Squid Game has overtaken Bridgerton as Netflix’s most popular original series

Squid Game has overtaken Bridgerton as Netflix’s most popular original series in less than a month since its premiere. Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, predicted that Squid Game will become the streaming service’s most-watched show, and his prediction has come true.

The series has remained at No. 1 in Netflix’s “Top 10” category since its release, including in the United States – the first South Korean production to accomplish so. The show’s sharp social commentary and well-written characters have proven to be popular with viewers all around the world.

Netflix’s most popular original series

The series follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a down-on-his-luck protagonist, as he competes in a series of games for a grand prize of 45.6 billion KRW (about $38.7 million USD). The show’s numerous challenges are based on famous kids games in South Korea, such as red light, green light (or “Mugunghwa kkochi pieotsumnida” – “the mugunghwa flower has bloomed” in the original Korean context). In a similar vein to survival thriller films like Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, those who fail to complete the challenges are killed.

The series immediately became a pop culture sensation, creating plenty of memes and even influencing Halloween costume sales among fans of the Squid Game.

Squid Game has supposedly dethroned Bridgerton as Netflix’s most-watched original show, according to CNN (via The Wrap). In the first 28 days after its first release, Bridgerton received 82 million views from 82 million accounts; in comparison, Squid Game has just surpassed 111 million views in its first 25 days. 

Global Success Of Squid game

Squid Game’s sudden success with worldwide audiences is surprising, especially given that it is a completely unique IP with a cast that is almost entirely Korean. Furthermore, Netflix did not spend a significant amount of resources to advertising the series, at least not in the months leading up to and immediately following its release.

As a result, it’s safe to assume that Squid Game’s present success is nearly completely based on word-of-mouth from fans who watched and appreciated the series enough to talk about it long after the credits had rolled.