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“Squid Game”: most successful Netflix series of all time
A scene from the first season of the Netflix series “The Squid Game”. Photo: YOUNGKYU PARK / Netflix / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Millions of fans around the world have already seen the Netflix series “Squid Game”. And that with a start just a few weeks ago.
The South Korean series “Squid Game” is the most successful Netflix production to date with the highest number of viewers. The American streaming service announced on Wednesday.
“Squid Game” has officially reached 111 million fans – making it our biggest series start of all time! ”Wrote the company on its Twitter account.
“Squid Game” reached the audience in just 27 days since it premiered on September 17th. The previous record holder was the British costume drama “Bridgerton”, which was streamed from December 2020 in the first 28 days by 82 million viewers.
“Squid Game” tells the story of almost 500 people in nine episodes, all of whom are deeply in debt. They compete against each other in seemingly harmless children’s games in order to win prize money in the millions. But the macabre competition does not allow a second chance: Anyone who does not make it to the next round will be killed immediately.
In his home country, “Squid Game” hit the zeitgeist primarily because of its open social criticism. Growing inequality, discrimination against social minorities, extreme pressure to perform: almost all of the country’s major problems are dealt with in the series.
It is no coincidence that the currently most successful streaming series comes from South Korea of all places. The government in Seoul has been specifically promoting cultural exports as an economic growth industry since the late 1990s. Most recently, the country had great international success, especially with the boy band BTS.