The second season of the survival thriller TV series “Squid Game” created by Netflix amassed 68 million views in its first week, surpassing the previous record held by “Wednesday,” which had 50.1 million views.
According to Forbes, while the initial season of “Squid Game” took time to build its massive following through viral success, the sequel has hit the ground running. It sets a benchmark by debuting at #1 in 92 countries, a first for any Netflix series.
It has also made it the seventh most-watched non-English Netflix series ever, with expectations high that it will soon ascend further up the ranks. Regarding the most-watched Netflix series of all languages, “Squid Game” season 1, released in 2021, currently holds the top spot of the most-watched non-English Netflix series list with over 2.2 billion hours viewed and 265.2 million views.
It is followed by “Stranger Things” season 4, released in 2022, which has amassed 1.83 billion hours viewed and 140.7 million views. The third place on the list belongs to “Wednesday” season 1, with 1.72 billion hours viewed and 252.1 million views.
“Squid Game” season 2 is rapidly closing in on these figures, needing just 30 million more views to break into the all-time top 10 list.
“Squid Game” centers on a covert competition where 456 contestants, each facing severe financial struggles, gamble their lives in a sequence of perilous children’s games for a chance to win a prize of 45.6 billion won (US$31.1 million). The name of the series is derived from ojingeo (squid), a traditional Korean children’s game.
The second season was released on Dec. 26, 2024, and takes place three years after the debut season. Both seasons have received favorable reviews from critics.
The series is set to conclude with a third and final season, scheduled for release in 2025, which was filmed concurrently with the second season.
