Squid Game: the Challenge looks like the scariest reality show we’ve ever seen – see first look

While we never would have thought that anyone’s takeaway from Netflix’s 2020 hit show Squid Game was ‘I want to do that’, it looks like Netflix’s latest reality show is here to prove us wrong! Squid Game: the Challenge has released its first trailer as it gives us a glimpse into the real-life competition which sees one person win an incredible prize pot – though fortunately these contestants are just sent home when they lose instead of, you know, being murdered!

The synopsis reads: “456 real people. 4.56 million dollars. 456 real players will enter the competition show in pursuit of a life-changing reward of USD $4.56 million. As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show – plus surprising new additions – their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.” 

The new trailer, which was released on Friday, shows the group begin the ‘Red Light, Green Light’ challenge as well as the glass bridge, with one contestant saying: “People do a whole lot worse, for a whole lot less.” 

Taking to YouTube to discuss the trailer, one person wrote: “It’s all fun and games until the show becomes reality,” while another person added: “The contestants need to watch this show….again!” 

The show has not been without its controversy already, with contestants complaining about the “cruel” conditions of the competition – and claiming that it was fixed. One person told Rolling Stone: “It was just the cruellest, meanest thing I’ve ever been through. We were a human horse race, and they were treating us like horses out in the cold racing and [the race] was fixed.” 

Another person added: “All the torment and trauma we experienced wasn’t due to the game or the rigour of the game. It was the incompetencies of scale — they bit off more than they could chew.”

© Photo: Netflix

They also revealed that contestants played the Red Light, Green Light game for up to nine hours in a freezing airport hangar, with contestants becoming so cold that they collapsed. They also claimed that some contestants had their fake blood packs go off after making it safely across the finish line to the next stage, with producers telling them that they had been ‘eliminated’.

Netflix released a statement following the accusations, saying: “We’ve taken all the appropriate safety precautions, including aftercare for contestants – and an independent adjudicator is overseeing each game to ensure it’s fair to everyone.”