Hit Korean show Squid Game helps Netflix gain more subscriptions

It's become a pop culture hit across the world and the streaming platform benefited from all that interest.

20 Oct, 2021

Netflix's show Squid Game has become a pop-culture hit throughout the world, helping the video streaming service rake in new subscriptions in the third quarter of 2021.

The Korean show's dystopian and gory take on debt-ridden South Koreans risking their lives to earn money by playing childhood games highlights the polarising worlds of the haves and the have-nots. The theme didn't just strike a chord within the country — people across the world related to it and it seems like Netflix benefited from all that interest.

According to the BBC, Netflix added 4.4 million users in three months, which is more than double the previous quarter. Squid Game has been its biggest hit, watched by "111 million fans" around the world.

Netflix, which is the world's largest streaming platform, now expects 8.5 million additional subscribers in the fourth quarter on the basis of popular shows such as Sex Education, the Queen's Gambit and Squid Game.

Squid Game officially became Netflix's most popular show earlier this month and has inspired countless memes, Halloween costumes of the ubiquitous green tracksuits worn by contestants and real world recreations of the various games. It has also sparked a debate within South Korea about toxic competitive societies and prompted new interest in the country's culture and language around the world.