The game is far from over, Squid Game fans.
Netflix confirmed the second season pickup for its smash-hit Korean drama on Sunday.
News of the renewal comes nine months after its high-flying series premiere on the streaming service.
The pickup announcement included a letter from the series director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk.
“It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year,” he wrote.
“It took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever.”
The letter confirmed Gi-hun and Front Man would be a part of the second season.
Young-hee’s boyfriend, Cheol-su, will also be a part of the cast.
Squid Game quickly broke records for Netflix, becoming the first Korean original series to lead the Top 10 popularity chart.
With 1.65 billion views in its first 28 days of release. the series currently holds the record for Netflix’s most watched series — English-language or non-English-language — by a considerable margin.
The series started with decent numbers, but grew from there, proving that word of mouth can make or break the success of a series.
Fans were enamored with the twists and turns throughout the series, which built to a dramatic conclusion.
While a renewal was a no-brainer, there were some hurdles in the way.
Netflix’s Bela Bajaria previously explained that it would hinge on whether the creative behind the series would have the time.
“He has a film and other things he’s working on,” Bajaria said to Vulture. “We’re trying to figure out the right structure for him.”
The series picks up Seong Gi-hun, a divorced father and indebted gambler who lives with his elderly mother, who is invited to play a series of children’s games for a chance at a large cash prize.
Accepting the offer, he is taken to an unknown location where he finds himself among 455 other players who are all deeply in debt.
The players are made to wear green tracksuits and are kept under watch at all times by masked guards in pink jumpsuits, with the games overseen by the Front Man, who wears a black mask and black uniform.
The players soon discover that losing a game results in their death, with each death adding ₩100 million to the potential ₩45.6 billion grand prize.
Gi-hun allies with other players, including his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo and North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, to try to survive the physical and psychological twists of the games.
It was a shocking series, and we’re happy to know there’s more in the cards.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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