Squid Game: The Challenge

Squid Game: The Challenge is a British reality competition television series based on the South Korean dystopian survival thriller drama television series Squid Game. Both the first and second seasons featured 456 players competing for million (at the time, this was largest cast & single cash prize in reality TV history).

The Netflix original was produced as a collaboration between independent television production companies Studio Lambert and the Garden, with Studio Lambert leading physical production in the UK. Season one's first five episodes were released on 22 November 2023, episodes 6–9 were released on 29 November, and episode 10, the season's finale, was released on 6 December. Season two's first four episodes were released on 4 November 2025, episodes 5–8 were released on 11 November and the season's finale, episode 9, was released on 18 November.

The show was No. 1 on Netflix's list of Top 10 English-language shows for the first two weeks after its release. It had 20.5 million views in its first week, 11.4 million in its second, and 6.6 million in its third, with a total of over 224 million hours watched within the first 21 days.

On 10 July 2025, the show was renewed for a third season. On 3 March 2026, Netflix announced that the third season, retitled Squid Game: The VIP Challenge, would feature 8 celebrity VIP players.

Series overview

Season 1 Episodes The first five were released on 22 November 2023. Episodes 6–9 were released on 29 November, while episode 10, the finale, was released on 6 December.

Game summary Due to size constraints, this table only includes the top 20 contestants.

Color key:

+ Season 1 Contestant Episode ProgressContestantsEpisodesNumberName123678910 2. Dalgona 4. Marbles Allegiance Test 5. Glass BridgeDie Test Button Test 287 MaiWIN StarWIN Group 2LOSE097: JadaWIN286: Chad20 (by 182)WIN278 4RISKWINTriangleWINNER 451 Phill Star Group 7LOSEWIN278: Ashley10 (by 418)WIN451 2WINRUNNER-UP 016 Sam Star Group 5RISK344: CharlieWIN023: Siobhan17 (by 286)WIN016 4WINOUT 355 Hallie Circle Group 8LOSE410: DemiWIN429: Elliott18 (by 429)WIN355 2019, 287OUT 278 Ashley Circle Group 3WIN229: PhalisiaWIN016: Sam05 (by 031)WINRISK451OUT 051 Triangle Group 3RISK080: RachelleWIN221: Charles12 (by 269)WIN451OUT 429 Elliott Circle Group 8LOSE 427: TrudyWIN418: Roland09 (by 016)WIN429 3287OUT 019 Amanda CircleGroup 6WIN 336: BrianWIN393: Jackie19 (by 023)WIN019 3451OUT 418 Roland Umbrella Group 8LOSE202: ElliottWIN301: Trey08 (by 451)WIN418 3051OUT 286 Chad Circle Group 7LOSE 334: RobertWIN254: Mikie11WINOUT 031 Purna Circle Group 4WIN 339: RobWINSAFE06 (by 278)WINOUT 018 Bee CircleGroup 6WIN 361: MelissaWIN019: Amanda16 (by 051)WINOUT 269 James Circle Group 4WIN312: AlexisWIN031: Purna15 (by 301)OUT 254 Mikie Triangle Group 2LOSE087: KyleWIN077: Marina14 (by 355)OUT 023 Siobhan Triangle Group 5RISK054: LuciaWIN13 (by 077)OUT 393 Jackie Star Group 6WIN382: TimWIN451: Phill07 (by 254)OUT 301 Trey Circle Group 5WIN302: LeAnnWIN269: James03 (by 221)OUT 077 Marina Circle Group 5WINWIN018: BeeOUT 221 Charles Star Group 5WIN179: ChaneyWIN355: Hallie02 (by 019)OUT 182 TJ StarGroup 5WIN183: JesseWIN287: Mai01 (by 393)OUT

Season 2 Episodes Season 2 premiered as a three-week event; the episodes were released in batches with the first four episodes being released on 4 November 2025, episodes 5 through 8 were released on 11 November and the finale, episode 9, was released on 18 November.

Game summary

Due to size constraints, this table only includes the top 18 contestants.

Color key:

+ Season 2 Contestant Episode ProgressContestantsEpisodesNumberName123456789 Count Test 4. Marbles Monitor Test 5. Slides Coin Test 072 Perla JegiWIN 1st BallWINWIN WIN6thWINWINGold CoinWINNER 302 Dajah 1st Ball 134: AjhiaWIN3rdWINWINGold CoinRUNNER-UP 183 Steven Jegi 4th Ball232: EmilyWIN4th361, 412WINWINGold CoinOUT 017 Vanessa Gonggi 1st Ball WIN1stWINWINGold CoinOUT 398 Trinity Flying Stone 1st Ball 181: ManelWIN PASSWINRISKWIN 327 Kate Card HouseRISK 303: ChellyWIN5th110WINRISKOUT 412 AJ Gonggi 1st Ball 021: MarcusWIN5thOUT 318 Christopher Gonggi 3rd Ball 203: TiffanyWIN1st327OUT 361 Faith Card House 4th Ball 102: EmilieWIN3rd412OUT 409 Claire Flying Stone 7th Ball 427: JuliaWIN4102nd183OUT 110 Melissa Card HouseRISK 415: EricWIN2nd318OUT 451 Mackenzie Jegi 4th Ball WINOUT 378 Justin Flying Stone 3rd Ball 193: LizzieWINOUT 383 Emily Gonggi 3rd Ball 105: JayWINOUT 369 Zoë Card HouseRISK 370: CurtWINOUT 346 Drake Gonggi 125: DimitriWINOUT 402 Kevin Flying Stone 4th Ball 086: NicholasWINOUT 410 Isaiah Jegi 4th Ball342: DarrylWINOUT

Season 3: The VIP Challenge

Season 3, retitled Squid Game: The VIP Challenge, is confirmed, but no official release date has been announced. It will feature 8 celebrity VIP players.

