‘Squid Game’ Season 2 premieres in L.A. with showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk, actor Lee Jung-jae
Are you ready for more Red Light, Green Light?
“Squid Game” Season 2 made its Los Angeles debut on Sunday, November 3 at the Netflix Tudum Theater. The evening consisted of a screening of the premiere episode, titled “Bread and Lottery,” followed by a conversation with showrunner/creator/executive producer/director/writer Hwang Dong-hyuk and lead actor Lee Jung-jae.
Note that social reactions for “Squid Game” Season 2 are embargoed until Monday, December 9, and reviews are embargoed until Thursday, December 26. All episodes will stream on Netflix on December 26, making the show eligible for the upcoming awards season, including at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG Awards, etc.
In the Q&A, Lee Jung-jae talked about walking on the set for Season 2 for the first time and feeling like he was being “pulled back to hell” because of how many characters had died there. His one word to describe the new episodes is “conscious,” because his character Seong Gi-hun was the only person out of 456 players to survive the games last time, but at what cost?
Meanwhile, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s one word for Season 2 is “crazy,” so get ready to see some wild things taking place on screen. He said that there’s a “family” atmosphere behind the scenes with the crew, and that the one new addition is the director of photography, who he’s worked with before on other projects. Netflix will provide the complete audio of the panel soon, so keep watching this space.
At the post-event reception, there were multiple photo opps for attendees to take advantage of, including with the iconic doll with the spinning head. (Don’t worry, nobody was killed!) Hwang Dong-hyuk and Lee Jung-jae took pics with fans surrounded by pink soldiers and masked men. Passed hors d’oeuvres included chicken sliders, beef tacos, ahi tuna, and sushi rolls, and there were multiple beverage bars to wet your whistle.
Last week, the trailer for Season 2 confirmed that the Red Light, Green Light game will be making its bloody return to the survival thriller. The video also revealed that Lee Byung-hun as the mysterious Front Man and Wi Ha-jun as Detective Hwang Jun-ho will be returning. The rest of Season 1’s cast members all met gristly ends during that nine-episode run. Watch Gold Derby’s roundtable panel with the cast from December 2021.
Season 1 of “Squid Game” remains Netflix’s most-watched show of all time after debuting on September 17, 2021. It stormed that year’s awards season, winning six Emmys (including Best Drama Actor for Lee Jung-jae, Best Drama Director for Hwang Dong-hyuk, and Best Drama Guest Actress for Lee Yoo-mi), and taking home one Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actor for Oh Yeong-su).
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