Even though Netflix will spend millions and millions of dollars on top-tier, A-list talent for its series and films, there’s always that unpredictability about what program might become a global sensation. Last year, that was “Tiger King,” a docuseries about a strange guy that ran a local zoo. This year, “Squid Game” is not only the most popular series of 2021, but according to Netflix, its most popular debut of all time. And this might cause a potential Season 2 to not happen.
According to Netflix, 111 million accounts have viewed “Squid Game” since its debut on the service less than a month ago. (For context, a “view” is defined as an account that has watched at least two minutes of a series, so take that into consideration.) Just recently, Netflix released lists showing its most popular series ever, and this viewing number for “Squid Game” easily beats “Bridgerton” as the most impressive debut the service has ever seen.
But according to an interview with THR, “Squid Game” writer-director (yes, he wrote and directed each of the nine episodes) Hwang Dong-hyuk still is undecided if he wants to make another season of the show, even though the first batch of episodes seemingly ends on a cliffhanger.
Spoilers ahead for “Squid Game”
For those unaware, “Squid Game” is a “Battle Royale”-esque series where a group of people in terrible financial situations are sent to play a mysterious series of kids games for the chance to win millions of dollars. The season ends with one player, Gi-hun, taking home the prize money, but not using it. Instead, he seemingly begins a mission to take down the mysterious folks who put the whole game together.
“It’s true that season one ended in an open-ended way, but I actually thought that this could be good closure for the whole story too,” said Hwang. “Season one ends with Gi-hun turning back and not getting on the plane to the States. And that was, in fact, my way of communicating the message that you should not be dragged along by the competitive flow of society, but that you should start thinking about who has created the whole system — and whether there is some potential for you to turn back and face it. So it’s not necessarily Gi-hun turning back to get revenge.”
Hwang explained that if he does a Season 2, it would likely follow another story that was introduced in the first season, instead of continuing Gi-hun’s journey.
“For example, the story of the police officer and the story of his brother, The Front Man,” he revealed. “So if I end up creating season two, I’d like to explore that storyline — what is going on between those two brothers? And then I could also go into the story of that recruiter in the suit who plays the game of ddakji with Gi-hun and gives him the card in the first episode. And, of course, we could go with Gi-hun’s story as he turns back, and explore more about how he’s going to navigate through his reckoning with the people who are designing the games. So, I don’t know yet, but I’ll just say there are a lot of possibilities out there for season two storylines.”
That said, even though there are ideas, the filmmaker is far from certain that a Season 2 will actually happen. In fact, the global pressure from all this popularity might deter him from trying to take on the gargantuan task of more episodes.
“And you’re right, the pressure on me is huge now, with such a big audience waiting for a season two,” Hwang said. “Because of all that pressure, I haven’t decided yet whether or not I should do another season. But if you look at it in a positive way, because so many people loved season one and are expecting good things for season two, there are people everywhere in the world offering their opinions about where the show should go. I could actually pull ideas from fans all around the world to create the next season. I think that’s what I’m wrestling with right now — that I shouldn’t just view it as a huge amount of pressure, but think of all of this love and support I’m receiving as a big box of inspiration that I can leverage for season two.”
So, perhaps the success of “Squid Game” isn’t all great for Hwang? Being the sole writer and director puts a lot of pressure on him in a number of ways, especially now with more than a hundred million households wondering what happens next. If you haven’t seen “Squid Game,” the series is available now on Netflix.