Netflix wants to be a bigger player in reality competitions. Can it win?

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Faith Dunn, wearing a green tracksuit, walked into the large room filled with bunk beds and hundreds of other players competing on the second season of “Squid Game: The Challenge.” As a big fan of the original Korean show, the home health nurse was known as Player 361.

Twenty-nine-year-old Dunn traveled to England in January to compete on a reality TV show filmed at Shinfield Studios, close to Reading.

Dunn, a resident of Springfield, Oregon, declared ‘Squid Game’ the best series he’s ever seen. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to experience a related event in person, saying, “They’ve really gone above and beyond letting us try this out.”

Dunn was one of 456 players competing for a $4.56 million prize in a competition based on the show “Squid Game.”

This new nine-episode series is part of Netflix’s growing trend of reality competitions designed for fans of its biggest shows. It premiered this week and is a perfect example of this strategy.

The popular streaming service is adding several new reality shows this year. These include “The Golden Ticket,” which takes inspiration from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” a competition based on the game “Clue,” and a reality series adapted from the board game “Monopoly.”

Netflix is developing a new game show tentatively called “Win the Mall.” Described as a modern take on classics like “Supermarket Sweep” and “The Price Is Right,” the show will challenge players’ consumer knowledge, according to The Times.

As a big fan of Netflix, I’ve noticed they’re always searching for truly original content. Jeff Gaspin, one of their leaders in reality TV, explained it perfectly – they’re constantly asking themselves, ‘How can we create something fresh and different, something viewers haven’t really seen before?’ It’s exciting to see them prioritize innovation like that.

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As a huge Netflix watcher, I’ve noticed they’re really going all-in on reality TV lately! It’s awesome to see, and it’s definitely helping people like Harry Jowsey get even more famous. They’re building up a massive collection of these shows, and it’s cool to see influencers getting these opportunities.

This year, Netflix has ordered 34 seasons of reality competition shows, according to data from Ampere Analysis. This is the largest percentage of total show seasons – 9% – that Ampere has recorded from Netflix since they began tracking the platform’s commissions worldwide in 2020.

According to Tom Nunan, a veteran of the television industry, networks are creating more expensive and ambitious reality shows because studies show viewers are interested in them.

Having a popular source show definitely helped “Squid Game: The Challenge.” The reality competition was inspired by the massive success of “Squid Game,” which became Netflix’s most-watched show ever with 265.2 million views worldwide in its first 91 days back in 2021. That existing fan base clearly translated to the new series, as Netflix data shows that over 95% of viewers who watched “Squid Game: The Challenge” had also watched the original “Squid Game.”

Gaspin explained that the show’s massive global appeal made it unusual – it connected with audiences almost everywhere. Because of this, adapting it into a reality TV format felt like a natural and obvious step.

Reality competition shows generally cost less to produce than large-scale fantasy or science fiction series. To save money, many are filmed in countries like the UK and Canada, which offer financial benefits for production.

While Gaspin didn’t reveal the exact cost of “Squid Game: The Challenge,” he confirmed the first season’s budget exceeded $10 million.

According to former NBC Universal Television Entertainment executive Gaspin, the show is one of our most significant and well-funded reality TV competitions.

For its second season, the show was filmed across six soundstages. A key set piece was a large rotating platform used for a game called “mingle,” where players race against the clock to gather enough people in one room to advance. The actors’ movements were captured by a network of ninety cameras.

Teams of five players competed against each other in a race where their legs were tied together. They had to complete challenges along the track, such as quickly building a house of cards, or risk being eliminated.

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Netflix is expanding into selling merchandise. They’re planning to open two stores and are also working with various brands to create and sell products inspired by their popular shows and movies.

Netflix is expanding beyond streaming by exploring new ventures like video games and interactive spaces for fans. Next week, they’re opening Netflix House near Philadelphia – a real-life location where visitors can purchase merchandise inspired by their favorite shows and participate in experiences based on Netflix programs.

I’m really excited about what Netflix is doing with reality TV. While other networks are slashing budgets and playing it safe, Netflix has the resources to actually experiment and try out fresh, new ideas. It’s a huge advantage for them, and I think we’ll see some really innovative shows because of it.

According to Nunan, Netflix is more willing to take risks than other companies. They appear very confident in their ability to succeed, even when trying new things.

Jimmy Fox, who leads unscripted development and sales for Fremantle in the U.S., decided to pitch the show “Win the Mall” to Netflix.

When pitching a show, most networks immediately try to simplify your idea, focusing on the bare essentials. But at Netflix, if you pitch something ambitious, they respond by asking how you can make it even more spectacular together.”

In 2018, Netflix began to significantly increase its offerings of reality television, starting with popular cooking competitions such as “Nailed It!” and “Sugar Rush.”

Since then, the company has created hit shows like the reality dating series “Love Is Blind” and built dedicated fan bases around contestants like Harry Jowsey from “Too Hot to Handle.” Jowsey is even launching his own dating show next year, similar to “The Bachelor.”

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Netflix announced its third-quarter revenue rose 17% to $11.5 billion, largely due to the success of the popular animated movie, “KPop Demon Hunters.”

After winning a ‘Squid Game’-themed event in Los Angeles, Dunn earned a spot to apply for the second season of the reality show, ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’.

She got ready for the show by revisiting Season 1 of “Squid Game: The Challenge” and studying documentaries about body language and how people communicate.

Dunn said she was thrilled to get the chance to work on ‘Squid Game’ and quickly became a huge fan. She loved the show so much that she even named her new puppy Squid!

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2025-11-07 18:32