Why 'Squid Game' is absolutely worth the hype

A rare actual overnight success, television series Squid Game has come out of absolutely nowhere and become a massive hit for Netflix.

In fact, it's poised to become the biggest series ever for the streaming network – bigger, even, than Bridgerton and those horrible bangs – as it currently ranks as the No. 1 show worldwide. (For comparison, Bridgerton was watched by 82-million households since it began streaming a year ago.)

A high-concept Korean drama, Squid Game was No. 1 on its second day in its home country, and entered the top 10 after just two days globally, hitting No.1 everywhere within four days. Its quick rise even led to South Korean internet service provider SK Broadband to sue Netflix, claiming it caused a surge in network traffic, according to Reuters. I mean!

Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content office and all-around head honcho, even told Variety this week, "We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity."

So what is it about, if you're one of the very few to have not caught it yet? Well, the series follows a group of people who are all in debt, and play a series of children's games to win what amounts to roughly $40 million USD. But here's the very big, very dangerous catch: if they lose, they get killed. So, it's sort of like Big Brother...with, obviously, far more intense stakes.

Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk described the show to Variety recently, saying, "I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we've all met in real life. As a survival game, it is entertainment and human drama. The games portrayed are extremely simple and easy to understand. That allows viewers to focus on the characters, rather than being distracted by trying to interpret the rules."

The series feels a whole lot like a video game, and was actually a difficult writing process for Hwang, who hasn't decided just yet if there will be a second season. Start your prayer circles now.

But in the meantime, it's already become a part of the culture, if you will. Based on one of the series challenges, which involves carving shapes into a honeycomb cookie (without it crumbling!), that Korean cookie itself, called dalgona, has now become a symbol for the show, and sales of it are soaring. It's even led to a TikTok challenge where fans attempt to bake the cookies themselves.

The cast of the show have also exploded, with leads Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon and Wi Ha-jun all set to appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this Wednesday, and Jung Ho-yeon becoming the most followed South Korean actress on Instagram of all time. The model-turned-actress has 13-million followers currently, and is in every other Squid Game meme you've probably seen circling Twitter.

All of which is to say, if you haven't gotten on the Squid Game bandwagon, now is the time. And if subtitles are what's holding you back, grow up.

BEFORE YOU GO: 'Kim's Convenience' star Andrea Bang joins Robbie Amell in beachy rom-com

[video_embed id='2293875']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Kim's Convenience' star Andrea Bang joins Robbie Amell in beachy rom-com [/video_embed]