As the Writers Strike continues to terrorize the Western cinematic and television industry, streaming giants like Netflix are allegedly looking for alternates to work on while the negotiations get settled with the Writers Guild of America. According to sources, Netflix is now allegedly trying to bring back season 2 of the hit South Korean show, Squid Game earlier than expected.
In a recent report issued by Los Angeles Times, it was revealed that Netflix kind of screwed over the writer of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk by making millions from the series and not paying him much.
Netflix screwed over the creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk
As the strike of Hollywood’s writers continues, Netflix is allegedly planning to start the filming of season 2 of Squid Game since Hwang Dong-hyuk and his team of writers are not a part of the strike. Although season 1 of the series was a massive success, according to Los Angeles Times, Netflix kind of played the creator of the series, Hwang Dong-hyuk as he was not able to make much money from it.
Netflix allegedly made a whopping $900 million from Squid Game while Hwang Dong-hyuk walked away only with fame and not much money. According to LA Times, “In his contract, he had forfeited all intellectual property rights and received no residuals.”
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Hwang Dong-hyuk had allegedly written the story back in 2009 but was unable to find a production company that would support his story until the story was picked up by Netflix in 2019.
Season 1 of the popular South Korean series was a massive success
Season 1 of Squid Game was released in September 2021 and became Netflix’s most-watched series in 94 countries. Other than making almost $900 million for Netflix, the series also had 1.65 billion viewing hours in the first four weeks of its release. The series also received multiple awards and nominations for its unique plot and storyline including 14 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Squid Game was also the first non-English language series that received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
Squid Game revolved around the concept where 456 people who were facing financial crisis competed in a deadly tournament where only 1 person would emerge as the winner and receive almost $35 million while the others would be killed.
Season 1 of Squid Game is currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: Los Angeles Times