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Squid Game season 2 just broke another Netflix record

The first 11 days of Netflix's smash hit dystopian Korean drama have the same viewership numbers as months of other shows

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Jan 08 2025

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At this point, we're starting to feel bad for other Netflix shows. The second season of Squid Game has already claimed the mantle of one coveted record for the streamer, and now, a recent report finds that it's passed yet another milestone, the second in the scant period of time it's been out. The record once again has everything to do with the viewership numbers, which continue to grow exponentially for the Korean dystopian drama.

The news comes from Variety, who reported on Squid Games boffo views on January 7, just 11 days after the second season drops. In that considerably short amount of time, Variety finds that season 2 earned a staggering 126.2 million views, the largest number the streaming platform has ever seen. This update comes just one week after the report that Squid Game season 2 became Netflix's largest series debut ever, racking up 68 million views in its first weekend.

You may recall that Popverse responded to that latter bit of record-breaking by speculating that it will mean more TV shows set in the Squid Game universe, and we have to offer up the more recent news as further support for our theory. Even beyond that, we'd humbly remind you that just below Squid Game season 2 on last week's Netflix Top 10 report was Squid Game season 1, shaking up 13.6 million views between December 30 and January 4. So not only are Squid Game fans returning for more, they're growing their numbers.

Of course, no word on Netflix's plan to continue Squid Game as a franchise has come from official sources as of yet (besides, of course, the reality series spinoff Squid Game: The Challenge), meaning the show is still tentatively set to end as planned, with the third season. But as soon as we have official news confirming our theory, you can bet that you'll be hearing from us.

And in all likelihood, you'll hear from us before that, when Squid Game season 2 breaks its next record.

Squid Game seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix now.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.