Don’t be frightened. There’s nothing to be worried about. Just that a large killer doll has become a reality. On September 22, Netflix dropped the official teaser trailer for its real-life version of Squid Game, Squid Game: The Challenge, a reality competition that places real people in the middle of the terrifying original series. In this version, 456 players will play the game, with the reward money totaling $4.56 million. Yes, the game that was an allegory for the systemic issues leading to the stratification of social classes is now … real. “People do a whole lot worse for a whole lot less,” one contestant reasons. The trailer references the original series’ iconography — bright-pink guards, honeycomb shapes, and, of course, the giant killer doll that leads a murderous game of Red Light, Green Light. But in case you were worried that this game wouldn’t have the verisimilitude you were looking for, please remember that some people reported being so cold after the first day of filming that they had to seek medics. This show is just as terrifying as the original, it turns out. Squid Game: The Challenge will air on November 22, making it either the perfect nightmare before Christmas or the perfect distraction from your family over Thanksgiving.
This post has been updated.
