“Squid Game," touted as the most successful original series on streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) with 1.65 billion viewing hours, has officially been greenlit for a second season.
Here are the current details:
What Happened: The massively successful series “Squid Game” has been confirmed for a second season with Netflix sharing a teaser video online.
“Red light… GREENLIGHT!” the message with the teaser video reads.
Red light… GREENLIGHT!
— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2022
Squid Game is officially coming back for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/4usO2Zld39
Director Hwang Dong-Hyuk confirmed that the characters Seong Gi-hun and the Front Man will return for the second season.
Hwang also said that the boyfriend of Young-hee, the female animatronic doll, will be introduced in season 2.
“It took 12 years to bring the first season of ‘Squid Game’ to life last year. But it took 12 days for ‘Squid Game’ to become the most popular Netflix series ever,” a statement from Hwang reads.
Hwang thanked fans around the world for watching “Squid Game” and for “loving our show.”
“On you marks. Get set. Greenlight. Squid Game continues, only on Netflix,” the Squid Game Twitter account tweeted along with the hashtag #SquidGameS2.
Related Link: Squid Game Season 2 Talks Confirmed By Director But Here's Why He's Not In A Rush
Why It’s Important: In the first 28 days available on Netflix, “Squid Game” was watched a record 1.65 billion hours by subscribers worldwide. The series hit number one in hundreds of countries and become a pop culture phenomenon.
Netflix said on a quarterly earnings call that “Squid Game” was the company’s biggest television show ever. "A mind-boggling 142 million member households globally have chosen to watch the title in its first four weeks,” the company said. It's worth noting that the fourth season of "Stranger Things" racked up 335 million hours watched from May 30 to June 5.
However, "Squid Game" saw its popularity grow thanks in part to TikTok clips, a “Saturday Night Live” skit, Halloween costumes and videos on YouTube, a unit of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL).
Hwang has been on board to create more content for the “Squid Game” franchise, but also said that he had other projects he wanted to devote time and attention to. Hwang’s comments suggest that season 2 episodes might not hit Netflix until the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.
The “Squid Game” director has been open to his comments on how tough filming was for the series, including the fact that he lost six teeth in the process.
“It was physically, mentally and emotionally draining. I kept having new ideas and revising the episodes as we were filming so the amount of work multiplied,” Hwang said.
“Squid Game” was nominated for several Screen Actors Guild Awards and according to Variety could receive several Emmy Award nominations as the show has picked up its presence at award shows.
While season 2 of “Squid Game” could be a year away, the series will be among the most anticipated sequels of all time for any television show and could provide a future boost to Netflix’s subscriber figure.
Price Action: Netflix shares are down 3% to $176.70 on Monday versus a 52-week range of $162.71 to $700.98.
