Korean drama Squid Game about to become 'Netflix's biggest show ever', says CEO

Netflix’s new Korean drama Squid Game has taken the world by storm. It currently stands at the number one spot after premiering less than two weeks ago on the streaming giant. Ever since its release, the South Korean drama is raking in viewership globally at a rapid pace to such an extent that it might surpass Bridgerton to become the biggest Netflix show ever. Squid Game was released on 17 September and in just two days, it entered the top 10 shows globally. However, the following day, the gory thriller was at Number 2 before taking the Number 1 spot on 21 September. According to Variety, this series currently stands at Number 1 worldwide on the streaming service platform. “We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO said in an appearance at Vox Media’s Code Conference at the Beverly Hilton. Sarandos said that high-concept Korean survival drama has a very [big] chance of becoming the biggest Netflix show ever. Furthermore, in the conference, Sarandos shared two slides where one displayed the most popular Netflix shows while the other exhibited the total time spent viewing by hours within the initial 28-day window. Also, the first slide was totally based on the proprietary metric of accounts that selected a given title in the first 28 days of its release. As per the graph, Squid Game is soon going to become the biggest non-English-language Netflix show. Currently, Bridgerton is at the top of the streaming giant’s most popular shows with a record of 82 million. Followed by Lupin Part 1, The Witcher Season 1, Sex/Life Season 1, and Season 3 of Stranger Things. Moreover, Sarandos also informed that through these slides and figures, they are being more transparent with talent and the market. He also acknowledged Netflix’s streaming data as ‘a big black box, mostly’. Earlier in January, Netflix had announced that Bridgerton became the biggest show ever after the Shonda Rhimes drama was released on Christmas day. For the unversed,  Squid Game is a violent survival drama with masterful cliffhangers in every episode. The nine-part series is the first Korean original series to grab a top spot on Netflix.