The overwhelming success of Squid Game means that the first season of this South Korean show is still the most-watched series on Netflix. With over 1.6 billion viewing hours in its first month after release, it was clear from the start that this show had enormous potential to be a money-spinning franchise.
The Power of Franchises in Modern Entertainment
This is far from the only major Netflix franchise. Narcos and The Umbrella Academy are among the other original productions from this streaming service to spawn a range of spin-offs and products. We can see various seasons of their most popular shows, while the Bridgerton prequel spin-off called Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story shows one of the creative ways of taking a successful idea in a new direction.
Other TV successes have moved across to franchise status by entering different areas of the entertainment industry, as we can see by checking the Betfair online slots, This site includes casino games based on Gordon Ramsay's Hell’s Kitchen and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with the classic slots gameplay combined with images of those shows and with special features based on them. This provides players with instantly recognisable themes while also producing extra publicity for the original show.
Season Two of the Series
Fans of Squid Game are eagerly waiting for the release of the second season, which will be filmed this year for release in 2024. In fact, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had no plans for a second series when he wrote the first episodes and said that the stress of creating it meant that he needed time off before considering what to do with a second season.
However, it’s been reported by Digital Spy that a new season is ready to be filmed, with new games and characters to be included. Hwang has mentioned in interviews that he regrets writing out some characters who he would have kept if he’d known about the second season being agreed upon, and has suggested that the Front Man and the policeman Hwang Jun-ho will be more closely explored this time.
Squid Game: The Challenge
Before the second series of this show lands on Netflix, we can watch Squid Game: The Challenge. This is a reality TV show based on the K-drama series and will put a group of contestants through similar games but without the violent aspects and life-or-death stakes from the original Squid Game.
It’s been confirmed by NME that the premiere is due for the end of 2023 and the prize money is $4.65 million but the worst fate that challengers can meet is having to go home empty-handed after losing out. Described by Brandon Riegg of Netflix as a “massive competition and social experiment”, the streaming service has already denied claims that people have been injured on the set.
Squid Game looks like being with us for a lot more time and in different formats, as the show’s innovative plot has given it the power of the best franchises and allowed the creators to explore other ideas that should appeal to fans.
