.
Take a look at the teaser below: