Netflix Finally Confirms ‘Squid Game’ Season 2; When Will New Season Stream?
Despite co-CEO Ted Sarandos announcing that “the Squid Game universe has just begun,” Netflix had yet to officially confirm that the most-watched series in service history had been renewed for a second season… that is until this weekend.
On Sunday, the streaming giant released a rather ominous tweet officially announcing that a second season was in the works. In a subsequent message, series creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk confirmed “A whole new round is coming.”
Hwang Dong-Hyuk writer, director, producer, and creator of @squidgame has a message for the fans: pic.twitter.com/DxF0AS5tMM
— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2022
As Hwang said in his message, it took him a dozen years to get the first season of the show on the air, so it is a valid question if fans are wondering how long it will take him to turn around Season 2. Last year, the writer said that he was already at work on the new season, and in an interview with Vanity Fair last month, he said that the next season would be released in either 2023 or 2024.
If the show is delayed until 2024, that means that fans have at least another year and a half to wait to see what happens to Gi-hun, Young-hee, and all of the other characters that they became invested in during the first season. Despite some of the pandemic-created delays between seasons that we’ve seen recently from “Stranger Things,” “Barry,” “Westworld,” and others, a 2+ year break between “Squid Game” seasons feels less than ideal for Netflix, especially at this point in its history.
As the streamer has found itself in the unfamiliar position of playing defense following its first quarterly subscriber loss in a decade, Netflix needs more original content to keep subscribers invested (emotionally and financially) in its service. The split-launch of “Stranger Things” Season 4 will help this summer, but given the company's insistence on its binge-model, it can’t afford to go too long between major releases.
Squid Game
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children’s games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits — with deadly high stakes.
The first season of “Squid Game” was estimated to be worth $900 million to Netflix, and it showed what the streamer could be when operating at its international best. So, with the significant headwinds that the company has faced recently, and the mid-2022 announcement that Season 2 was officially forthcoming, I think that it is a reasonable guess to think that “Squid Game” will be back with more episodes in 2023.
Season 1 premiered on Sept. 17, 2021, and a fall 2023 drop would certainly be a great way for Netflix to end the summer. While there are myriad different things that could prevent Hwang Dong-Hyuk and company from getting episodes ready by mid-September next year, that would be a nice, symmetrical way to welcome back the biggest show in all of streaming.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.