In the first season of Squid Game, Seong Gi-hun survives the games and wins the grand cash prize, but it comes at great personal cost. He is traumatized and likely will never be able to live a normal life again. He ultimately decides to return to the games (presumably the basis for the second season) to try to get justice. While it would be an overstatement to say this is exactly what happened behind the scenes, there are some similarities.
No one really expected Squid Game to take off in the way that it did, becoming the most popular show in the world in a number of weeks. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk definitely did not. And while the success is nice, it sure sounds like a hell of a double-edged sword in a new report from Variety, which focuses primarily on Netflix capitalizing on its success to a staggering degree. Beyond the reality competition show Squid Game: The Challenge, there have been video games, a pop-up competition game modeled after the show in Manhattan, merchandizing, and, of course more Squid Game.
It’s that last point that seems to have Hwang the most stressed out. “I had no intention of doing a second season, because the overall process of writing, producing and directing the series was so challenging,” he tells Variety. “I didn’t think to do another one.” That’s all fair—the ending of the first season did feel pretty complete until the very last seconds. But then he gets even blunter:
“I’m so exhausted. I’m so tired. In a way, I have to say, I’m so sick of Squid Game. I’m so sick of my life making something, promoting something. So I’m not thinking about my next project right now. I’m just thinking about going to some remote island and having my own free time without any phone calls from Netflix. … Not the Squid Game island.”
Hopefully, Hwang gets the break he needs—but he might have to wait until after the series premieres next week. And then the Golden Globes are in January. There’ll probably be some more awards in the future too. And then whatever popups Netflix decides to do after that. And then….
