‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Trailer Has 456 Real People Risking It All for $4.56 Million; Netflix Sets Premiere Date

Fifth Season and Roku have struck an unscripted international distribution deal.

Welcome to Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best television being sold at Mipcom next week. Our editorial team has done extensive research in the run-up to the 2023 market and handpicked what we think are sure to be the shows that will be big talking points at this year’s event in Cannes. In between meetings and cocktail parties, you’re sure to hear whispers about the next potential global hit and The Hot Ones is here to guide you. Here’s our pick of top scripted titles headed for the Croisette.

UK network ITV relaunched Big Brother this week and next it’s turning its attention in entertainment to The Genius Game.

NiziU is heading to South Korea!

Jessica Kiang Family will break your heart and bruise your heart and mend your heart like no one else can — not always in that order, and sometimes all three at once. In his exceptional, happy-sad-funny debut film “House of the Seasons,” Oh Jung-min creates a beautiful tapestry of intimate sprawl, as three generations of a meddlesome, quarrelsome, loving Korean clan experience all the colors of familial life while the hills of their village home phase from lush green to copper and russet to stark, snowy white.

Actors and filmmakers Steven Yeun, John Cho, Justin Chon and Lee Isaac Chung shared their thoughts on the appeal of Korean Diaspora cinema – as well as how they see the current wave of content coming out of Korea – in a philosophical but relaxed press conference at Busan International Film Festival. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The growing media and entertainment connections between Korean Americans and those Koreans living in Korea may be changing both communities, a public discussion at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday heard. “Being in a room full of fans, feels like they accepted me as a member of the family. It feels like, culturally, Korea [may be in] a moment of transition,” said John Cho. He was joined in the debate by actor-director Justin Chon (“Gook”), director Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and actor Steven Yeun, who are all either first or second generation immigrants to the U.S. They were careful not to speak about their current movies or projects out of respect for SAG strike protocols, but the avoidance of promotional niceties permitted a wider-ranging and more philosophical discussion. It touched on issues of identity, generational change and the development of the post-pandemic, streaming-era global village. “The reception I’ve had [in Busan] feels connective, not foreign, like living in a global reality,” said Yeun.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean content firm Showbox Corp. has added “The Killers,” an unusual anthology film, to its Busan rights sales line up. The film takes its title and themes from Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story of the same name.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.

Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat, attending Busan International Film Festival where he has been named Asian Filmmaker of the Year, talked about the challenges facing Hong Kong cinema at a press event today. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Feted in Busan this week as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year, Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat bemoaned censorship in China for its impact on the film industry. “We have a lot of censorship requirements in mainland China. Scripts must go to many departments. So, we need [to portray] clear situations in scripts.

League of Legends World Championship anthem featuring NewJeans.According to a press release, ‘Gods’ marks the first time a K-pop act has sung the League of Legends World Championship anthem. The song also marks the 10th anniversary of anthems for the annual esports tournament.“The 2023 Worlds music video follows the story of Korean pro player Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu, from his discovery of League of Legends in high school, to his run at Worlds 2022 alongside his team that overcame all odds to become World Champions,” the press release reads.‘Gods’ performed by NewJeans, and was written by Riot Games’ principal composer Sebastien Najand along with Mako’s Alex Seaver.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief K-pop star Suzy, playing a retired singer, dazzles Yang Se-jong as a freshman student in forthcoming K-Romance series “Doona!”. The Korean show will launch on Netflix on Oct.

“This was not planned. I think the way you know is I walked in here covered with my child’s seaweed snack all over my sweatshirt.” Greta Lee is infectious and is so damn grateful this breakout moment is happening to her when she’s 40.

All directors get their start somewhere, right? And in the case of acclaimed, Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, that start was in the Yellow Door Film club. Now, decades later, the director is reminiscing about his time spent with friends talking about movies.

Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club, a new documentary that will feature Parasite director Bong Joon-ho.According to Netflix, the upcoming documentary is an “ode to the golden era of Korean cinephilia” that will take a look at the “young film enthusiasts who paved the way for the Korean cinematic renaissance”The upcoming film is directed by Lee Hyuk-rae (2022’s Sewing Sisters) and will delve into the history and members of the Yellow Door Film Club, of which Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon-ho was a member of.“The 1990s witnessed an explosion of film clubs on Korean campuses, providing young students with a creative outlet and a platform to study the art of cinema,” said Netflix of the film in a press release. “Yellow Door Film Club was one of them.”In the new trailer for Netflix’s Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club, Bong and his fellow Yellow Door Film Club are seen reuniting to speak about the club, how it came about and its influence on the South Korean entertainment industry.“At overseas film festivals in the early to mid-2000s, people would ask, ‘Where did all these directors come from?'” Bong recalls in the trailer.

Netflix has released a teaser trailer for upcoming reality series Squid Game: The Challenge – check out the clip above.Based on the Korean survival drama created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show sees 456 contestants from around the world compete in various challenges inspired by the series, with the winner taking home a $4.56million cash prize.A synopsis reads: “Though the reality version of Squid Game isn’t a matter of life or death, there’s still a lot on the line. 456 players will compete to win $4.56million, the 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 timely betrayals to follow.”As shown in the trailer, the show’s animatronic doll returns for Red Light, Green Light, while another game appears to resemble the elevated glass bridge seen in the drama series.Squid Game: The Challenge premieres November 22, 2023 on Netflix.The streaming service officially announced a second season of Squid Game was in development in June last year.

Things are about to get real.

Trailer has dropped for Netflix’s Squid Game reality series, which launches November 22 with record prize money of $4.56M.

William Earl Another day, more X drama, as Donald Trump Jr.’s account was hacked Wednesday morning and posted a series of wild messages, including one claiming his father, former president Donald Trump, died. The series of posts included “I’m sad to announce, my father Donald Trump has passed away.