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Squid Game comes to real life in Netflix’s reality show The Challenge

A record $4.56 million cash prize awaits the winner

The giant Squid Games robot opens her eyes while facing a tree while a group of contestants are lined up in the background Image: Netflix
Pete Volk (he/they) is Polygon’s curation editor for movies and TV, with a particular love for action and martial arts movies.

We’ve known for a year that Netflix is taking the dystopian game show depicted in breakout hit Squid Game and turning it into a reality game show. Now we have evidence of it, in the form of a sneak peek trailer that premiered at Saturday’s Tudum event.

In the trailer, we see the iconic costumes of the Squid Game workers, as well as a quick series of time-lapse images showing the construction of the show’s giant sets. We also see the bunks where contestants will likely be staying, the green uniforms from the show that they’ll be wearing, and the show’s first challenge: Red Light, Green Light.

This time, naturally, it plays out without gunfire. The 456 contestants are competing for a record $4.56 million cash prize, with the “punishment” for losing being going home empty-handed.

Squid Game: The Challenge was filmed in the United Kingdom, and has already faced a troubled production. A Vanity Fair report in February detailed what contestants called a “rigged, traumatic” experience, with some reportedly considering taking legal action against Netflix after their time filming.

Squid Game: The Challenge will premiere on Netflix in November.

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