10 Shows to Watch While You Wait for Squid Game Season 3

When Squid Game premiered in 2021, nobody could predict that the show would become a worldwide hit and Netflix’s most popular TV show of all time. After racking up over two billion hours viewed, the twisted and ruthless thriller has cemented itself as one of the most influential and addictive TV shows in recent memory. With that kind of success, it was pretty obvious that Netflix was going to do whatever it took to ensure that Squid Game wasn’t just a one-and-done series. There was just one problem: although Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had ideas for additional seasons of his show, he had nothing concrete in place.

Unfortunately for fans, they had to wait an excruciating three years before they were able to get their death-game fix again. Lucky for us, the wait time for Season 3 of Squid Game won’t be nearly as long, with an estimated release date of Summer 2025. That premiere date is still more than six months away – so what are we supposed to watch to pass the time until Season 3 of Squid Game? While there isn’t another show exactly like Squid Game, there are plenty of thrilling TV shows that just might scratch the itch.

Squid Game: The Challenge

While none of the contestants in this reality show will meet an untimely and gruesome death if they fail any of the challenges, Squid Game: The Challenge has enough of the charm and sheer desperation of Squid Game to make it work. Like its fictional counterpart, this show throws 456 contestants into a closed arena and puts them to the test. The reality series even duplicates many of the games seen in Squid Game, just without the blood and guts strewn about.

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Created in 2023 by executive producer Stephen Lambert, Squid Game: The Challenge doesn’t have a secret society of the wealthy elite pulling the strings behind the scenes, but there is a hefty payday involved for the winner. With a jackpot of $4.56 million, you can bet that each one of the 456 contestants participated in the show as if their lives really were on the line.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Dong-hyuk cited Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor as one of the main inspirations behind Squid Game, and it’s pretty easy to see why. The anime series tells the story of a gambler who is in massive debt. Desperate to find a way to erase his money troubles, he signs up for a mysterious challenge filled with games that require both skill and luck. But there’s a catch: if you fail any of the games, you die. Sounds pretty familiar, right?

While the premise of Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor might make Squid Game seem like a ripoff, each show is done in its own unique way that makes them both worthy of their praise. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is as much about finding a way to get into the mind of your opponent as it is about playing the game.

Alice in Borderland

Based on the manga created by Haro Aso, Alice in Borderland follows a group of video game fanatics who are somehow transported into a sparsely populated alternate reality. The group is forced to walk the streets of a desolate Tokyo City where they come across a series of instructions to death games that they must compete in. Similar to Squid Game, the show is rich in mystery and an overarching sense of dread.

The series often plays out more like a video game than a television show, equipped with the occasional betrayal and even puzzles that the characters must solve in order to continue on their journey. Like many of the other entries in this list, it might be smart to not get too attached to any one character, because heartbreak and tragedy will show their ugly head when you least expect it.

Hellbound

Hellbound isn’t like any of the other shows on this list, and that’s certainly meant as a compliment. In an alternate universe, angels visit Earth and offer a warning to people who have been deemed as sinners. But unlike more wholesome programs, these sinners are not offered a chance at redemption: instead, they are told that their time on Earth will be coming to an end and that they will be killed. But they won’t be killed in any old way. No, they will be met by a small group of mysterious and powerful smoke creatures who will pummel them senseless before sending them to hell.

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Hellbound was created by Yeon Sang-ho, who rose to fame after the success of his film Train to Busan. With two seasons comprised of six episodes each, Hellbound is the perfect show to binge during a single weekend with enough mystery and intrigue to keep you invested.

All of Us Are Dead

What do you get when you take a highly infectious zombie virus and throw it inside a jam-packed high school? You get an entertaining thriller that is loaded with about as much spicy drama as you could ask for. Oh, and zombies – it has plenty of flesh-eating zombies that are almost as dangerous as a teenage love triangle.

All of Us Are Dead has some extremely high stakes that make it a worthy watch. Just like Squid Game, this show offers a critique of the power struggles and political games that occur in just about every facet of everyday life. With the added thrill of a zombie-related death lurking behind every corner, All of Us Are Dead offers up a decent amount of entertaining drama to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Snowpiercer

If power struggles and class wars are your cup of tea, then Snowpiercer should be on your must-watch list. The show works as a reboot of the 2013 film of the same name. It follows the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth that has transformed the planet into a world covered in ice and snow. In order to keep people alive, a massive train is constructed and filled with train cars that work as a class system. The more powerful of a person you are, the closer you’re situated to the front of the train.

Similar to Squid Game, the show is wrapped in a larger mystery that hides the origins of the flawed class system. Starring Sean Bean, Jennifer Connelly, and Daveed Diggs, Snowpiercer is packed with interesting characters and juicy drama. With four seasons and 40 episodes to work through, this show just might buy you some time until Season 3 of Squid Game is released.

Silo

Similar to Snowpiercer, the Apple TV+ series Silo is also set in a post-apocalyptic world. The biggest difference is that the characters in Silo live inside a massive underground structure called the Silo. The Silo is made up of over 100 levels, each serving different purposes, from agriculture to mechanical maintenance. But not everything is as simple as it seems, with the people of the Silo forced to live under strict rules, believing the surface world is toxic and uninhabitable.

If you enjoy character-driven mysteries set in richly imagined worlds, Silo is worth checking out. It has a layered narrative that keeps viewers guessing, and the underground setting adds a sense of claustrophobia. The show also features some very strong production values as well as compelling performances, particularly from Rebecca Ferguson in the lead role.

Money Heist

Like many of the other shows on this list, Money Heist is a show that explores the themes of class struggles. Created by filmmaker Alex Pina, Money Heist tells the story of a brilliant criminal mastermind who forms a small team of desperate criminals in order to pull off a massive heist that promises to make them all extremely wealthy. As might be expected from a series that revolves around a heist, things don’t exactly go according to plan, making for some entertaining drama.

Just in case you have a desire to watch a show with similar aesthetics as Squid Game, the characters in Money Heist also sport some slick pink jumpsuits. The show is also packed with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and glued to your seat. Money Heist might not be as brutal as Squid Game, but that doesn’t make it any less compelling.

The Purge

If you are looking for a TV show that is just as brutal as Squid Game, then look no further than The Purge. Based on the popular film franchise, The Purge takes place a few years into the future. With the country governed by the authoritarian New Founding Fathers of America in 2027, a yearly Purge is instituted that allows all crimes to be legal for a single 12-hour period. This is done with the hopes of quelling the most sadistic urges of Americans and bringing peace to the country. But of course, things get a little out of control.

Once again, the theme of power and class struggles is prevalent throughout the show. The Purge follows the adventures of several key characters who find themselves in various nightmares during Purge Night. Like Squid Game, this violent thriller examines the extreme lengths that humans might go to, in order to survive.

LOST

One of the most popular shows of the new millennium, Lost was an immediate smash-hit when it premiered in 2004. The show follows the trials and tribulations of a band of people who survive a plane crash on a seemingly deserted island. However, it becomes clear to the survivors that the island is holding onto some dark secrets that just might pose an even greater threat than an exploding plane.

Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof, Lost is the quintessential mystery thriller. While some of these twists don’t always work and many of the questions about the island are left to the viewer’s imagination, Lost has earned its rightful place as one of the most influential shows ever created. With 121 episodes to work through, it’ll definitely make that wait for Season 3 of Squid Game a little more bearable.

All of these series are available on various streaming platforms.