The American replacement for Netflix’s Squid Game has been hit with a significant setback. Finding a replacement is understandable considering that season 1 of the original series is the streamer’s most-watched of all time with 265.2 million views. With 192.6 million and 145.8 million views, respectively, seasons 2 and 3 are the second and third most-watched of all time for Netflix’s non-English-language shows.
In October 2024, an English-language Squid Game series from David Fincher was reported by Deadline to be in the works at Netflix. While there is a reality show called Squid Game: The Challenge, Fincher’s series would be the franchise’s first scripted spinoff and potentially explore what the deadly games are like in the United States of America.
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01
Squid Game shattered records on launch in 2021, becoming Netflix’s biggest-ever series debut. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s South Korean thriller centres on a desperate gambler named Seong Gi-hun. What is his player number?
✓ Correct! Gi-hun is Player 456 — the last number drawn. Kang Sae-byeok (the North Korean defector) is 067, Cho Sang-woo (the Stanford-educated finance crook) is 218, and the mysterious elderly Oh Il-nam is 001. Squid Game became Netflix’s first show to hit #1 in every country it launched in, amassing over 1.6 billion hours watched in its first month alone.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is 456. Gi-hun’s number is the very last of the 456 players. 067 is Sae-byeok the defector, 218 is Sang-woo the Stanford grad, and 001 is the mysterious old man Oh Il-nam whose identity becomes the series’ biggest reveal. Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched launch ever, hitting #1 in 94 countries.
02
The Tim Burton-directed Addams Family spin-off set at Nevermore Academy became Netflix’s second-biggest English-language debut in 2022 and launched a TikTok dance craze. Which young actress plays the deadpan title character?
✓ Correct! Jenna Ortega — a Disney Channel graduate and indie-horror favourite (X, Scream VI) — took the role Christina Ricci made iconic in the 1990s films and made it entirely her own. Her now-famous cello-accompanied dance scene became an overnight TikTok phenomenon, and her performance earned Wednesday two Emmy nominations despite airing mid-season.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Jenna Ortega. Millie Bobby Brown is Eleven on Stranger Things, Sadie Sink plays Max Mayfield (also Stranger Things), and Maya Hawke plays Robin. Ortega’s deadpan Wednesday Addams — and her viral cello-dance scene — turned the show into a global phenomenon in late 2022.
03
In 2013, Netflix released a dark political thriller starring Kevin Spacey as a ruthless congressman breaking the fourth wall. It became the first major streaming original to land a Primetime Emmy nomination and effectively invented prestige streaming TV. Which show was it?
✓ Correct! House of Cards — adapted by Beau Willimon from the 1990 BBC series — became Netflix’s first prestige original and proved a streaming service could go toe-to-toe with HBO. Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood and his asides to camera defined early streaming TV. Orange Is the New Black followed months later in July 2013 and became Netflix’s longest-running original at the time.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is House of Cards (February 2013). Orange Is the New Black launched five months later (July 2013), Arrested Development’s Netflix revival came in May 2013, and Hemlock Grove was a horror effort the same spring. House of Cards was the flagship — the first streaming original to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
04
Peter Morgan’s The Crown famously recast its entire ensemble every two seasons to age the royal family. After Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1-2, which Oscar-winning actress took the crown for seasons 3-4?
✓ Correct! Olivia Colman — fresh off her Best Actress Oscar for The Favourite — played the Queen across seasons 3 and 4, covering the late 1960s through the early Thatcher years. Imelda Staunton took over for seasons 5-6, Helena Bonham Carter played Princess Margaret in seasons 3-4, and Gillian Anderson stole the show as Margaret Thatcher in season 4.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Olivia Colman. Imelda Staunton took over for the final two seasons (5-6). Helena Bonham Carter played the chain-smoking Princess Margaret during seasons 3-4 alongside Colman. Gillian Anderson delivered an Emmy-winning Margaret Thatcher in season 4. Colman anchored the show’s middle era fresh off her 2019 Oscar win.
05
The Duffer Brothers’ 1980s nostalgia juggernaut sees Eleven and the gang battle inter-dimensional horrors from a portal beneath the town’s Hawkins National Laboratory. In which fictional US town and state is the series set?
✓ Correct! Hawkins, Indiana — a fictional Midwestern small town that became one of TV’s most iconic settings. The Duffer Brothers chose Indiana for its unassuming, ordinary-America vibe, making the supernatural chaos feel more jarring. Derry is Stephen King’s It setting, Hill Valley is from Back to the Future, and Twin Peaks is David Lynch’s famous town.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Hawkins, Indiana. Derry, Maine is the fictional town from Stephen King’s It. Hill Valley is Marty McFly’s home in Back to the Future. Twin Peaks, Washington is David Lynch’s famous fictional town. Hawkins is The Duffer Brothers’ deliberately ordinary Midwestern setting — the flat, unassuming backdrop that makes Vecna’s horrors hit harder.
06
Netflix’s Regency romance juggernaut — based on Julia Quinn’s novels and famous for its colour-blind casting, string-quartet pop covers, and narrated gossip column — is produced by which prolific showrunner’s production banner?
