Netflix global hit: Second season of “Squid Game” got off to a brilliant start

The drama about seemingly harmless, but ultimately deadly children’s games is the most successful Netflix series ever: Now the second season of the Korean production “Squid Game” is off to a strong start. It was accessed around 68 million times worldwide within four days. This emerges from the latest Netflix weekly charts (December 23rd to 29th), which were published on Tuesday evening. The seven new episodes (between 50 and 75 minutes long) went online on December 26th.

The number of views on the streaming service Netflix cannot quite be equated with the number of viewers as with classic television. It is a calculated quantity that, according to Netflix, results from dividing the hours watched by the running time of the respective production.

Korean series was a surprise success in fall 2021

A total of 265 million views were registered for the nine episodes of season one in the first 90 days in autumn 2021 – more than for any other Netflix series to date. After the second “Squid Game” season, there will be a third – and final – season in 2025.

The streaming entertainment service Netflix claims to have 283 million paying subscribers worldwide (“in over 190 countries”). Its biggest competitors include Disney+ and Amazon’s Prime Video.

Season two of “Squid Game” does not provide a satisfactory conclusion; rather, fans are left with a cliffhanger, i.e. an open ending.

The first season of “Squid Game” was praised three years ago for its criticism of society and capitalism – growing inequality, discrimination against social minorities, extreme pressure to perform are themes, coupled with a lot of violence.

Series creator: “Squid Game” has global identification potential

Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk (53) recently told the German Press Agency how he explains his global success. “Each series has its own local and cultural code. But even though Squid Game is a non-English language series, it is a story you can relate to – regardless of language, culture, religion or ethnicity.” The optics also obviously appeal to people across borders.

“Squid Game” actually has everything that works well globally: iconic sequences that can be shared on Tiktok, brightly colored and computer game-like locations, masks and suits that can be easily marketed in cultural customs such as Carnival and Halloween.

The scary and (mostly) anonymous “soldiers” with their masks and pink overalls who monitor the games and mercilessly shoot those eliminated in their green tracksuits are particularly recognizable.

The main character wants to start the nasty game from within

And that’s what it’s about: 456 people, often with very high debts, are kidnapped to an island every year by a mysterious organization. There they have to take part in several Korean children’s games, which only end in a non-fatal way for one of them. Whoever passes all of them wins the jackpot of 45.6 billion won (currently the equivalent of around 30 million euros).

Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae (52)), who won the “Squid Game” of the first season as player 456, wants to find those behind the nasty competition and put an end to their evil activities. But the path to destroying the organization turns out to be difficult. That’s why 456 gets back on board to smash the “squid game” from the inside: “Guys, I already know this damn game! We’re all going to die!”