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With 111 million viewers “Squid Game", the South Korean survival drama series, focusing on a contest where players compete in children's games with deadly penalties for losing, returns for Season Two written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung, streaming December 26, 2024 on Netflix:

"...'Seong Gi-hun', a divorced and indebted chauffeur, is invited to play a series of children's games for a chance at a large cash prize.

“Accepting the offer, he is taken to an unknown location and finds himself among 455 other players, all with similar large debts.

“The players are kept under watch at all times by masked guards in pink jumpsuits, with the games overseen by the 'Front Man'.

"The players soon discover that losing in these games results in their death, with each death adding millions to a potential billion dollar grand prize.

Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has picked up international sales rights to the major arthouse feature “Hana Korea,” based on the true story of a North Korean young defector who tries to carve herself a new life in South Korean society.

The hybrid project, produced by Sonntag Pictures’ Sara Stockmann with Seesaw Pictures’ Heejung Oh (“Pearl of the Desert”) is due to start lensing in August on location in Korea.

Danish documentary filmmaker Frederik Sølberg (“Doel”) has partnered with some of Korea’s biggest talent on both sides of the camera to bring authenticity to his fiction debut.

In a major coup, writer-director Sharon Choi, the famous interpreter of Bong Joon-ho who first appeared by his side when he landed the Cannes Palme d’Or for “Parasite” in 2019, has boarded the project as co-writer.

First A-list Korean acting talent on board include Minha Kim from Apple TV+ series “Pachinko” and the seasoned Kim Joo-ryung,...

Netflix Releases First Look at “Squid Game” Season 2

The game is about to begin (again). Netflix has released a first look at the upcoming second season of its record-setting series “Squid Game.”

The new, brief clip from Season 2 comes as part of Netflix’s complete 2024 slate announcement, with more favorites like “Bridgerton” and “The Umbrella Academy” set to release new seasons across the year.

Watch the Next On Netflix 2024: The Series & Films Preview below:

The streamer also released new photos for “Squid Game” with protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the Recruiter (Gong Yoo), and a new character played by Park Gyu-young.

The series, which debuted on Netflix in September 2021, revolves around 456 players, deep in financial hardship, who risk their lives to play a series of deadly children’s games for the chance to win the ₩45.6 billion prize. The Season 1 cast also included Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae,...

A3 Artists Agency is allegedly locked in a “state of chaos” as it confronts an “exodus of agents and their clients” to competing firms because of majority owner Adam Bold’s mismanagement of company funds, sexual misconduct and drug abuse, according to a complaint that has been filed seeking to block the sale of company’s most profitable divisions to rival Gersh.

Agency partners Robert Attermann and Brian Cho, in a lawsuit filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claim that they were duped into signing away their ability to stop the merger by Bold, who’s allegedly been shopping the agency for months at a figure they say is well-below market value.

“It has become exceedingly clear that Bold intends to siphon the proceeds of the A3 sale to himself and drive what remains of a once-great company into bankruptcy,” states the complaint. “In such a scenario, the...

While this year’s Best Comedy Supporting Actress Emmy Awards lineup could correspond to last year’s exactly, the drama one is guaranteed to be completely different. The 2021 winner Gillian Anderson and her “The Crown” costars Helena Bonham Carter and Emerald Fennell have all exited the series (which did not air new episodes during the current eligibility window). Aunjanue Ellis’s “Lovecraft Country” concluded in 2020, and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” for which Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski, and Samira Wiley were all nominated last year, also did not return in time to contend at this year’s Emmys. Scroll down to see our 2022 Emmy predictions for Supporting Actress (Drama Series).

This clear field could work in favor of Julia Garner, who is in the hunt for her third trophy for her work on “Ozark.” She could, however, face challenges from two women who previously prevailed here for other series but...

While this year’s Best Comedy Supporting Actress Emmy Awards lineup could match last year’s exactly, the corresponding drama one is guaranteed to be completely different. 2021 winner Gillian Anderson and her “The Crown” costars Helena Bonham Carter and Emerald Fennell have all exited the series, which did not air new episodes during the current eligibility window anyway. Aunjanue Ellis’s “Lovecraft Country” concluded in 2020, and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” for which Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski, and Samira Wiley were all nominated last year, also did not return in time to contend at this year’s Emmys.

This clear field could work in favor of Julia Garner, who is in the hunt for her third trophy for her work on “Ozark.” She could, however, face challenges from two women who previously prevailed here for other series but are now seeking recognition for new ones: Julianna Margulies (“The Morning Show...

The phenomenal success of Netflix’s Squid Game came seemingly out of nowhere, catapulting its writer-director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, and cast to global stardom and making them the hottest commodity in Hollywood. That has created a stampede among the major agencies to sign Hwang and the actors, the vast majority of whom have no Hollywood representation.

That includes Hwang who recently met with the heads of the major talent agencies, CAA (soon-to-be-merged with ICM), WME and UTA, sources said. He is said to still be mulling who to sign with. The cast, led by Lee Jung-jae, Jung HoYeon and Park Hae-soo, also have been taking agency/management meetings this week, sources said.

Hwang and the actors are all in town; they flew in for the big press junket Netflix held for the show on Monday following its breakout success.

Signing the show’s creator and stars would be very lucrative as...

The inevitable happened on Saturday Night Live as the sketch series took on global phenomenon Squid Game thanks to a musical number from Pete Davidson and guest host Rami Malik.

The spoof country number, a cover of Branchez & Big Wet’s “Turn Up On the Weekend,” started out with both Davidson and Malek as country folk who found themselves in financial ruin. Like the debt-ridden contestants of the Netflix-topping series, the actors’ characters sign up for the Squid Game to help pay off their debts. They both don the teal track suits and participate in the fatal games, including red light and green light.

“There’s a robot girl who caught me running, better duck behind the nearest guy,” Davidson sings as he runs behind fellow cast member Chris Redd for cover. Also appearing in the musical number was original artist Branchez & Big Wet.

The number divulges a number of major plot points,...

Squid Game has officially reached “inspector royale” status, and now is on track to overtake Bridgerton as Netflix’s most-sampled series ever.

The Korean-language thriller, which released nine episodes on Sept. 17, is described as “an imaginative, unorthodox story in which 456 contestants risk their lives in a mysterious survival game — involving multiple rounds of childhood games — for a chance to win 45.6 billion won” (or about $40 million U.S.; the first episode alone begs you to keep a won/dollar conversion calculator nearby).

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