Was Squid Game's incredible success the result of careful writing and production...or did it take a few too many cues from an older movie? Either way, Netflix is getting sued. Here's what's happening.
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00:00Was Squid Game's incredible success a result of careful writing and production,
00:04or did it take a few too many cues from an older movie? Either way, Netflix is getting sued.
00:08Here's what's happening.
00:10When Netflix first premiered Squid Game back in 2021, the Korean drama was an instant success.
00:15In it, a group of down-on-their-luck contestants agree to participate in a competition with tasks
00:19revolving around popular childhood games, where the winner has the chance to take home a massive
00:24prize. The losers, on the other hand, are executed on the spot, so to say that the stakes are high is
00:29probably underselling things a bit. A not-so-subtle metaphor for capitalism, the competitors put their
00:34lives on the line against incredible odds in pursuit of the almighty dollar — or won, in this case.
00:39Upon its streaming premiere, Squid Game was one of Netflix's most-watched series. It raked in
00:44Emmy nominations, becoming the first non-English language show to be nominated for Best Drama
00:48Series, while star Lee Jung Jae won the award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Squid Game was
00:53renewed for a second and third season, which will hit Netflix in December 2024 and mid-2025,
00:58respectively. But now, despite its success, Squid Game is facing a plagiarism lawsuit just
01:02three months before its second season is due to be released. Director Soham Shah is claiming that
01:07the plot to the popular Netflix show was stolen from his 2009 Hindi-language film Luck. According
01:12to Shah, the storyline of Squid Game bears a striking — and he would say suspicious — resemblance
01:17to Luck. His 2009 film also revolved around a large group of individuals in poverty who are
01:22enticed to participate in a mysterious competition, only to discover after the games begin that death
01:27awaits all of those who fail. Luck also features the presence of the wealthy classes who not only
01:31watch the games, but gamble on their outcome.
01:34"'You put us through all of that, so you can have fun?"
01:39In addition to suing writer Hwang Dong-hyuk for allegedly plagiarizing his work,
01:43Shah is also suing Netflix, as he argues that they would have had access to view Luck when
01:47it was initially released, and could therefore have taken ideas from it when they made Squid
01:51Game. In his complaint, Shah stated,
01:53The main plot, characters, themes, mood, setting, and sequence of events of Squid Game are
01:58strikingly similar to that of Luck, defying any likelihood that such similarities could
02:02be coincidence. For its part, Netflix responded quickly, saying,
02:05This claim has no merit. Squid Game was created and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk,
02:10and we intend to defend this matter vigorously."
02:12Of course, this isn't the first time Squid Game has found itself in legal hot water.
02:16When Squid Game became a confirmed success right out of the gate, Netflix wasted no time in putting
02:20out a reality spinoff of the show called Squid Game The Challenge, which aired in November 2023.
02:26Although the eliminated players weren't actually killed like they were on the real Squid Game,
02:30rumors began to circulate that the show was nonetheless exploiting its contestants by
02:34having them film in unsafe conditions. In February 2023, Rolling Stone reported on
02:38several contestants stepping forward to speak out about their experiences on set,
02:42which they claimed to be not only rigged, but actually dangerous. One participant said,
02:47It was just the cruelest, meanest thing I've ever been through. We were a human horse race,
02:51and they were treating us like horses out in the cold racing, and the race was fixed."
02:55They further alleged that one game required them to spend hours in an unheated hangar,
02:59and that medics were required to treat individuals who experienced negative
03:02effects from the extreme cold. In November 2023, Netflix was threatened with a lawsuit
03:06seeking damages for contestants who claimed that they suffered injuries such as hypothermia and
03:10nerve damage as a result of poor health and safety standards on set, as reported by India Today.
03:16As of September 2024, however, it does not seem as though any lawsuit has been officially filed.