Photo: Netflix
Netflix’sSquid Game: The Challengehas found itself at the center of controversy one year after it was announced.
Loosely based on Netflix’s hit South Korean drama,Squid Game, the competition series — that asks its contestants, “How far will you go?” — features a near-identical replica of the hit show and its lethal games, minus the death and extreme violence for those who lose.
Like the original series, the unscripted game show cast 456 contestants — but this time, included players from around the world. They go head-to-head in various challenges based on the Korean children’s games featured in the originalSquid Game, in addition to new concepts as well.
For example, contestants will take on the challenge of creeping up on Mugunghwa, the creepy giant doll, while wearing movie-style blood packs that explode on their torso if they fail to complete the “Red light… Green Light” challenge as seen in thefirst teaser trailerreleased on June 18.
Furthermore, the players' outfitsmimic the uniforms the characters wearin the originalSquid Game,featuring green and white tracksuits with numbers. The guards, meanwhile, dress in the same red suits and black masks from the original drama and don’t speak a single word.
However, contestants who participated on the game show spoke out in February 2023 about the “inhumane” conditions they experienced while on set.Varietyheard from several of them, who cited filming amid a cold snap in Britain as one of the factors that led to medical attention on site.
While it’s unclear how the success ofSquid Game: The Challengewill compare to the scripted drama that becameNetflix’s “biggest series launch ever”(with over 111 million viewers), scroll on for everything to know about the game show and its controversies.
What isSquid Game: The Challengeabout?
YOUNGKYU PARK/Netflix
The official logline forSquid Game: The Challengereads: “Though the reality version of ‘Squid Game‘ isn’t a matter of life or death, there’s still a lot on the line: 456 players will compete to win $4.56 million, the largest cash prize in reality television history."
It continues, “Through a series of games, each player will be pushed to their limits and forced to ask themselves just how far they’ll go to win, with opportunistic alliances, cutthroat strategies and timely betrayals to follow.”
When did theSquid Game: The Challengecontroversy begin?
Noh Juhan/Netflix
When Netflix first announcedSquid Game: The Challenge, it immediately raised concern and a number of questions due to the extremely violent nature seen in the original Korean series the game show is based on.
But it wasn’t until contestants — who weren’t paid to participate in the series — voiced their negative experiences after they were eliminated from the competition that the controversy was further fueled, particularly pegged to participants' treatment on set.
On Jan. 24,The Sunwas the first to report on the harsh, frigid playing environment in an article titled, “Squid Game Horror in UK.” It revealed that players had been left freezing in a cavernous airplane hanger in Bedford, playing games that required them to hold statue-like poses for nearly 30 minutes.
Players toldThe Sun: “It was like a warzone. People left in tears.” Another said, “Even if hypothermia kicked in then people were willing to stay for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line.”
What happened on the set ofSquid Game: The Challenge?
According toVariety, players “were told the actual game would take roughly two hours to play and shoot, but instead that turned into an almost seven-hour ordeal for some contenders.” Amid the unforgiving temperatures and physical demands, several contestants reportedly collapsed on set.
A British-born contestant named John told the outlet that he — along with roughly 228 others — “died” playing the very first challenge, resulting in immediate elimination from the show on Jan. 23. The game was “Red Light Green Light.”
When speaking withVariety, John compared it to a “Bear Grylls survival show,” admitting that he and the other contestants most likely wouldn’t have “gone through with it” if production “had told us it was going to be that cold.”
“It’s not like we signed up for ‘Survivor’ or ‘Naked and Afraid,’” she added. “The conditions were absolutely inhumane and had nothing to do with the game.”
One former contestant toldRolling Stone:“It was just the cruelest, meanest thing I’ve ever been through.” She added, “We were a human horse race, and they were treating us like horses out in the cold racing and [the race] was fixed.”
“All the torment and trauma we experienced wasn’t due to the game or the rigor of the game,” another former player added. “It was the incompetencies of scale — they bit off more than they could chew.”
What has theSquid Gamecreator said about the reality show?
Meanwhile, the production companies denied claims of a fixed game, saying “any suggestion that the competition is rigged or claims of serious harm to players are simply untrue.” Netflix, The Garden and Studio Lambert released thejoint statementin early February.
“We care deeply about the health of our cast and crew, and the quality of this show. Any suggestion that the competition is rigged or claims of serious harm to players are simply untrue. We’ve taken all the appropriate safety precautions, including after care for contestants – and an independent adjudicator is overseeing each game to ensure it’s fair to everyone," the statement continued.
Prior to the harsh filming conditions players experienced on set,Squid GamecreatorHwang Dong-hyukexpressedhis worries that his scripted show’soriginal plot wouldn’t translate wellto the upcoming competition series featuring real people.
When doesSquid Game: The Challengepremiere?
Squid Game: The Challengeis slated to premiere on Netflix in November 2023.
source: people.com
