Where to watch Squid Game (2021–2025)

Trivia & production notes

• Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote the initial script for Squid Game during 2009 after struggling with personal financial hardship and spending time in South Korean comic cafes reading Japanese manga like Battle Royale and Liar Game.
• Multiple South Korean production companies and actors rejected the script, telling Hwang the story was too grotesque and unrealistic.
• Hwang spent ten years working on other films after setting the script aside, successfully completing three other projects including Silenced and The Fortress before returning to develop Squid Game.
• Netflix initially wanted to title the series Round Six because they believed the name squid game wouldn't resonate with international audiences unfamiliar with the Korean children's game, but creator Hwang pushed for the original title.
• The single-episode film concept was expanded into a nine-episode series after Netflix greenlit the project, allowing creator Hwang to focus on character relationships and individual backstories.
• Hwang initially wrote eight episodes but split the final episode into two separate episodes when the material ran longer than anticipated.
• Hwang believed the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on economic disparity made the survival game concept feel more realistic and relevant to audiences than it would have a decade earlier.
• At the time of development, Hwang's goal was for the series to become Netflix's most-watched show in the United States for at least one day.
• Hwang negotiated with Netflix not only for Squid Game seasons but also to secure contracts allowing him to create additional films alongside the show, wanting to avoid being known solely for this one project.
• Lee Jung-jae was planned to reprise his main character role of Gi-hun when Hwang began conceptualizing season two in November 2021.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Squid Game, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.