The reality show The Squid Game: The Challenge, based on the successful 2021 South Korean drama that already has green light for a second season, is now available.

Read more about The Squid Game

What is The Squid Game’s reality about?

The Squid Game: The Challenge is a contest in which 456 people participate in survival games (inspired by the original production) for the highest prize in television history: $4.56 million dollars. What is the main difference with the original program? In reality, fortunately, death is not an option and mistakes are paid for with an explosion of ink on the body.

The show was produced by Studio Lambert and The Garden in the UK. The application attracted 81,000 people from around the world (mainly from the US). In the reality show, we get to see the famous tests that were shown in the series, such as the well-remembered “Red light, green light” or the bridge challenge.

Another thing that this show will take from the original is that contestants spend the night in a common room filled with cameras that record 24hrs straight. There, alliances will be formed and contestants will have the opportunity to eliminate others. This is so that the reality show has its “bad” and “good” characters, as a strategy to create drama similar to the original Korean series.

Nonetheless, not everything in this famous contest is perfect, since it was involved in many controversies that came to light before its premiere.

The controversies surrounding the reality show

Before its premiere, many complaints had been made by the show’s contestant in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Many stated that they had to work on a set with poor health and safety standards, and that in many instances of the show there was a montage which showed what was going to happen or who would win beforehand. 

There were also complaints about how the producers would only give the spotlight to the American contestants, leaving the rest of the cast as a bunch of “extras”. The producers choose who is going to lead the plots and, therefore, they give clues about who has the best chance of going far. However, it must be taken into account that there are 456 participants, so it is impossible to give everyone prominence. 

On the other hand, many spectators feel weird about the way that contestants must drop and play dead when losing a challenge, since, according to them,  it’s a way of promoting unnecessary violence.

Best bits of The Squid Game: The Challenge

In the first episode of The Squid Game: The Challenge we meet again with the famous “Red light, green light” challenge, in which all contestants must reach the finish line without being seen by the 2 m (6.56 ft.) tall doll. In this challenge, we meet a mother and son who signed up for the show to raise money, since they were in a bad economical situation. At the end of the challenge, the son manages to cross the finish line, but the mother is far from making it. The good thing about reality shows is that it’s filled with these moments in which we wish the best for its contestants. We invite you to watch the first episode to find out what happens to the mother, if she makes it or “dies” trying.

Another bit not so dear to the fans, yet one of the best in our honest opinion, is the second episode called “The Man with the Umbrella”. There, a contestant called Spencer gives us quite a gross moment when he has to cut out the umbrella figure from the famous cookie of the show. After a couple of minutes of high tension, the player starts to gag and almost vomits in the middle of recording. It is definitely a scene not suitable for those viewers with sensitive stomachs.

The next episodes of The Squid Game: The Challenge will be available starting November 29th and the long-awaited final episode will be available on December 6th, in which they’ll announce the winner of the contest.

Now is your turn MyFamilier: let us know in the comments what were your thoughts on the challenge or if you had enough with the original series.