Bridgerton delighted millions of fans with the romantic story of "Daphne" and "Simon Basset." For quite a while, Bridgerton was even the most streamed series on Netflix.
But that record has now been broken by a new series which got virtually no promotion beforehand. The Korean show taking Netflix by storm is called Squid Game.
Squid Game breaks Bridgerton record on Netflix
Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, recently predicted that Squid Game would be the most watched series on the streaming platform — and he was right.
According to data collected by Whip Media, Squid Game is having one of the biggest debuts in Netflix history. In the first week, the survival series saw a 981-percent increase in engagement.
Just 10 days after its release, the series reached the same heights as Bridgerton and climbed to No. 1 in 90 countries.
Whip Media notes that Squid Game is more successful than popular series like Lupin and The Queen's Gambit in terms of growing audience rates.
About 41 percent of Squid Game fans are between 18 and 29 years old, and about 58 percent between 18 and 34. There is a tendency for slightly more men than women to watch the series.
The great popularity of Squid Game could also be due to the growing popularity of Asian and non-English series. Deadline says that around 97 percent of US Netflix customers viewed at least one non-English production in the past year.
So-called K-dramas in particular are becoming increasingly popular. In the United States, they saw a 200 percent increase in viewers between 2019 and 2021.
Squid Game, which premiered on Sept. 17, is about broke and desperate men and women who agree to join a mysterious contest for prize money.
At a secret location, they compete against each other in six children's games. The winner will receive 45.6 billion won (Korean dollars), but there is a catch: whoever loses each game is killed.
Squid Game: Will there be a season 2?
It's still unknown if there will be a Squid Game season 2. The creator of the series Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety that he has no "well-developed plans for Squid Game 2."
"It is quite tiring just thinking about it," he said. "But if I were to do it, I would certainly not do it alone. I'd consider using a writers' room and would want multiple experienced directors."
Fans are keeping their fingers crossed!
Actor Gong Yoo
Always in the big trends
And it's quite a list!
