It was the dream — and payday — of a lifetime for 456 people, which turned quickly into a
15-hour nightmare. Here's how reality and fiction collided on Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge."
"The Challenge" was sold as the ultimate reality show cash grab,
with more than 4.5 million dollars at stake. But what was supposed to be a two-hour shoot
for the 456 contestants involved allegedly wound up evolving into something much more
sinister and "Squid Game"-like than anyone could have ever imagined.
First announced in June 2022, Netflix's reality competition adaptation of its
South Korean smash hit "Squid Game" was originally touted as a real-life take on
the popular survival drama, without all the killing and struggling to survive,
of course. But not everything was as it seemed — or advertised — according to numerous players.
Speaking to Variety in an explosive new article, these contestants expose the dark truth behind
"Squid Game: The Challenge" and the unacceptable playing environment that the streaming giant
allegedly provided, including reports of dangerous conditions, an unbearable filming schedule,
and multiple trips to the hospital. A UK player identified as "Marlene" told Variety,
"The conditions were absolutely inhumane and had nothing to do with the game."
According to her and others who spoke to Variety, multiple things about the game environment were
either changed or not as advertised. As soon as the "Red Light, Green Light" game started,
people were told they couldn't have coats on and that their iconic "Squid Game" tracksuit
jackets must be open at all times. It was reportedly around zero degrees Celsius,
or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, on the day of filming. A contestant identified as "John" said,
"This is not a Bear Grylls survival show. If they had told us it was going to be that cold,
no one would have gone through with it."
And "Marlene" added,
"It's not like we signed up for 'Survivor' or 'Naked and Afraid.'"
According to Netflix, it was, in fact, very cold on set that day, but the company
said in a statement to Variety that, quote, "the participants were prepared for that."
In a story from January 2022, contestants told The Sun that the frigid conditions
had people dropping left and right, with one calling it " a war zone." And what
made everything worse was how long they were all forced to play the first game.
"Preparations for the first game are complete."
According to contestants who spoke to Variety, the entire "Red Light, Green Light" game took
upwards of seven hours to shoot for some people and another eight hours of prep time,
all in the freezing cold. Initially, the "freeze" or standstill times for the game were promised to
be around two minutes long. But that number was quickly changed to 10 minutes and then 15 minutes.
The player identified as "Marlene" said she had to wait more than 25 minutes during one
round. Sources at Netflix confirmed the time increase and claimed it was
for independent adjudicators to, quote, "assess the gameplay." "Marlene" said,
"The second time the song played, I saw in my left peripheral vision that
this girl was swaying. Then she just buckled, and you could hear her head
actually hit the ground. But then someone came on the [microphone] and said to hold
our positions because the game is not paused. After that, people were dropping like flies."
Another player identified as Jenny, also from the UK, told Variety that the experience was brutal.
"I've never been that cold for that long a period in my life. It was ridiculous."
According to her, water wasn't even allowed during
the hours-long shoot. One player recalled to The Sun,
"Even if hypothermia kicked in then people were willing to stay
for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line. Too
many were determined not to move so they stood there for far too long."
A total of eleven people were allegedly treated by medics. Several contestants
were said to have fainted or collapsed on set due to the allegedly inhumane
conditions and intense rules. One anonymous participant told The Sun,
"There were people arriving thinking they were going to be millionaires but they left
in tears. People were getting carried out by medics but we couldn't say anything. If
you talk then you're out [...] We ended up standing there for 30 minutes between
takes. Some were crawling by the end. At least one was carried out on a stretcher."
Sources close to the production reportedly denied that medics were called eleven times
when contacted by Variety, but they did confirm to The Sun that at least
three people who took part in "Squid Game: The Challenge" received medical treatment.
According to show insiders, not allowing breaks during filming is
standard practice. Netflix insists that any "claims of serious injury are untrue," along
with the allegations of inhumane conditions. All the contestants want from the streaming
network is some accountability. Contestant "Jenny," told Variety,
"Take some responsibility for the fact that you
were ill-prepared for this kind of thing, with this number of people."
A television executive who spoke to Variety under the condition of anonymity concluded:
"It sounds like this got completely out of control."