Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality TV spinoff of the South Korean dystopian horror series Squid Game, is returning to Netflix for a second season – and it’s looking for contestants.
The series follows real-life players as they compete in a series of tasks, most of which are based on those of its origin drama. Fortunately, the losers are spared a grisly end in the real-life show, but only one player will walk away with the cash prize of USD $4.56 million (the equivalent of USD $10,000 for each of the show’s 456 players).
While contestants are not paid a salary for appearing on the game show, its sizable viewership can help boost your public profile and make you something of a household name. Season 1 ranked No. 1 on the streamer and reached more than 20 million views the week of its 2023 premiere.
If you fancy slipping into a green tracksuit and having a 1-in-456 chance of winning, here’s how to apply.
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- What is Squid Game: The Challenge?
- Is Squid Game: The Challenge safe?
- Who is the casting director of Squid Game: The Challenge?
- How does the casting process work for Squid Game: The Challenge?
- Audition tips for Squid Game: The Challenge
- Who is in the cast of Squid Game: The Challenge?
- How to apply to Squid Game: The Challenge
Described by Netflix as its “most ambitious unscripted show” and crowned the “biggest reality competition ever,” the reality game show invites 456 contestants to battle it out in a series of seemingly child-like games, with the twist that players who don’t complete the challenges on time, or lose to their opposing players, are “killed.”
The games include Red Light, Green Light; an approximation of Grandmother’s Footsteps, where players race towards a finish line but freeze each time a giant doll with a motion-sensor camera turns around; Dalgona, where players cut around a shape imprinted onto a brittle cookie; and Marbles, where pairs go head-to-head in a stone-throwing game of their own creation.
Season 1 of the reality show incorporated some substitute games, too, such as Battleships, plus additional tests of character where, broadly speaking, the players had to decide whether to set themselves apart from their fellow contestants in the hope of receiving preferential treatment from the faceless voices in charge.
Although there were reports of bad conditions on the set of Season 1, including temperatures being too cold, there are health and safety measures in place. And, while there’s fake blood to mimic the brutal eliminations of the drama, contestants are not really killed off. Creators of the show revealed that the splashes of “blood” that appear on eliminated contestants’ T-shirts are the result of an “ink packet (also called a squib) [which] was fastened under each player’s shirt before they started the game.” Each time a player was fired at by the show’s armed guards, “the squib bursts, indicating to the player that, without a doubt, their time in the game is over.”
Underwhelmingly, there’s no shadowy recruiter, game of Ddakji, or mysterious business card involved in the casting process of Squid Game: The Challenge. The game show’s leading casting directors are Erika Dobrin and Robyn Kass. Season 1 saw the pair work with additional casting scouts to pluck 456 candidates from tens of thousands of applicants.
Hopeful candidates must complete and send an application form with a one-minute video attached. Contestants must be 21 years or older, but beyond that, Dobrin and Kass say they’re searching for candidates who “have a great story” and “are deserving.” And unlike many reality contests that have a physical appearance criteria for candidates, “the network gave us the ability to cast anyone and everyone—all ages, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds—which was exciting.”
Speaking to Backstage about their casting process for Season 1, Kass revealed it was her and Dobrin’s job to ensure “that every single person we put in front of [Netflix] was worthy of winning and would be entertaining, and that we would be excited about them winning—you know, all the buzzwords that you’ve heard in reality casting.” Bear this in mind if your application gets flagged for audition.
The majority of the show’s 456 candidates are American or British, but the show casts globally. Season 1 was won by underdog Mai Whelan, or Player 287 as she was known in the game. Other memorable characters included mother-and-son team LeAnn Wilcox Plutnicki (Player 302) and Trey Plutnicki (Player 301), nice guy TJ (Player 182), and the uber-strategic Bee (Player 018).
To apply, visit the game show’s official casting page and highlight whether you are applying from the US, the UK, or the global talent market. You will also need to tick a series of boxes confirming you meet the eligibility requirements.
The application form will ask for your:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Contact information
You will have the opportunity to submit up to five photos, of which a headshot and a full-length shot are mandatory.
Finally, you’ll be required to upload a one-minute video telling the casting team “about yourself, why you want to be on Squid Game: The Challenge, what your game plan would be and what you would do with a huge $4.56 million cash prize if you won.”
The form also asks whether you’d be happy for your information to be held in Netflix’s contributor database for future seasons of the show or for other Netflix shows you might be suitable for.
Casting associates will get in touch if they think you could be a good fit. They’ll likely invite you to virtual video meetings with the casting team and producers. If they see you as a potential player, you might be asked to complete medical and psychological background tests. Dobrin and Kass stress the casting process is a long one – and talking with the producers doesn’t necessarily secure you a place on the show.
Still, with the reality show not nearly as blood-thirsty as the drama, what have you got to lose?
