Squid Game has beaten Bridgerton to achieve the biggest series launch on Netflix, the streaming giant said.
The massively popular dystopian Korean drama, written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, follows desperate people who are invited to take part in a mystery game for a massive sum of money.
In its first 28 days on Netflix, Squid Game was watched by 111 million users, the company said.
Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn
— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021
That makes it Netflix’s most popular series launch ever, beating raunchy period drama Bridgerton, which was watched by 82 million households in its first month.
Netflix counts a view as anyone who watches at least two minutes of an episode.
Squid Game, which debuted in September, consists of nine episodes.
It is Netflix’s first Korean programme to become the most popular series in the US and follows from the company’s efforts to increase its offering of international shows.
The streamer has 209 million subscribers around the world.
Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for Korea, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, told CNN: “When we first started investing in Korean series and films in 2015, we knew we wanted to make world-class stories for the core K-content fans across Asia and the world.
“Today, Squid Game has broken through beyond our wildest dreams.”