Can Netflix's 'Squid Game' pull a 'Parasite'? K-drama could make history at Emmys

'Squid Game' would become the first K-drama to be nominated at the Primetime Emmys
Squid Game is Netlix's most-watched show at the moment (@NetflixKR/Twitter)
Squid Game is Netlix's most-watched show at the moment (@NetflixKR/Twitter)

Everyone’s favorite Netflix show at the moment might just make history. The popular K-drama ‘Squid Game’ reached new heights of fame as it was watched globally and has been trending on social media for weeks. Subject to several discourses, fan theories and analysis, the K-drama is the talk of the town. According to Netflix, the show was #1 in more than 90 countries. And now it may even make history by getting nominated for an Emmy.

We had last seen this global phenomenon in 2020 when the fourth season of ‘Money Heist’ aka ‘La Casa De Papel’ was rediscovered by Netflix users and ended up going viral. And now the same thing has happened with the Korean-language show ‘Squid Game’. K-drama watchers, as well as those who have never watched a K-drama, are obsessed with the show. With the probability of Season 2 being high, thanks to the positive reception, it looks like the show is also set to make a name in the award show circuit like the Emmys.

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'Squid Game' eligible for Emmy

Variety reported on October 7 that they had looked into the eligibility of ‘Squid Game’ and if it could be nominated for a Primetime Emmy. Well, it looks like the odds are in our favor. When asked, the Television Academy confirmed that the K-drama would indeed be eligible and if sent in, it could be nominated for Emmy awards. The criteria for getting nominated for the American award is to have an American distributor with the aim of distributing the TV show in the USA. And with Netflix being an American company, ‘Squid Game’ is in luck.

However, there is a pro and a con. Since ‘Squid Game’ was actually produced by an international production company, it is also eligible for the International Emmys. But the show cannot choose to enter both award shows. The Primetime Emmy is organized by LA’s TV Academy while the International Emmy is organized by New York’s International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The two have a policy that does not allow shows to be nominated at both award shows. So, the production of ‘Squid Game’ will have to choose which award show will they most likely win and send it there.



 

But the general prediction happens to be that ‘Squid Game’ could very well pull a ‘Parasite’. The 2019 Korean language film swept the award show circuit last year and even became the first non-English film to get an Oscar for the ‘Best Picture’. Many believe that if the ‘Squid Game’ is sent to the Primetime Emmys, it could make history by becoming the first K-drama to be nominated and probably win. Meanwhile, South Korea has been nominated in the past at the International Emmys. This year ‘I-Land’ and ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’ were nominated for the International Emmys.

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