Netflix officially confirmed that Squid Game is definitely getting a second season. It’s not exactly a surprise, since the Korean survival drama was the most successful show for the streamer ever, becoming a massive worldwide hit. So it’s not exactly a surprise that the company is trying to expand it even further, into a full “universe.”
Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos was asked if the show would be returning during a call about Netflix’s fourth quarter earnings. He said, “Absolutely. The Squid Game universe has just begun.”
Something about Sarandos calling it a “universe” is a little worrying, because Netflix is seemingly going to do their best to turn Squid Game into a tentpole franchise. That’s fine if all of the content remains as sharp and incisive as the original series, but if there’s Squid Games official merch and video games and theme park, it might water down the show’s anti-capitalist message just a bit. Costumes from the show were already a disturbing Halloween trend among kids in 2021.
The show’s creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk said back in November that he was already working on ideas for season two. He also confirmed that the show’s lead, Lee Jung-Jae, would return to play Seong Gi-Gun, the down on his luck chauffeur with a lot of gambling debts.
Hwang said at the time, “I do think it’s too early to say when and how that’s going to happen. So I will promise you this, Gi-Hun will come back. He will do something for the world.”
According to Netflix, Squid Game logged 1.54 billion hours of views during its first 28 days, with 111 million views (though of course that number is self-reported). Squid Game also became the first foreign language television show to ever be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, with four nominations, including solo ones for Lee and HoYeon Jung.