'Squid Game': How its reality version turned into a nightmare

After the huge success of 'Squid Game' in 2021, Netflix is now streaming a reality show inspired by the South Korean series.

The shooting of the game 'Squid Game: The Challenge' began on Monday, January 23, 2023, in England. According to The Sun, not everything went as planned...

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Of course, it was a big project. The reality show features the largest cast in reality tv history, as confirmed by the Netflix platform, with a total of 456 contestants.

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As in the original series, participants must compete in different games. After each test, several candidates are eliminated, until only one remains at the end. The big winner of the game will win a big jackpot...

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After going through the challenges of 'Squid Game: The Challenge', the winner gets the astronomical sum of 4.56 million dollars.

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Would the candidates be ready to do anything to win the game? Maybe they would. But what became certain to the producers right away, was that the adventure show turned out much more disastrous than expected...

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Filming for 'Squid Game: The Challenge' began at Cardington Studios, on a former Royal Air Force base near Bedford, about 100 miles north of London. In the middle of January, the temperatures were particularly low.

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The producers may have underestimated the climate when they chose the filming location. Indeed, during the first test of the game, which was 'One, two, three, sun,' the candidates found themselves motionless under -3°!

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According to information from the Sun, some candidates had to be taken care of by doctors after standing still in sub-zero temperatures for a long time. One of the participants was even evacuated on a stretcher. Others had to crawl to finish the game because they were so cold.

The English Daily reported that staff gave the participants two Thermolactyl undershirts, two pairs of socks, a T-shirt, a green tracksuit, and sports shoes. It added that they had blood vests under the clothes that automatically burst if they were caught moving, so as to make it look like they were shot.

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"It was like a warzone," one of the participants told British media. "People were getting carried out by medics... Some people couldn't move their feet because it was so cold. We couldn't say anything. If you talk, then you're out."

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One of the program's producers told The Sun: "Even if hypothermia kicked in, then people were willing to stay for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line. Too many were determined not to move so they stood there for far too long."

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After the incidents on the first day of filming, Netflix reacted in a statement: "We take contributor care as one of our highest priorities, and regular toilet breaks, water and food are categorically standard practice on production."

Photo: Freestocks / Unsplash

"While it was very cold on set – and participants were prepared for that – any claims of serious injury are untrue," the statement continued. "We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures."

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At the end of the first challenge, hundreds of candidates were eliminated, The Sun reported. As in the series, the "survivors" stayed in the studio and slept in bunk beds. The shoot of the reality show was to continue a few weeks after the first challenge.

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As 'The Hollywood Reporter' had announced, in 'Squid Game: The Challenge', the games of the series would gradually be adapted to the new format. The first example was 'One, two, three, sun.'

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But there would also be new events to surprise the participants. However, as opposed to the fictional series, no one was supposed to get hurt or killed during the challenges of the reality show.

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For its casting, Netflix launched the website 'Squid Game: The Challenge Casting,' open to the whole world, where people who wished to participate in the game had to submit their applications.

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There were two main requirements to participate in 'Squid Game: The Challenge.' In addition to availability on the film dates, contestants had to be over 21, speak English, and have a valid passport.

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To imagine what a production like 'Squid Game: The Challenge' entails, you have to go back to November 2021, when Youtuber Mr. Beast made his own version of 'The Squid Game', also with 456 participants.

Photo: @mrbeast / Instagram

The YouTuber offered the winner a more modest sum than in the series, amounting (all the same) to 456,000 dollars. However, as he himself admitted, the organization of the game involved an investment of 3.5 million dollars.

Photo: @mrbeast / Instagram

In return for his investment, Mr. Beast reached 349 million views for his adaptation of the series. Amazing!

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For 'Squid Game: The Challenge', Netflix has likely reserved a much bigger budget.

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The streaming service moves from fiction to reality, offering you a program that will allow you to wait while the second season of the fictional series is underway. Season 2 of the drama series 'Squid Game' is scheduled for the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.

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With the second season of the phenomenal series on the way, Netflix knows it has a gold mine on its hands. The first season of 'Squid Game' quickly became the then-most-viewed series in Netflix history, with 1.65 billion hours watched in 2021.

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