Netflix global hit
“Squid Game 2”: Already over 125 million views in eleven days
The Korean series “Squid Game” continues to attract millions of people around the world. Season two – viewed on its own – is already among the four most successful Netflix series ever.
In the first days of the new year, millions of Netflix customers worldwide were caught up in “Squid Game” fever. In the new weekly charts, the second season of the Korean series is by far the most successful production. The streaming giant Netflix has now announced a further 58.2 million views (week December 30th to January 5th). Added to the previous views, season two of the successful series already has 126.2 million views within eleven days.
The brutal drama about seemingly harmless but ultimately deadly children’s games is the most successful Netflix series ever. The first season of “Squid Game” was praised three years ago for its social criticism – it’s about social inequality, discrimination and pressure to perform.
Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently explained to the German Press Agency how he explains the global success: It is “a story that you can identify with – regardless of language, culture, religion or ethnicity.”
The seven new episodes (between 50 and 75 minutes long) went online on December 26th. After the second “Squid Game” season, there will be a third – and final – season this year.
In autumn 2021, the nine episodes of the first season were viewed a total of 265 million times in the first 90 days – more than any other Netflix series to date. Beyond the first 91 days, Netflix does not add anything to its so-called all-time charts, even though season one is currently appearing again in the weekly charts because many people are obviously watching (again).
Season two is already among the top series
Seen individually, season two of “Squid Game” is now the fourth most successful Netflix series – behind season one and the American comedy-horror series “Wednesday” and season four of the US mystery series “Stranger Things”.
The new documentary Making Squid Game – Season 2 as well as a “behind the scenes” clip offer insights into the creation process of the series phenomenon.
At Netflix, there are two categories for series (called “shows”) in the weekly and all-time charts: English and non-English (“English” and “Non-English”). The same applies to films (“movies”).
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.
The streaming entertainment service Netflix says it has 283 million paying subscribers worldwide. Its biggest competitors include Disney+ and Amazon’s Prime Video.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
