With Squid Game performing as a definitive juggernaut for Netflix, it’s no surprise the streaming giant went all in on the franchise. And its newest and hottest competition show, Squid Game: The Challenge, is delivering for fans of the South Korean thriller-drama.
Squid Game: The Challenge has brought the scripted television show to reality as 456 contestants from around the world duke it out in childhood challenges for $4.56 million — a historic sum.
If fans of Squid Game have seen the show — Netflix released the first five episodes on Nov. 22 — then they would’ve recognized several sets and elements from Hwang Dong-hyuk’s creation.
But, unlike its predecessor, which was filmed in South Korea, Squid Game: The Challenge was shot in the United Kingdom.
Netflix used The Wharf Studios, a massive production studio in London, England, to build most of the impressive sets we see on the show. That’s where the contestants lived for 16 days while Squid Game: The Challenge was filmed, and that’s likely where we’ll see a winner crowned on the 10th episode.
According to its website, The Wharf Studios is a “private 10-acre campus” that boasts “six large sound stages, purpose-built and acoustically treated, with full supporting infrastructure; including production offices, workshops, drive-in access, and ample parking. With over 200,000 [square feet] of flexible creative space.”
Although the show was primarily shot there, Netflix also took advantage of Cardington Studios, a 55-meter-tall building just north of London in the town of Bedford. The 100,000 square foot space was used to construct zeppelins and airships in the 1920s, according to the streamer, and was the setting for Squid Game: The Challenge’s rendition of perhaps its predecessor’s most famous challenge, “Red Light, Green Light.”
From the colorful swirling staircases to a sandy playground, Netflix ensured they gave a proper nod to Squid Game by rebuilding the sets to match what we saw in the wildly popular first season. For example, they used 20 tons of steel to recreate the sleeping quarters, specifically, the five-stacked bunk beds that the hopefuls slept in every night. And to rebuild the bathroom, they laid 60,000 custom-made tiles.
From the fun cast of contestants to the gameplay, and to once again seeing individuals compete in childhood games (albeit without their lives on the line), Squid Game: The Challenge has lived up to the hype thus far. And it’s the perfect way to hold fans over until Squid Games season 2 drops on the platform — hopefully sometime in 2024.
