Very few shows on Netflix have reached record-breaking views by amassing over a billion views within 60 days. That list includes Dahmer - Monster: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Stranger Things and, of course, Squid Game. When the latter premiered in 2021, it became an instant hit. Squid Game’s success was immense, and it even caught the eyes of people like Jeff Bezos, so, you can imagine how surprised I was to learn that the show was initially pitched a decade ago.
Netflix C.E.O. Ted Sarandos spoke to The New York Times about his and the streamer’s background. This included Netflix representing more cultures with its content, which is obvious now. However, 10 years ago things were very different for the streaming giant. Sarandos admitted that Squid Game was pitched as a movie way back when, then fast forward several years, and it became one of the biggest shows in the country and one of the best Korean dramas currently streaming:
The creator of Squid Game, he pitched that show as a movie for 10 years. He had almost completely given up on it, and our team in Korea had the foresight to advise him that this is a great story, but it’s a much bigger world. Have you ever thought about going out and trying to break down that world a little more and giving us a little more exposition? And he went off and wrote those scripts and made Squid Game, and it became the most-watched show in the history of Netflix around the world, including in the United States.
Clearly, all that time and effort paid off. Plus, Netflix, other streaming platforms and the entertainment industry, in general, are a lot different than they were a decade ago. They've become more diverse in terms of their content and the accessibility of it through things like subtitles.
Squid Game became one of the biggest shows in the world, and it didn’t matter where it came from, as Sarandos said:
We’re entering into a new era now where content and great stories can come from almost anywhere in the world. And they can very conveniently sit on the shelf — I’m doing air quotes right now — next to your favorite show, and you will discover an incredible story from Korea or an incredible story from Italy or incredible story from Spain that you would never otherwise have access to and maybe no awareness of before.
You can stream Squid Game with a Netflix subscription.
That is probably the best part about streaming. Everyone around the globe can be brought together whether a show or film is in English, Spanish, Korean, German, etc.
With Squid Game Season 2 set to premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, the show will continue to reach an audience from all around the world. While it took a decade for the first season to come out, the wait was definitely worth it. It’s hard to predict how Squid Game would have done had it been a movie in the early 2010s. It’s also a good thing that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk never gave up.
The show became a phenomenon, and even got its own reality show, Squid Game: The Challenge. Now, with Season 2 on the way, it'll be interesting to see how the series' audience reacts to everything that happens next.
With many more shows coming to Netflix, along with a ton of other projects coming to the best streaming services, platforms will continue to represent more cultures across the globe, and it will be exciting to see what happens. As of now, Squid Game’s second season doesn’t have a premiere date, but if it’s anything like the first season, the wait will be worth it, as long as it’s not a decade.
