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'Squid Game: The Challenge' reality series annonced, fans say Netflix saved money for this after laying off staff

Netflix greenlights reality series based on 'Squid Game' and fans are not amused by the idea

Netflix has a knack for coming out with stories that are unique and immediately strikes a chord with people. That's why shows like 'Money Heist' and 'Sex Education' have been some of the most-watched shows on the streaming service. One of the projects that shook the world was none other than 'Squid Game', a Korean drama that sees 456 players playing easy yet dangerous games to earn a massive cash prize of $38 million.
However, if a player gets eliminated, they don't go home, they are killed right then and there. The show became a cultural phenomenon and went on to become the most-watched series on Netflix. Viewers were really intrigued by the concept and loved the games that were introduced during the show. But it seems Netflix is set to give fans a real-life experience about how 'Squid Game' really came to life. The streaming platform has announced that it would be coming out with a reality show based on the blockbuster Korean drama.

Titled 'Squid Game': The Challenge', the upcoming reality game series will see 456 players competing for the prize money of $4.56 million. The participants will be taking part in childhood games similar to those that were shown on the Netflix series to win the grand prize. The series will be 10 episodes long and filmed in the UK.

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A website has been setup for the players around the world to register for the upcoming reality series. The website also makes it clear that the players will leave "unscathed" even if they get eliminated.

As soon as the news of the reality series surfaced online, fans took to social media and slammed Netflix for missing the point of the series completely. For the uninitiated, the series was all about class disparity, capitalism and took inspiration from creator Hwang Dong-hyuk's economic struggles.

While expressing disappointment over the announcement, one of the fans wrote, "I- no that completely misses the point of the show. The point is that these games are not good and that people shouldn’t have to do this to be able to potentially live. Well done society and Netflix for taking it at even less than face value". Another fan tweeted, "Amazing that almost every piece of media that criticizes captailism ends up getting milked to death through capitalism". 

"Glad to hear we learned absolutely nothing from the messages of this show! Great work everyone!" wrote another fan. "This is disturbing actually," said another one.

Another social media user tweeted, "I don't think I've ever seen the moral stance of a show so completely misunderstood by the general public like Squid Game has been."

Meanwhile, there were some who believed Netflix saved the money for this show by laying off numerous staff members in last 2-3 months.

"So they fired all those staff members for this?" tweeted one fan. "Is Netflix going to cast all the employees they just laid off?" wrote another one.

However, there were many who have already signed up for the reality game series and hoping to get selected. Will the show able to recreate the success of the original drama? Let's wait and watch.