Squid Game: Challenge has officially won big Red light if you don't want to be spoiled

Netflix launched its reality show version of the global hit "Squid Game" on November 22, releasing it in three installments Squid Game: The Challenge features 456 real-life characters and combines new challenges with recreations of iconic games from Netflix's original TV shows The first five episodes were released on November 22; the next four episodes were released the following week, on November 29 Only one final episode remained, which was delivered last night (December 6)

And after 10 episodes, our winner is My Whelan, known to viewers as number 287 She won the huge prize of $456 million after a "game of rock-paper-scissors" in which the stakes were higher than perhaps any "game of rock-paper-scissors" in human history In "The Squid Game," the stakes are death, but it is a fictional television show Whelan's $456 million is real

But the real winner here is Netflix Season 1 of Squid Game: The Challenge debuted at #1 on Netflix's global top 10, garnering 857 million hours of viewing from over 20 million views in its first week; the second week was almost as successful, with 814 million views and 85 million hours watched

By all accounts, this is a huge success for the streaming service So naturally, Netflix announced Season 2 of Squid Game: just before last night's Season 1 finale, Season 2 of Squid Game: The Challenge was officially announced

Critically, the show has not been as successful Critics gave the show a bad review on Rotten Tomatoes, with a "freshness" rating of only 45% and a score of 57 out of 10 Frankly, having seen a little of this show, I didn't care for it, nor did I think it was necessary Frankly, critical examination of reality TV is generally unimportant So if people enjoyed The Squid Game, that's fine: with a "fresh" 82% viewership rating, there's no way I'm going to water down their parade

Netflix already has some credible original content, including successful reality shows like "Too Hot to Handle" and "The Circle So the stakes were high for Squid Game: The Challenge, which was not exactly life or death But a successful reality show from an existing series is a huge success, given that it builds a world of intellectual property that can be further mined for content

My vote for more "Squid Game" content? It's a prequel film about the birth of the first (fictional) "Squid Game" If done well, I think it could be more than just a cash cow (or subscriber acquisition) for the IP