The irony: Netflix dragged for announcing "Squid Game" reality show with $4.56M prize

Jun 15 2022, 4:57 pm

If you watched the hit Netflix show Squid Game, did you ever find yourself wondering what you would have done if it was your reality?

Well, be careful what you wish for.

Netflix has announced that it is turning the series into a ten-part reality show called Squid Game: The Challenge.

The competition will have 456 contestants, just like the original show. But due to the nature of Squid Game ā€” a dystopian satire that shows the depths of desperation capitalism can push people to ā€” many are pointing out the irony of creating something like this in real life.

In short, Netflix is getting dragged.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the moral stance of a show so completely misunderstood by the general public like Squid Game has been,” said podcaster Gene Goldstein.

Others jested about how the show originally kills off all non-winners.

Following the format, there’s going to be a huge sum of prize money to motivate the contestants ā€” the heftiest prize on a reality show yet, a whopping US$4.56 million in cold hard cash.

Squid Game took the world by storm with Director Hwangā€™s captivating story and iconic imagery,” said Netflix VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series Brandon Riegg in a statement. “Weā€™re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment.”

He added that fans are in for an “unpredictable journey” following real-world contestants battling it out with twists, turns, alliances, and strategies, for all that dough.

Honestly, it’s all ringing quite tone-deaf and the irony has escaped no one.

Squid Game: The Challenge will be filmed in the UK.

If you’d like to try your luck, recruitment for contestants is now open at SquidGameCasting.com. For this round, they’re only looking for English-language speakers, but you can be from any part of the world.

But if you’d just like to continue watching the original Squid Game (ya know, the scripted kind), you’re in for a treat. Earlier this week, Netflix announced it will be renewing the show for a second season.

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