Controversial New Netflix Series Debuts at #1 on Netflix Top 10

The Netflix Top 10 (Week of November 22) was topped by two new #1 releases: Squid Game: The Challenge and Adam Sandler's Leo movie.

By Cameron Bonomolo

Netflix subscribers gave the green light to Squid Game: The Challenge. The controversial reality competition inspired by the hit scripted South Korean series Squid Game debuted as the #1 TV (English) series with 20.1 million views since rolling out its first five episodes on November 22. (Episodes 6-9 are available on the streamer starting today, November 29, followed by Squid Game: The Challenge finale on December 6.) The reality show sent Hwang Dong-hyuk's Squid Game — already Netflix's most popular non-English TV series of all time — back onto the Non-English Top Ten list at #6 with 1.6 million views. 

Squid Game: The Challenge sees 456 players from 21 countries compete in a series of challenges to win a cash prize of $4.56 million — Netflix's largest cash prize in reality television history. "Through a series of games, each player will be pushed to their limits and forced to ask themselves just how far they'll go to win, with opportunistic alliances, cutthroat strategies and ugly betrayals to follow," the official synopsis states.

Tracksuit-clad contestants played stress-inducing games like "Red Light, Green Light," "Dalgona," and "Glass Bridge," but the production simulated the "life-or-death" stakes when eliminating players: squibs (ink packets) were used to "shoot" players who triggered motion sensors in "Red Light, Green Light," while stunt performers and VFX were used to make it appear as if players were falling through glass into an abyss below. 

The reality competition series has been described as "brutal" and "depressing" — and compelling, "top-tier television." (Read ComicBook's review here.) Squid Game: The Challenge has had its own challenges: two unnamed contestants threatened to file a lawsuit against the controversial game show, claiming they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage during filming. 

"Contestants thought they were taking part in something fun and those injured did not expect to suffer as they did. Now they have been left with injuries after spending time being stuck in painful stress positions in cold temperatures," said Daniel Slade, CEO of British personal injuries law firm Express Solicitors. In response, Netflix said in a statement: "No lawsuit has been filed by any of the Squid Game contestants. We take the welfare of our contestants extremely seriously."

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On the movie side, Adam Sandler's animated Leo movie broke out as No. 1 on the Films (English) Top 10, racking up 34.6 million views in its first six days to become the most viewed title this week and the biggest debut for a Netflix animated film. David Fincher's The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender, ranked #3 with 8.8 million views; Best.Christmas.Ever! took #2 at 13.3 million views.

Squid Game: The Challenge is now streaming on Netflix.

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