More than 3 years have passed since Justin Lin spent two consecutive days watching the first season of the series “Squid Game” on the Netflix platform. Now, the college student can’t wait for Season 2 to release on Wednesday.
Lin was so excited that he drove from the San Gabriel Valley – in southern California – to Hollywood, wearing a green tracksuit, to compete with other fans to attend the US premiere of the new season.
“It was very exciting,” Lin said after watching the first episode of the new season. “We were all on edge.”
An overwhelming success of the first season
The events of the series revolve around people who are desperate because they are drowning in debt to the point that they participate in deadly games in the hope of winning huge sums of money. The Korean series is the most popular work on Netflix so far, as the first season achieved more than 330 million views. During its first 91 days, the first season attracted 265.2 million views, the largest number achieved by any program on the platform in that period.
Tom Noonan, a former network and television studio executive who now teaches at UCLA, believes a second season could be more successful.
Noonan said, “The first season was very popular. Now we have a business with a well-known brand. People don’t need to rely on recommendations from those around them. There is a huge audience for the work all over the world, as well as those who want to discover the series for the first time.”
It is expected that the second season will achieve a greater audience than the first season. When “The Squid Game” premiered in September 2021, the number of Netflix subscribers was about 214 million in the third quarter of 2021. Since then, the number has increased by 32% to reach more than 282 million subscribers around the world.
Min Young Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for Asia Pacific (excluding India), said in an interview last month, “I have great confidence that subscribers who watched Season 1 will definitely love Season 2, and those who didn’t watch Season 1 will find it very interesting.” “Season 2 resonates with them as well.”
The story continues
The second season of “The Squid Game,” which was nominated for a Golden Globe, begins where the first season ended, with the main character embarking on a mission to end the deadly games.
Netflix has tended to strongly support its international programs, relying on local stories that touch the hearts of people in specific countries and regions, and which sometimes achieve global successes, such as “The Squid Game.”
“The Squid Game broke records and became our most popular series ever, proving that great stories can come from anywhere,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria says at the new season’s premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. “The cultural impact has been global and huge.” “.
The budget for the first season was $21.4 million, or about $2.4 million per episode, according to Bloomberg.
Although Netflix did not disclose the budget for the second season, it is clear that the resources available to the creators were greater this time. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told the American magazine “Hollywood Reporter”, “This time, I was able to fully realize my creative vision, whether in building the sets or in visual effects. We did not need to compromise.”
Huge global marketing
Netflix invested large sums of money in marketing the series, organizing events for fans in cities such as Sydney, Australia, and Paris, France. It has also partnered with major brands, including Puma, which designed the tracksuits worn by the contestants in Season 2 and is selling copies of them to fans.
Other products include Crocs shoes inspired by the “squid toy” and dried meat called “Red Light: Green Light” produced by Jack Links.
The company also launched a multiplayer game titled “Squid Game: Go,” which will be available for a limited time to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.
Netflix also announced last Monday that it will give rewards to players who watch the new season, including money or in-game tokens based on the number of episodes they watch.
Wide interaction from fans
And of course, fans responded enthusiastically on social media. Content creator Jacqueline Yang, who is 28 years old and lives in Los Angeles, said she watched the entire first season in one day. “They have built a lot of anticipation for everyone and everyone is ready for it,” she added.
Earlier this month, 1,700 fans, including Yang, participated in a 4.56-kilometer race (a nod to the main character in the first season, Player No. 456) that started at Los Angeles City College. Participants wore sports suits similar to those shown in the show.
During the event, participants were asked to choose one of three large shapes – a circle, a triangle, or a square (which are the symbols that cover the faces of the masked guards supervising the series’ games). Those who chose the correct symbol were able to attend the show.
Lin and his friend chose the triangle, and it was the right choice. Yang also chose the triangle, but her mother was not as lucky. The family split up while Yang’s mother participated in two subsequent games – “Red Light, Green Light” and scratch off a lottery ticket – but failed to pass them.
Although she left the premiere early (she was accompanied by Yang’s friend), she did not leave empty-handed; I took the tracksuit home.
“My mom said, ‘Looks like we have Halloween costumes for next year,’” Yang said with a laugh.
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