Is Squid Games reality or scripted?

Netflix is recruiting participants for a reality TV show inspired by its most popular series of all time, Squid Game.

However, it will not be life or death that is at stake, as depicted in the South Korean dystopian drama.

Instead, 456 recruits from around the world will play games where "the worst fate is going home empty-handed" - missing out on a $4.56m (£3.8m) prize.

Netflix also confirmed that the popular series would be renewed for a second season earlier this week.

On Wednesday, the platform announced that its new 10-episode series - Squid Game: The Challenge - would offer the "largest cast and lump cash prize in reality TV history".

"As [players] compete through a series of games inspired by the original show - plus surprising new additions - their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them," it added.

Participants need to be at least 21 years old. They must speak English, and be available for up to 4 weeks in early 2023 for filming.

The 456 participants are a nod to the fictional series, which features the same number of players, with its main protagonist Seong Gi-hun also referred to as Player 456.

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The South Korean thriller series tells the story of debt-ridden people competing for a huge cash prize in a deadly series of children's games.

It holds the record as Netflix's most-popular series of all time, and it was streamed by 111 million users in its first 28 days of its launch.

Director, writer and executive producer of Squid Game Hwang Dong-hyuk said in a statement on Monday: "It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever."

Netflix faces intense competition from streaming rivals, but was also hit after it raised prices and left Russia.

In April, it revealed a sharp drop in subscribers and warned millions more are set to quit the streaming service.

This wiped more than $50bn off the firm's market value as experts warned it faced a struggle to get back on track.

The Korean-made Netflix hit Squid Game is about the desperation of survival in a system rigged against you if you’re at the bottom, and the dark labyrinths of human psychology that lead us to become strangers even to ourselves. The Squid Game itself is gory for sure, but the most uncomfortable parts in the show may be the complex games played in the “real world.”

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had to fight for a decade for his vision to come to fruition. His project was passed on for years, but the worldwide conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic made his show concept look more attractive to producers. It has certainly paid off, as the show has hit a nerve with the global zeitgeist, and led many to ask “Is the Squid Game real? Could the Squid Game really happen?”

While there is no real-world equivalent to the Squid Game depicted on the show, the fiction works so well because it’s rooted in real problems and experiences. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is no stranger to desperation. At some point he had to quit writing the script for Squid Game because he needed money and the only thing he had to sell was his laptop. He let it go for $675, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Real Squid Games will happen in real life

Although there is no known precedent of world elites organizing and betting on a game where debtors fight each other to the death for a massive cash prize, The Korean Cultural Center in the United Arab Emirates is currently putting together a real world “Squid Game”-themed event. While this event will mimic the four of the s children’s games from the show, there will be no death or violence involved. There is also be no prize money.

50-year-old Dong-hyuk came up with the Squid Game show concept over ten years ago while living with his mom and grandmother. He started planning it in 2008 and finished it in 2009.

At first, studios bristled at the dark premise of indebted people willing to die for a chance to win money. “The idea of a game-winner who strikes it rich was unwelcomed. The brutality and cruelty of the games were of concern. I had to put the scenario on the shelf,” Dong-hyuk said of his previous rejections.

Now, it all seems more plausible as the gap between the rich and the poor has grown more and more over the years, with deadly consequences. The wealth gap isn’t just about differences in comfort and convenience, it’s often about life and death. The difference isn’t just on an individual level. There are rich countries and poor countries in our global economic ecosystem. Dong-hyuk has pointed out, according to the WSJ, that even vaccine rollouts are based on a countries’s wealth.

What are the influences of Squid Game?

Dong-hyuk has said that he was influenced by “survival manga” like Battle Royale, As the Gods Will, Liar’s Game and Alice in Borderland. He spent years reading these mangas in cafes during a time when he was undergoing financial hardships. He no doubt drew from his own experience, and witnessing the struggles of those around him to inspire the insidious world of Squid Game.

The real life game behind Squid Game

Although Red Light, Green Light, the first bloody game played by the desperate characters in the show, Squid Game isn’t really known in the U.S. It was, however, Dong-hyuk’s favorite childhood game. He picked it as the title because of his fondness for it, and because it’s so physically demanding.

To play Squid Game, which is a kind of tag, a squid-shaped board is drawn in the dirt. Players are formed into two teams: offensive and defensive. The objective for the offensive players is to get their foot into the section that represents the squid’s head without being touched by the opposing team.

The defensive players have to remain in their lines while tagging the offensive players. Until the offensive team members get to the squid’s midsection, they have to jump on one foot.