Spoilers for Squid Game season 1 ahead.
Are you ready for the second season of Netflix’s hit South Korean drama? Squid Game season 2 is finally on the horizon, and we have gotten plenty of first looks at the new season. In 2023, new cast members for the series were announced, and Netflix started off 2024 by releasing the first images from the upcoming sophomore season and the first official trailer in the summer.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably already heard of Squid Game (or 오징어 게임), which took over the world after its global premiere on September 17, 2021. In literal days, Squid Game became one of the streamer’s biggest hits, racking up an unprecedented number of views and dominating everything from Twitter discourse (and memes) to TikTok’s FYPs.
YOUNGKYU PARK. COURTESY OF NETFLIX.
Squid Game is not Netflix’s first dark K-drama, as zombie period drama Kingdom, Extracurricular, Sweet Home, and D.P. also fall in line with the noir elements Squid Game has to offer. However, there’s something about the Squid Game phenomenon that just can’t be matched — the show even spawned its own, albeit controversial, reality competition series, Squid Game: The Challenge.
According to The Guardian, Squid Game is the first Korean production to top the streaming giant’s popular list in the U.S. But that’s not even the most impressive part. According to Deadline, Netflix’s co-chief executive officer and chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed the K-drama could be Netflix’s biggest show ever should its viewership continue its early pattern — and it did just so.
Shortly after season one ended, series writer and director Hwang Donghyuk teased that season two of Squid Game would be coming sooner than we expected. In June 2022, a very brief teaser trailer from Netflix confirmed the news. Generally speaking, K-dramas don’t tend to have more than one season. Most K-dramas complete the story nicely after an average of 16 episodes. However, Netflix productions are different, and Squid Game left its season one ending pretty open.
When is Squid Game season 2 coming out?
On August 1, 2024, Netflix officially announced Squid Game season 2 will premiere on December 26, 2024. The streamer announced the news alongside a letter from Hwang Donghyuk, who served as director, writer, and executive producer for the series.
