6 Netflix Shows & Movies SIMILAR to SQUID GAME (YOU NEED TO WATCH BEFORE SEASON 2!)

Squid Game (Korean: 오징어 게임; RR: Ojing-eo Geim) is a South Korean survival drama television series streaming on Netflix. It was written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, and stars Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, O Yeong-su, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung.[2] The series was released worldwide on September 17, 2021, and distributed by Netflix.[3][4] The show received generally positive reviews, and within a week was one of Netflix's most watched programs in several regional markets.

A group of 456 people from all walks of life are invited to play a series of children's games with life-threatening consequences to have a chance to win a ₩45.6 billion (US$38.7 million) prize.[5][6]

Main cast
Numbers in parentheses denote the character's assigned number in the Squid Game.

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun (456),[7] a chauffeur and a gambling addict, he lives with his mother and struggles to financially support his daughter. He participates in the Game to settle his many debts.

Episodes
No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date
1 "Red Light, Green Light (무궁화 꽃이 피던 날[a])[b]" Hwang Dong-hyuk Hwang Dong-hyuk September 17, 2021
Seong Gi-hun is down on his luck, having accumulated enormous debts with loan sharks. While at a train station, he is asked by a well-dressed man to play a game of ddakji for money. After playing, the man gives Gi-hun a card, inviting him to play games with higher stakes. Gi-hun accepts and is taken, while unconscious, to a mysterious location with 455 other players who awaken in a dormitory and are identified by numbers on their clothes. The location is managed by masked staff and overseen by the Front Man, also masked. The players are all in similarly dire financial straits and will be given billions of won in prize money if they win six games over six days. Gi-hun befriends Player 001, an elderly man, and recognizes among the players Cho Sang-woo, a former classmate and businessman, and Player 067, a pickpocket who stole his money. The first game is Red Light, Green Light, where those who lose are gunned down on the spot. Gi-hun, though terrified, is encouraged by Sang-woo to play, and is saved from falling by Player 199. All three are able to complete the game.
2 "Hell (지옥)" Hwang Dong-hyuk Hwang Dong-hyuk September 17, 2021
More than half the players were killed in the first game, and some survivors beg to leave. According to the third clause of the game's agreement, if the majority agree to end the games, all players will be sent home. The players vote, and Player 001's deciding vote has all of them sent home safely. Upon returning, Gi-hun goes to the police but no one believes his story except Detective Hwang Jun-ho, whose missing brother received the same card as Gi-hun. The game staff give the players the chance to resume playing, and many return, including: Gi-hun, whose mother needs a medical procedure; Sang-woo, who is about to be arrested for financial fraud; Player 001, who has terminal brain cancer; Player 067, who wants to smuggle her parents out of North Korea; Player 199, who attacked his employer for withholding wages; and Player 101, a gangster on the run. Jun-ho secretly follows Gi-hun when he is picked up by the game staff.
Donald Chang as Hwang Jun-ho[22]
Stephanie Komure as Han Mi-nyeo[22]
Yuuki Luna as Ji-yeong[22]
3 "The Man with the Umbrella (우산을 쓴 남자)" Hwang Dong-hyuk Hwang Dong-hyuk September 17, 2021
Jun-ho hides among the masked staff as they travel to the game's island location. After waking up in the dorms, the players are more prepared and start forming alliances. Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Player 001, and Player 199 team up, and note that most players returned, including Player 212, who was the first to beg to leave. Player 067 sneaks into the vents and observes staff workers in a kitchen. In the second game, the players are to pick a stamped shape out of a dalgona. Sang-woo identifies the game quickly, using information from Player 067, but does not warn his teammates and picks the simplest shape for himself. Gi-hun completes the game despite having the highest difficulty shape, an umbrella, by licking the honeycomb to melt it. Player 212 helps Deok-su complete the game with a smuggled lighter. A player takes a higher-ranked staff member hostage before killing himself; the staff member is killed, and Jun-ho takes the new mask.
4 "Stick to the Team (쫄려도 편먹기)" Hwang Dong-hyuk Hwang Dong-hyuk September 17, 2021

0:00 Intro
0:16 Alice in Wonderland
0:49 Sweet Home
1:15 3%
1:44 Battle Royale
2:15 Circle
2:40 Nerve