• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 15, 2022

In a perhaps inevitable development — particularly given Netflix’s recent subscriber losses, stock-price slump and upcoming addition of an ad-supported tier — the world’s largest streamer has announced it will launch a reality-show spinoff of its hit sci-fi series “Squid Game.”

“Squid Game: The Challenge” will pit 456 contestants from around the world against each other in a series of games inspired by the dark South Korean survival drama that became Netflix’s most-watched show in history, drawing 1.65 billion viewing hours in the first 28 days after its debut last September.

Contestants will engage in variations on the vicious children’s playground games featured in the fictional series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, presumably without the gore and deaths depicted in the original.

While no release date was announced, Netflix — which also just confirmed a second season for “Squid Game” — is already conducting auditions for contestants at SquidGameCasting.com.

At least for the show’s initial season, which will have 10 episodes, contestants will be required to be able to speak English, along with whatever other languages they may speak.

Netflix says the show’s prize is the “biggest-ever” competition show cash prize.

The show is being produced by Studio Lambert (producers of “The Circle”) and The Garden, part of ITV Studios, and will be filmed in the U.K.