TV

A ‘Squid Game’ Reality Show Is Coming To Netflix And With All Due Respect, Can We Not?

Thanks, I hate it.

by Reena Gupta  16 June 2022

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A real-life reality show based on Netflix’s fictional K-Drama Squid Game is actually on its way to a streaming service near you, and we’re powerless to stop it.

The competition even boasts a cash prize of $4.5 million USD, which is apparently the biggest pile of prize money of any reality TV competition in history. But unlike in Hwang Dong-hyuk’s 2021 Netflix series, unsuccessful contestants will live to see another day.

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“Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] captivating story and iconic imagery,” reckons Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s VP of unscripted and documentary series. “We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment.” What? What did you do, Dong-hyuk?

“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.”

As you can imagine, fans of the original series — which was 12 years in the making — are reeling over the announcement, insisting that given Squid Game is a pointed indictment of life in Korea under capitalism, turning it into a actual show is kind of missing the point.

But alas! It’s happening anyway, and as we wait with bated breath for the next critique of capitalism to be subsumed by capitalism itself, we leave you with this series of reaction tweets.