How to Apply for Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge
When Squid Game was released in September 2021, the TV series outright exploded in popularity, quickly becoming one of the most-watched shows of the moment. With its fully fleshed-out characters, cartoonish imagery, gory action, dystopian setting, and poignant social critique, Squid Game has already left an indelible mark on our globalized pop culture.
So much so that not only has the TV series been renewed for a second season, but that Netflix is in the works to bring Squid Game to the real world to continue to capitalize on its popularity.
Netflix Introduces Squid Game: The Challenge
Netflix has After the soaring popularity of Squid Game,Netflix announcedthat it is in the works to adapt the South Korean TV series and bring it to our real world.
This brand new Squid Game will come in the format of a reality TV competition series, Squid Game: The Challenge. And it will be the largest one at that, with a cast of 456 participants and a cash prize of a whopping $4.56 million.
Competitors will have to play through several games inspired by the original series, as well as some new additions, as they compete for the ultimate prize. But how closely will this adaptation stick to the original show?
Well, with a $4.56 million prize, the stakes are definitely high, but in Squid Game: The Challenge, the worst-case scenario will be going home empty-handed. Although Netflix’s statement does say that players' “strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test,” so we can expect some drama among competitors.
At the beginning of 2022,Netflix started losing subscribers, so bringing its most popular show into the real world might be a way to help the company boost its numbers.
How to Apply for Squid Game: The Challenge
For those interested in participating and in the $4.56 million reward, you can apply atsquidgamecasting.com. For this round of games, the Front Man, as the games’ overseer is called within the franchise, is looking for 456 English speakers from anywhere around the world.
Additionally, some of the other rules the platform asks are that you are at least 21 years old, have a valid passport, and be available for at least four weeks at the beginning of 2023. If you meet all requirements, you’re able to choose the US, UK, or global casting and fill out your application. Afterward, all you need to do is hope you get the chance to compete will be a matter of waiting.
The Irony of Adapting Squid Game Into a Reality Show
In Netflix’s statement, Brandon Rieg, the company’s VP for Unscripted and Documentary Series, expressed his gratitude for Squid Game’s director’s support as Netflix turned his fictional world into reality. What he failed to realize is that Squid Game is a fictionalized version of the real world.
Squid Game isn’t just another gory TV series—or maybe it is—but in it, we can find a very poignant critique of how competition shows use inequality and people’s need for cash to entice them to ridicule themselves for the sake of entertainment and profit.
On the other hand, maybe Netflix does know what it’s doing. In the same statement, Brandon Rieg calls the competition a “social experiment.” It seems likethe Facebook Metaverseis not the only taste of dystopia we’ll be having in the near future.
Squid Game Is Here to Stay
Following the massive viewership amassed by Squid Game, it comes as no surprise that they are turning the series into a franchise. After all, there’s a lot of profit to be made. It seems surprising that they are actually turning the show into a real-life competition, however ironic that might be.
Irony or not, Squid Game is here to stay, and the prize is more than worth it. The casting for Squid Game: The Challenge is already underway, and you could become part of it.
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