The Celebrity players are Owning Manhattan's Ryan Serhant, NBA champion Tristan Thompson, Mel B of the Spice Girls, content creator Kristy Sarah, The Real Housewives of Atlanta'''s Kim Zolciak, Bachelor Nation's Hannah Godwin, television personality Dylan Efron, and Season 2 returnee – Player 152 Viper, who was selected by fans to return to the competition as the winner of the Second Chance Fan Vote.

Production In June 2022, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order.

Casting Applications for the series opened in June 2022 with an announcement video released on YouTube. Netflix sought contestants from around the world but mandated that they must be English-speaking. The streaming service put out a final casting call in September 2022. Approximately 81,000 applied to be contestants.

With 456 real players, the series claims to have the largest cast in reality TV history. The most players are from the United States, are in their 20s, and are men.

Filming

Filming for the first season began in January 2023 across two studios in the UK, Cardington Studios in Bedford and on six giant sound stages in The Wharf Studios, Barking, London.

Reports emerged that ambulances had been called to treat real-life injuries sustained while filming the first season. Several players claimed in an interview that "Red Light, Green Light" had actually lasted for 7 hours, where players had to hold poses for up to 30 minutes. Netflix denied the severity of the reports, stating that the injuries were mild medical conditions and that they care about the health and safety of the cast and crew. The local ambulance service also stated it had not been called out to the studios. Britain's Health and Safety Executive evaluated the production after these complaints and found no actionable issues. Two unnamed players from the show threatened to sue Netflix after claiming that they had hypothermia during filming.

Game fairness and conditions Four contestants of the first season of Squid Game: The Challenge made claims that the games were "rigged" and that filming conditions were poor. For example, for the game "Red Light, Green Light", players were forced to play in an unheated hangar for over nine hours, while medics tended to those who were unable to handle the low temperatures. In addition, in this game there were players who reached the finish line, but were still eliminated. One player also claimed to have seen another player who was eliminated but still able to rejoin the game.

Reception Viewership In its release week (20–26 November 2023), Squid Game: The Challenge was the most-watched show globally on Netflix, with 85.7 million hours. It reached number one in 74 countries that same week, including the US and UK – and was Top 10 in a further 19 countries.

The series stayed at number one globally on Netflix into a second week (27 November – 3 December 2023), with 11.4 million views and 85 million hours watched. It was Top 10 in TV in 91 different countries that week. The reality competition series also boosted the original drama series Squid Game to number seven on the Non-English TV list with 1.5 million views that week.

In its third week post-release, Squid Game: The Challenge came in third place globally. It added 6.6 million views and 54.1 million hours viewed.

Critical response The show received a mixed reception from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 45% based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Challenge can be an addictive binge thanks to the sheer ingenuity of Squid Games' set pieces, but playing the original series' barbed satire completely straight gives this spinoff a soulless aftertaste." Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 22 critics reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ryan Smith wrote in Newsweek, "Netflix's new spin-off of the thrilling Korean drama not only succeeds but triumphs in bringing to screens one of the most compelling TV competitions of the decade". In the Financial Times, Dan Einav proclaimed the "Netflix megahit becomes an irresistible reality show", while the Radio Times stated that Squid Game: The Challenge "not only lives up to the original, but with the new twists, challenges, and the real-life prize fund at stake, it's even more intense than the hit show". In Vulture, Nicholas Quah said "not only does Squid Game: The Challenge qualify as damn good reality television, it even serves as an unexpectedly effective adaptation of the original K-drama. The game show uses the language of modern reality television to realize, in its own strange way, the themes in Dong-hyuk's parable of capitalism grinding human beings into dust". Quah concluded "Squid Game: The Challenge isn't just a good reality show. It's a morally righteous one". Writing in The Guardian, critic Rebecca Nicholson said, "The real-life version of the Netflix drama is a grandiose, addictive spectacle that will have you shouting at your TV before the end of episode one."

Some critics have suggested the unscripted version misses the point of the drama. The Hollywood Reporter called it "a brand extension that fundamentally misunderstands what the brand was meant to represent in the first place", continuing "you can take the anti-capitalism out of Squid Game – but capitalism will always find a way to rear its ugly head". In The Telegraph, Jasper Rees said "the reality remake loses none of the tension or intrigue" of the drama, continuing "I…am agog to discover how ruthless the last dollar-driven survivors can be". Chase Hutchinson for Collider found it "shameless and opportunistic" and concluded "if the corrupt forces of capitalism could be made into a shambling corpse of television, it would look like Squid Game: The Challenge".

Accolades Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design for a Variety, Reality, or Competition Series Mathieu Weekes and Benjamin Norman BPG AwardsBest Entertainment Squid Game: The ChallengeRTS AwardsEntertainment British Academy Television AwardsBest Reality People's Choice Awards The Competition Show of the Year Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Casting for a Reality ProgramRachael Stubbins, Emma Shearer, Robyn Kass and Erika Dobrin Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Diccon Ramsay (for "Red Light, Green Light") Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality or Competition Series Mathieu Weekes, Ben Norman and Lizzie Chambers (for "War") Artios Awards Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Reality Series (Competition) Erika Dobrin, Robyn Kass, Christopher Burnley, Tony Miros

Squid Game: The Challenge

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