Netflix
‘The Squid Game: The Challenge’ on Netflix.
cnn
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The winner of Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge” has been named.
Mai Whelan, No. 287, took home the $4.56 million jackpot during Wednesday’s season finale after playing a high-stakes game of “rock, paper, scissors.” The 55-year-old Virginia native played against runner-up Phill Cain, a diving instructor from Hawaii.
On Wednesday, Netflix also announced that “The Challenge” will return for a second season. Season 1 debuted in November.
“The Challenge” is a reality competition show based on the streamer’s hit 2021 South Korean series “Squid Game,” which will also return for a second season.
According to an official synopsis, “The Challenge” follows 456 contestants who “enter the competition show in search of a life-changing $4.56 million reward.”
“As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show, plus surprising new additions, their strategies, alliances and character will be tested as competitors are eliminated around them,” it reads.
The original drama series also featured a game with 456 contestants and a jackpot based on that number, but of course the stakes were much higher and with potentially fatal results.
While “The Challenge” is not a matter of life or death, as graphically depicted in the eponymous series, the reality show’s elaborate sets and games appeared almost identical to those seen in “Squid Game.”
The newest series also featured a series of new “tests” that resulted in the elimination of one or more contestants, a food-related prize, or an advantage to the next game.
The 2021 series “Squid Game” follows a group of cash-strapped contestants who compete in a series of deadly children’s games for a huge cash prize. The award-winning series became the biggest launch for a Netflix series and racked up six Primetime Emmy Awards in its debut season.
Casting for the second season of “The Challenge” is now open on SquidGameCasting.com.
