Squid Game
season 2 just suffered a significant drop in week-to-week viewership compared to season 1. Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the hit South Korean Netflix series first released in 2021, following a group of contestants as they compete in deadly children's games to win a massive cash prize. The series became one of Netflix's most popular shows of all time, and Squid Game season 2 continued the story of Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun last month, earning positive reviews and getting off to a remarkably strong start in terms of viewership.
New data from IndieWire, however, now reveals that Squid Game season 2 viewership dropped by 55% between its first full week of availability and its second. The series boasted 58.2 million views for the week of December 30 – January 5 and 26.3 million views for the week of January 6 – 13. IndieWire calculated that season 1's biggest drop in viewership was 43%, and that came between the season's fifth and sixth weeks of availability. Netflix cuts off viewership records after 91 days of a title's availability.
Netflix defines a "view" as a season's total hours viewed during a given period divided by a season's total runtime. The answer is then rounded to the nearest 100,000.
What Squid Game Season 2's Viewership Drop Means For The Show
The Week-To-Week Decline Explained
Even though season 2 has just broken an unfortunate record for the series,season 2 has still been a major hit, which bodes well for Squid Game season 3. For starters, it was viewed 68 million times during its first four days, and that's compared to a season 1 high of 68.7 million views in its third full week. As it stands, Squid Game season 2 is at 152.5 million views in total, making it the third-most viewed Netflix series ever. Season 1 leads the pack with 265.2 million views and Wednesday season 1 is second with 252.1 million.
A lot goes into making a show like Squid Game, but there were several things bout season 2's production that make the process even more interesting.
The latest viewership drop does mean that season 2 probably won't be beating season 1 or Wednesday within its first 91 days. As far as explanations for the drop, the week 2 viewership likely took a hit due to the NFL Wildcard Weekend, in addition to the NCAA semifinal playoffs. But Squid Game season 2 is also just a different beast from season 1, releasing to an existing fanbase instead of slowly gaining momentum over time as season 1 did.
The previous third-place show was Stranger Things season 4.
Our Take On Squid Game Season 2's Viewership Decline
Will Season 3's Be Even Worse?
It's not really all that surprising that Squid Game season 2 has suffered such a big drop heading into its second full week. It was always going to be a challenge to repeat season 1's snowball effect. With the Squid Game season 2 finale leaving things on a big cliffhanger, season 3 will likely also be front-loaded in terms of viewership, and it could end up having an even worse week-to-weep drop when it releases in July 2025.
Even with this new viewership data, there's still no question that Squid Game season 2 has been a success. Audiences are evidently loving Gi-hun's return to the titular games, and season 2 sets up a climactic final outing for the character in the months ahead.
Squid Game is a South Korean series released in 2021 about financially struggling individuals who are invited to participate in a series of children's games. The competition offers a lucrative prize but comes with perilous consequences, as the players soon discover the lethal stakes involved in each round.
Release Date
September 17, 2021
Main Genre
Mystery
Finale Year
November 30, 2024
Network
Netflix
Cast
Lee Jung-jae
, Lee Byung-hun
, Park Hae-soo
, Yim Si-wan
, Kang Ha-neul
, Wi Ha-jun
, Park Gyu-young
, Lee Jin-wook
, Hoyeon
, Oh Young-soo
, Park Sung-hoon
, Yang Dong-geun
, Heo Sung-tae
, Kim Joo-ryoung
, Kang Ae-sim
, Lee Da-wit
, Choi Seung-hyun
, Anupam Tripathi
, Lee You-mi
, Jo Yu-ri
, Won Ji-an
, Jun Suk-ho
, Park Hye-jin
, Chae Gook-hee
Character(s)
Seong Gi-hun / 'No. 456'
, Front Man
, Cho Sang-woo / 'No. 218'
, Uncredited
, Hwang Jun-ho
, Kang Sae-byeok / 'No. 067'
, Oh Il-nam / 'No. 001'
, Jang Deok-su / 'No. 101'
, Han Mi-nyeo / 'No. 212'
, Ali Abdul / 'No. 199'
, Ji-young / 'No. 240'
, Jun-hee
, Sang-woo's mother
, Seon-nyeo
Creator(s)
Hwang Dong-hyuk
Producers
Hwang Dong-hyuk
, Han Heung-seok
, Kim Ji-yeon
English (US) ·