Hit South Korean show “Squid Game” has formally turned into Netflix’s (NFLX.O) greatest original series launch, the web-based service said on Wednesday.
The nine-section spine thriller, in which strapped competitors play childhood games with dangerous consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won ($38 million), has turned into a worldwide sensation for Netflix since its release less than a month ago.
The tragic drama has propelled incalculable memes, Halloween costumes of the omnipresent green tracksuits worn by competitors and world diversions of different games. It has also started a discussion inside South Korea about toxic competitive consequences and incited new interest in the nation’s way of life and language on the planet.
“Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever!” Netflix posted on Twitter.
The series reached at that figure in only 27 days, since its release on Sept. 17, effectively outperforming U.K. costume drama “Bridgerton”, which was gushed by 82 million records in its initial 28 days.
Netflix gives limited data on survey figures for its platform and cuts the information it gives in different ways. The 28-day debut figures it delivered for Bridgerton and different shows incorporated any record that watched a scene for no less than two minutes.
Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told a tech meeting in California last month said the streaming service was astonished by how famous “Squid Game” has become.
“We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity,” he said.
The series was excessively famous to the point that South Korean Internet provider co-op SK Broadband sued Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and support work due to the flood in viewers.
Also, a South Korean lady was in chats with the U.S. firm with regards to compensation after she was deluged with prank calls and instant messages when her telephone number was incidentally featured as a key plot point in the series.
Netflix said it would spend more than $500 million on content created in South Korea this year.
