Whether you like it or are disappointed but still rely on it, Netflix is now home to many fascinating TV shows and great movies. One of the genres in which those behind the streamer have succeeded, especially over the past few years, is reality TV, where millions and millions of viewers now watch everything from dating shows like Love Is Blind to competition series like The Circle and Bravo—style programs, such as the long-standing Selling Sunset. But the grandfather of streamers now had to defend the upcoming reality show Squid Game: The Challenge after the participants reported injuries on the set.
What Netflix said about injuries on the set of the Squid Game: The Challenge?
Although Netflix is very well known for many of its reality shows, this service is also popular due to many scenarios. Thus, it is quite logical that the leaders will try to capitalize on the success of both, turning the mega-hit Korean thriller “The Squid Game” into a real series of competitions. Unfortunately, many players complained of frostbite and other health problems related to the conditions in which they competed. But Deadline reports that the streamer has issued a statement refuting these accusations, which, in particular, says:
Although it was very cold on the set — and the participants were ready for it — any claims of serious injuries are not true. We deeply care about the health and safety of our cast and crew and invest in all appropriate safety procedures.
We don’t know if the statement, which was released in consultation with the show’s production companies, The Garden and Studio Lambert, details what security measures were used to help players, but the reported illnesses seem to suggest they weren’t enough. The show was filmed in the UK, where temperatures dropped below freezing even during the day, and the actors were playing a game of “Red Light, Green Light” (which required them to stay still for several hours to win) when the problems allegedly started.
What did the participants say about the injuries on the set of Squid Game: The Challenge?
The competition will be attended by 456 people (just like in the scripted series) from all over the world, who will undergo non-life-threatening versions of the tests coming from the original show, hoping to win a prize of $ 4.56 million. Participants who spoke to The Sun noted that before the start of the game in this particular task, they were given basic sports shoes, two items of thermal underwear, two socks, a shirt and green tracksuits similar to those in the fictional thriller. Then the participants told in detail how everything went awry:
- “When we got there, it was cold.
- ” “Everyone was shaking. I don’t think there were heaters there.”
- “It was like a war zone. People were carried out by medics, but we couldn’t say anything. If you talk, they’ll knock you out.”
- “Even if hypothermia set in, people were willing to stay there as long as possible because there was a lot of money at stake. Too many were determined not to move, so they stood there for too long.”
- “You could hear someone shouting “medic” and the film crew was rushing on. As a result, we stood there for 30 minutes between takes. Some were already crawling towards the end. At least one was carried out on a stretcher.”
Some reports noted that at the end people were crawling because their feet were so frozen when they were standing that they couldn’t move them well enough to walk. We don’t know when the competition will air yet, but at least it looks like filming turned out to be a much more challenging task than many players expected.
