Squid Game

Seong Gi-hun is divorced, broke and deep in debt when a stranger invites him to play games for a big cash prize. He wakes up on a remote island with 455 other desperate players in green tracksuits, watched by guards in pink jumpsuits. The first game is the playground classic Red Light, Green Light, and the players soon learn what losing costs.

Hwang Dong-hyuk created, wrote and directed the series.

All three seasons hold the top three spots on Netflix's all-time list of most popular non-English shows: season 1 with 265.2 million views, season 2 with 192.6 million and season 3 with 145.8 million (views in the first 91 days).

It won six Emmys in 2022, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae and Outstanding Directing for Hwang Dong-hyuk, the first wins in those categories for a non-English series. It also took the TV Grand Prize at Korea's 58th Baeksang Arts Awards.

It's on Netflix in many countries; check your region. There are three seasons (9, 7 and 6 episodes, released 2021, 2024 and 2025), and season 3 ends the story.

Food to try: in season 1, episode 1, Gi-hun can only afford tteokbokki for his daughter's birthday, and the honeycomb candy from the second game is dalgona, which you can make at home with sugar and baking soda.