On 26 December 2024, three years after the first season became a global phenomenon, the second season of Squid Game arrived on Netflix, and within days it had broken the platform’s records, attracting more than 60 million households in its first four days, the biggest debut in Netflix history.
The new season, written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, found protagonist Seong Gi-hun returning to the deadly games after his quest for revenge left him empty-handed. Creator Hwang had said the story would not simply repeat itself, and the season deepened the characters, added new contestants and set up a third and final season promised for 2025.
The return of Squid Game confirmed its place as the defining international television phenomenon of the decade, a Korean series that transcended subtitles and borders to become a global conversation. Its release, timed for the Christmas holidays, turned the days after Christmas into a worldwide binge, and its cultural reach, from memes to theme-park attractions, showed little sign of fading.