"Squid Game" Season 2 Gets 2024 Release Window

The long-awaited second season of Netflix‘s dystopian Korean series “Squid Game” is set to premiere sometime later this year.

Netflix announced the second season of the Korean-language survival series from creator Hwang Dong-hyuk in a letter to shareholders Tuesday, writing:

“Looking ahead, despite last year’s strikes pushing back the launch of some titles, we have a big, bold slate for 2024. Audiences will be able to choose from hit returning dramas like ‘The Diplomat’ S2, ‘Bridgerton’ S3, ‘Squid Game’ S2 and ‘Empress’ S2; unscripted series like ‘Tour de France: Unchained’ S2,’ Love is Blind’ S6, ‘F1: Drive to Survive’ S6 and ‘Full Swing’ S2; and brand new shows like ‘3 Body Problem’ (based on the best selling novel and from the ‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners), ‘Griselda’ (starring Sofia Vegara, which premieres this week), ‘The Gentlemen’ (from Guy Ritchie), ‘Eric’ (starring Benedict Cumberbach), ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’, ‘Cien Años de Soledad,’ from Colombia based on the novel by Gabriel García Márquez and Senna from Brazil.”

“Squid Game” was first announced in 2019 and debuted on September 17, 2021, on Netflix. The series became a global sensation and would go on to break numerous viewer records at Netflix.

The nine-episode first season proved to be an all-time smash hit for the faint streamer and was nominated for 14 Emmys, including Best Drama Series (a first for a non-English-language series), winning six.

“Squid Game” also made history at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards by becoming the first non-English-language series and first Korean series to score nominations for cast in a drama series, actor in a drama series (Lee Jung-jae), actress in a drama series (Jung Ho-yeon) and stunt ensemble. Lee Jung-jae and Ho-yeon won the prizes. It also won three Golden Globe Awards, including best TV drama.

It remains the platform's most widely-watched series and was the "biggest-ever series at launch" for Netflix.

The series is Netflix's first-ever Korean series to reach No. 1 in the United States, attracting 1.65 billion hours of viewing in the 28 days following its release. It surpassed the previous record-holder, "Bridgerton", which received a staggering 14 Primetime Emmy nominations and became the first foreign-language show to be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series.

“Squid Game” follows hundreds of cash-strapped contestants who accept an invitation to compete in children's games for a tempting prize, but the stakes are deadly.

After months of speculation over whether or not the show would get a second season, Netflix confirmed in January 2022 that it would move forward with a Season 2. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said during an analyst call, “Absolutely. The ‘Squid Game’ universe has just begun.”

The “Squid Game” universe has since been expanded to include an unscripted competition series, “Squid Game: The Challenge,” and an upcoming video game.

Netflix reported its Q4 2023 earnings Tuesday, following the early morning reveal it had closed a massive deal to air WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” beginning in 2025.

The upcoming season of the Korean dystopian drama will feature both returning and new cast members. It also showed lead Korean icon Lee Jung-jae, playing cash-strapped everyman Seong Gi-hun, back for a second season.

Also returning for the season will be the game's mysterious masked Front Man, played by Lee Byung-hun, and Wi Ha-jun, who plays the cop in search of his missing brother who gets in over his head behind the scenes of the deadly game.

Gong Yoo has also been listed to reprise his role as the salesman.

The series will also welcome new cast members Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, and Yang Dong-geun. All four of them appear hovering over the button that allows players to vote on continuing the games, so it is possible that they are all playing contestants - or perhaps something more sinister.