We live in a crazy yet super ambitious and innovative world, where just about anything seems possible. The same goes for good TV and movies, which combine just enough reality with a brand-new idea, leaving viewers wondering ‘what if those concepts actually happened in real life?!’.
We now have Netflix which has taken the concept of their highly accredited, critically-acclaimed South Korean drama series, Squid Game.
The show revolves around a number of desperate contestants who compete in a series of children’s games to win a huge cash prize – only, it turns out, their life is at stake in each of the games. It’s literally deadly – which leaves many of us wondering how a real-life adaptation of the game will work. We’re going to break this down for you.
The show’s success
Squid Game quickly became the most watched Netflix series ever, amassing over 1.65 billion hours of viewing from a staggering 142 million household viewers in its first 28 days. It’s clear to say the show was an instant hit, and a massive success for Netflix that may never be topped by any other show.
Squid Game and other Netflix hits have huge potential for marketers who could use AVOD services by Finecast or VOD advertising solutions to capitalise on the success of Netflix and their shows.
Netflix has certainly done all it can to capitalise on the success of the series – and we don’t blame them – many others have also taken advantage of the huge popularity of the show.
There are Squid Game escape rooms, experiences, tonnes of merchandise, and several YouTube videos in which creators have tried to recreate the formidable games represented in the show.
Mr Beast’s $456,000 real-life Squid Game has 283 million views. However, Netflix is taking this a step or two further by taking the widely recognised show and making it a real-life reality challenge show in which contestants will compete for a cash prize.
Netflix announce real-life Squid Game
Just days after Netflix announced that the extremely successful South Korean drama would be returning for a second season, the streaming giants also announced that they will be developing their own real-life version of Squid Game. Of course, this sparked a substantial amount of excitement, buzz and scepticism online.
Revealed to be named Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality competition show will consist of 456 contestants from all around the world, who will compete with each other in the games from the show for a whopping $4.65 million prize – that’s 3.8 million pounds!
How will it work?
Squid Game was a successful show but it’s not just because of the games themselves – the games had such huge risks – they were life or death. It’s also the characters and their development, the relationships, and the writing that made the show so great.
Squid Game’s aesthetic was another huge appeal of the show.
While we won’t be expecting any deaths or the shooting technology from the giant doll, we think the main appeal of the competition show will be the aesthetic and the props that replicate the drama.
Though there are certainly not going to be any deaths (just imagine the health and safety paperwork!), there is no doubt that a real-life Squid Game will not disappoint in terms of excitement and thrill-factor.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
