People Love Netflix’s “The Squid Game” Like A LOT!

People love death. A lot of death. The bloodier the better too! Doubt this? Well check this out, the number one Netflix show in over 90 countries is the new Hunger Games meets The Purge bloody extravaganza, The Squid Game. A new Korean horror show that debuted on Netflix in September.

Per The Guardian:

If you can stomach the events of the first episode, what follows is a tightly written horror thriller that has captivated viewers. The nine-part series is the first Korean show to reach the top spot on the streaming platform in the US, and is currently number one in the UK. Its success won’t come as a surprise to a generation of viewers who got hooked on murderous dystopian series The Hunger Games and cult favourite Battle Royale. But Squid Game’s backdrop is South Korea’s present-day, very real wealth inequality.

Its closest comparison is another South Korean drama, 2019’s Oscar-winning, zeitgeist-capturing Parasite, where the country’s class divides led to a bloody conclusion. Like that film, the show’s analogy is sometimes overdone – particularly when the game’s cliche-heavy spectators are introduced – but it’s an instantly hooky premise. Yes, the games are terrifying but how much worse are they than the half-lives of those living in interminable debt?

Masterful cliffhangers give the series a requisite bingeworthy appeal and the set pieces are hideously inventive, but it’s the show’s eclectic cast that keeps viewers watching. Our unlikely heroes are led by Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a gambling addict with a heart of gold, and his slippery childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), a disgraced banker on the run from the police. One of the series highlights is watching the icy, resourceful pickpocket Kang Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) – a North Korean escaper trying to save her separated family – learn to trust those around her.

Korea has become a hot bed for new and innovative horror shows. Between Kingdom, Train To Busan, and #Alive, all the great new horror is coming from overseas.

Among its accomplishments thus far, Squid Game is the first Korean original series to top Netflix’s consumer-facing Top 10 popularity chart, and it will “definitely” be the company’s biggest non-English series of all time (besting the Spanish series Money Heist), Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said earlier this week. And per FlixPatrol, Squid Game ranks No. 1 in nearly 90 countries (as of Sept. 28). Given the thriller’s rising heat, Sarandos said there’s “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”

Sounds like we all need to start streaming The Squid Game if we haven’t already…