Unless you've lived under a rock for the past month, you've probably heard of, if not watched, Squid Game already. The critically-acclaimed Netflix original Korean drama-thriller dropped nine episodes on September 17 and it appears that people just can't stop watching it. In fact, so many people are watching Squad Game that it's on pace to become Netflix's biggest hit yet.
Netflix hits it big with Squid Game
Speaking at a presentation at the 2021 Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos took the time to discuss the streaming giant's most popular TV shows and movies. In addition to revealing the hours-watched metric for the first time, Sarandos talked about Netflix shows and movies that went viral. He specifically singled out Bridgerton, which is currently Netflix's all-time No. 1 series. However, it appears that the eight-episode historical romance drama might have to make way for another show soon.
According to Sarandos, Squid Game has become a viral hit for Netflix and could potentially become the biggest show on the platform ever.
At the moment, Squad Game is already on track to displace French mystery thriller Lupin as Netflix's biggest non-English-language series. If Squid Game can maintain its numbers, then it's going to vault to the top of the rankings in no time. However, Sarandos did not reveal the viewership numbers for Squid Game. This means that Squid Game might not necessarily overtake Bridgerton.
With that said, whether or not Squid Game becomes Netflix's biggest hit ever isn't important. What's important here is that Netflix is becoming more open to discussing its viewership numbers. The streaming platform is notorious for refusing to divulge such information, even to showrunners. Netflix's latest decision to pull back to the curtains on how it determines the popularity of its shows is part of its effort to become "more transparent with talent, with the market."
Since debuting on Netflix, Squid Game has become the first Korean drama ever to hit the top spot in Netflix's top 10 list in the United States.
In other Netflix-related news, the popular streaming platform just announced that it's expanding its video games to reach more countries like Spain, Poland, and Italy. Meanwhile, it recently held its first-ever TUDUM showcase, where it dropped new trailers and footage of upcoming seasons of its most popular shows such as Ozark, Cobra Kai, as well as The Witcher.
