New York: Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos expressed surprise at Vox Media’s Code Conference this week (via Variety) when revealing the Korean survival drama “Squid Game” is becoming such a blockbuster for the streaming giant that it could soon dethrone “Bridgerton” as the biggest Netflix television series of all time.
“It will definitely be Netflix’s biggest non-English language show in the world and it’s a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
The first season of Shonda Rhimes’ Regency romance stands atop Netflix’s list of most popular series by household (82 million) and most popular series by hours spent viewing (625 million). As always, it’s important to note the streamer counts 2 minutes of streaming as a view.
“Squid Game” comes from writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk, whose credits include the feature films “The Fortress,” “Miss Granny,” and “Silenced.”
The film riffs on reality television in telling the story of a group of contestants who agree to participate in a mysterious survival game with a grand prize total of nearly $40 million.
The game includes hundreds of contestants who play traditional children’s games with deadly twists. Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo and Wi Ha-joon star.
All nine episodes of the show’s first season are now streaming globally on Netflix.
