Squid Game Season 2 Arrives After Three Years
After a long wait of three years, Squid Game season 2 is finally here, following up on the record-breaking success of the first season. The original became Netflix’s most-watched series and turned into a global sensation, making it a full-fledged brand for the platform. While a second season wasn’t originally planned, its immense success made it inevitable.
Early Reviews Show a Drop in Scores
However, early reviews for Squid Game season 2 have come in lower than those for season 1. Although the reviews are still positive, they are a noticeable step down. Here’s how the current scores compare:
- Squid Game Season 1 – 95% critic score, 84% audience score
- Squid Game Season 2 – 83% critic score, 63% audience score
Though these scores are still decent, they reflect a decline compared to the original. Some critics have pointed out that the season has been shortened from 9 episodes to just 7, which could be a sign of the challenges in modern streaming culture, where it can take years to produce a smaller season.
The Bigger Question: Viewership Numbers
The more important question surrounding Squid Game season 2 is its viewership. Season 1 remains Netflix’s most-watched show ever, by a wide margin, and the bar is set extremely high for the follow-up. Here’s a look at Netflix’s top 10 most-watched shows:
- Squid Game Season 1 – 2.2 billion hours viewed, 265.2 million views
- Stranger Things Season 4 – 1.83 billion hours viewed, 140.7 million views
- Wednesday Season 1 – 1.72 billion hours viewed, 252.1 million views
- Dahmer – 1.03 billion hours viewed, 115.6 million views
- Bridgerton Season 1 – 929.3 million hours viewed, 113.3 million views
- Bridgerton Season 3 – 846.5 million hours viewed, 106 million views
- The Night Agent Season 1 – 803.2 million hours viewed, 98 million views
- The Queen’s Gambit – 746.4 million hours viewed, 112.8 million views
- Money Heist: Part 4 – 710.2 million hours viewed, 106 million views
- Fool Me Once – 629 million hours viewed, 98.2 million views
From these rankings, we can see that while some shows, like Stranger Things, see a significant increase in viewership in later seasons, others, like Bridgerton, peaked with their first season. The question now is whether Squid Game can reach the same heights as its debut season.
Can Squid Game Season 2 Match the Original’s Success?
It seems unlikely that Squid Game season 2 will match the record-breaking success of season 1, as that was a viral sensation that’s difficult to replicate. Unlike Stranger Things, where viewers were eager to see how the story would unfold, Squid Game feels like a sequel that Netflix had to make, even if it wasn’t something fans were desperately waiting for.
Expected Success, But Not #1 or #2 Again
That being said, Squid Game season 2 is still expected to do well. It will likely land in Netflix’s top 10 or top 5, thanks to the immense popularity of the first season. However, reaching the #1 or #2 spot again seems unlikely, as the original’s success was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that’s hard to repeat.