✓ Correct! Shonda Rhimes — the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal — produces Bridgerton through her Shondaland banner as the first major fruit of her massive 2017 Netflix deal. Chris Van Dusen created the show, but Shondaland’s signature ensemble-romance DNA is all over it. Julian Fellowes did Downton Abbey, Ryan Murphy did Monster/Dahmer, and Jenji Kohan did Orange Is the New Black.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Shonda Rhimes (Shondaland). Ryan Murphy produces true-crime anthologies like Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Julian Fellowes is the Downton Abbey/Gilded Age creator — a different period drama entirely. Jenji Kohan is behind Orange Is the New Black and Weeds. Bridgerton was the first big payoff of Rhimes’ nine-figure Netflix deal.
07
La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) became a global phenomenon on Netflix after a modest Spanish TV debut — partly thanks to its gang’s instantly recognisable red jumpsuits paired with a mask of which famous figure?
✓ Correct! The Salvador Dalí mask — with its upturned moustache — became the show’s defining visual alongside the red jumpsuits, a nod to Spanish artistic rebellion and surrealist individuality. It inspired protest iconography worldwide, from Lebanon to France. The original Antena 3 version underperformed; Netflix acquired it in 2017, re-edited it, and turned it into a global sensation.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Salvador Dalí. Guy Fawkes is the V for Vendetta mask that Anonymous adopted. Che Guevara is a common revolutionary image but not the heist crew’s mask. Picasso is a frequent wrong answer given he’s the more globally-known Spanish artist — but the Dalí mask, with its iconic moustache, is the one fused forever with Money Heist’s red jumpsuits.
08
Netflix’s 2020 limited series about a Cold War-era chess prodigy named Beth Harmon caused a global surge in chess-set sales and was one of the streamer’s most-watched shows that year. Who played Beth?
✓ Correct! Anya Taylor-Joy — already a cult favourite from The Witch and Emma — broke out globally as Beth Harmon, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress. The Queen’s Gambit pulled 62 million households in its first 28 days and caused such a chess-boom that Chess.com and retailers ran out of sets. It also made Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel a surprise bestseller almost 40 years later.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Anya Taylor-Joy. Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Oppenheimer), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, Where the Crawdads Sing) are all frequent competitors in similar roles. Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon earned her a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and turned Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel into a sudden bestseller.
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The Squid Game series finale teases the spinoff further in the final scene when Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) is in Los Angeles and sees a woman wearing a suit (Cate Blanchett) playing ddakji with a man and slapping him, just as the Recruiter (Gong Yoo) did to recruit Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and others to enter the games. This seemingly confirms that the games are now happening in the U.S., with Blanchett serving as the American Recruiter.
Between the original show’s popularity and clear setup for the American spinoff, it was poised to be a natural extension for the franchise, but the project may no longer be moving forward after a major development.
David Fincher Leaving Netflix Is Bad News For The American Spinoff
Netflix and David Fincher are parting ways after the filmmaker chose not to renew his deal, which expires in 2027. During his time there, he directed the films Mank, The Killer, and the upcoming The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, along with being the showrunner and most frequent director of the television series Mindhunter, and a producer of House of Cards and Love, Death + Robots.
With Fincher reportedly being the lead creative of Netflix’s American Squid Game spinoff, and his deal with the streamer now expiring, chances of the project still happening are much less likely. The original report released in 2024 shared that the series was expected to be his main focus in 2025, but it ended up being The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth instead, which will seemingly be his last Netflix collaboration.
Even before opting not to renew his Netflix deal, there was doubt about whether the spinoff would materialize since it was never officially announced by Netflix and there has not been much in the way of updates since Deadline‘s report from two years ago. The show could potentially still happen with someone other than Fincher helming it. Finding someone who can succeed the director of Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and Gone Girl will be challenging, though.
Netflix Doesn’t Need To Pursue The American Spinoff Further
The masked workers in Squid GameImage via MovieStillsDB
The potential of an American Squid Game spinoff always seemed tenuous, and with Fincher’s exit, the best course of action is to scrap the project. Squid Game has a near-perfect first season, and while seasons 2 and 3 work for the most part, they still feel at times as though the show is being needlessly stretched. The American spinoff would made this problem only worse, as it is poised to repeat the story that has already been told, just with new sadistic games in a different country.
Part of what makes Squid Game work so well is that it’s Netflix’s all-time best K-drama. Without creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and the unparalleled Korean cast from the original series, the American spinoff cannot capture the same magic and will obviously not be a K-drama. Additionally, while the violent twist on children’s games is an essential hook that helped make the show go viral, it is ultimately the human story of Gi-hun, and his journey has come to a definitive conclusion.
Squid Game has already explored the brutal road to winning the games, returning to them, destroying them, and discovering that they can never be entirely eliminated. There’s little left to dig into at this point beyond violent spectacle. Instead of trying to replicate previous success with a spinoff, Netflix should invest in more original shows that could be the next Squid Game.
