Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge” pairs up real-life competitors in activities inspired by the streaming service’s wildly popular drama series “Squid Game.”The production of “Squid Game: The Challenge” involved a meticulous recreation of its predecessor’s environment, complete with a gigantic piggy bank holding the total amount of money given to the winner. At the end of the “Squid Game,” the winner gets about $38 million, which is suspended in the piggy bank above the beds of the competitors. The winner of “The Challenge,” however, takes home $4.56 million. But in reality, the prize isn’t looming over its rivals.
The piggy bank bills on the reality show are not, in fact, the real thing, according to a behind-the-scenes blog post that Netflix posted in conjunction with the release of the series. However, executive producer Tim Harcourt clarified that a security guard was constantly keeping an eye on the counterfeit money to stop any potential thieves from trying to pass it off as real cash. “Even when you have that amount of what is effectively fake money, it has to be guarded by a security firm, by [UK] law,” Harcourt stated.
That being said, “The Challenge” is quite similar to its predecessor in as many respects as possible, but the creators of the show chose not to risk placing an enormous amount of money above the heads of its players.
Squid Game: The Challenge Alters Its Cash Prize In Another Key Way
The moment Netflix revealed “Squid Game: The Challenge,” detractors started bringing up how the competition is portrayed negatively in the first “Squid Game.” The Hollywood Reporter directly questioned Tim Harcourt about the fact that the show imitates this rivalry for entertainment value during an interview with a few of the show’s creators. In answer, he outlined yet another significant distinction between the reality TV show’s approach to the reward at the conclusion of the competition and the original.
“The drama was about people fending off their desperate circumstances to win a huge prize,” he explained. “People in need isn’t the focus of our show. It has to do with giving individuals opportunities. Thus, we turn things around.”
Its big piggy bank, which purports to hold the cash prize awarded to the winner, and its deliberate omission of any mention of its rivals’ desperate need for that money suggest that the prize money distribution system is the single most significant distinction between “The Challenge” and the original “Squid Game.”
