Almost exactly three months ago it was announced that the evil series "Squid Game" would become a reality show. "Squid Game" is the most successful Netflix series of all time. In addition to the already announced second season, a ten-part game show series will be released on Netflix in the future, entitled "Squid Game: The Challenge". 456 players are to fight for prize money of 4.56 million US dollars (equivalent to around 4.56 million euros).

Behind the South Korean series "Squid Game" is the series creator, author and director Hwang Dong-hyuk (51). At the Emmy Awards a few days ago, he received the award for "Best Director" for the opening episode "Red Light, Green Light". On this occasion, Hwang also commented on the planned reality series, the concept of which was criticized from many sides. "I don't think taking things too seriously is the best path for the entertainment industry," the series creator said.

Rather, the implementation of a series premise as a game show opens up "a great new direction for the [entertainment] industry as a whole," according to Hwang.

Commentators previously criticized "Squid Game: The Challenge" for converting the original series' anti-capitalism message into an entertainment format. Hwang also explained at the start of the series in 2021 that his show would depict the "extreme competition" in "modern capitalist society" in an allegorical way.

And in his new statement, the series creator also admits that "Squid Game" would "actually send a pretty heavy message". However, the South Korean series maker apparently does not see the game show as problematic. Instead, he hopes that the format will continue its "vision and intention as much as possible". To this end, he also met with the creators of the Netflix spin-off, who asked him "a lot of questions".