Netflix defends new reality show ‘Squid Game’

It was a dangerous game show.

Netflix is ​​defending its reality series Squid Game: The Challenge after it allegedly got too close to the fictional source material – with players allegedly dragged away as the set turned into a cold “war zone”.

The scandal erupted when the UK streaming platform was secretly filming the long-awaited game show based on the hit series of the same name, in which 456 contestants compete for a cash prize of around $4.5 million. The mercury had dropped to 3 degrees C (26.6 Fahrenheit) during the shooting, which is said to have resulted in player injuries – although Netflix claims this is not the case.

“While it was very cold on set – and the attendees were prepared – any claims of serious injury are false,” Netflix and producers Studio Lambert and the Garden assured the public in a statement, Deadline reported. “We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew and have invested in all proper safety procedures.”

Her testimony contradicted participants’ claims that the players felt unwell after remaining motionless for hours in freezing weather during a re-enactment of the children’s game Red Light Green Light, the Sun reported.

“It was like a war zone,” described one horrified attendee, while another claimed that “some people couldn’t move their feet because it was so cold.”

“Someone could be heard yelling ‘medic’ and the crew kept charging,” they added. “We ended up standing there for 30 minutes between takes. Some ended up crawling. At least one was carried out on a stretcher.”

In fact, despite the allegedly appalling conditions, the participants refused to move or protest, both of which are grounds for disqualification under the game’s rules.

“Even when hypothermia set in, people were willing to stay as long as possible because there was a lot of money at stake,” claimed one stunned candidate. “Too many were determined not to move, so they stood there for far too long.

They added, “People came in thinking they were going to be millionaires, but they left in tears.”

According to The Sun, hundreds of contestants were eliminated in the first round of the “Squid Game,” a show that saw hopefuls from Australia and the US fly in to compete.

Billed as the “greatest reality competition series of all time,” The Challenge is a near-perfect look-alike to “Squid Game,” from the competitions, the spartan bunk beds, to the creepy animatronic doll that appears during “Red Light Green Light” Commands barks.”

Thankfully, unlike SG, the contestants don’t die after being eliminated — at least not yet — in the ten-episode series, which is set to resume filming next month.

Squid Game took the world by storm [director] Hwang Dong-hyuk’s compelling story and iconic imagery,” Netflix vice president Brandon Rieg said in a statement over the summer. “We are grateful for his support as we bring the fictional world to reality in this massive competition and social experiment.”

They were no doubt also hoping to capitalize on the massive success of “Squid Game,” which had become Netflix’s most-watched program to date, with over 142 million viewers.