‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Sneak Peek: Mother-Son Duo Struggles With Red Light, Green Light Game (Exclusive)

Real-life contestants take on the iconic Squid Game challenges in Netflix’s upcoming reality competition series, Squid Game: The Challenge!

Modeled after the Emmy-winning Korean-language drama series, Squid Game: The Challenge pits 456 real-life contestants against one another for a chance to win $4.56 million — the largest single cash prize in reality television and game show history.

In ET’s exclusive sneak peek at the series, we learn that there are close bonds between some of the contestants. For example, Trey, from Chicago, is competing alongside his mother.

At first, he says he feels “lucky” to have someone he can trust in the game with him — but when it comes time to take on the iconic “Red Light, Green Light” challenge, he worries that luck is about to run out.

“I will get through this challenge — I swear I will!” Trey’s mom promises. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Bend your knees. Bend the useful knee that you have!” Trey teases.

He admits to the cameras that he’s worried about getting “shown up” on the show by his mom — who used to be a superstar athlete, by her son’s account. However, as the clock starts counting down, it’s a harrowing race to see if either of them will make it to the finish line.

Watch the full sneak peek below:

The Squid Game: The Challenge trailer — released last month — gave fans a first look at the massive cast competitors as they entered a challenge space designed to look just like the show, with its towering bunk beds, twisted, colorful staircase, and ominous masked guards. It also gave a sneak peek at the contestants competing in some of the same challenges faced by the Squid Game characters, including the dalgona challenge, the glass bridge and the harrowing game of freeze tag.

The reality version of Squid Game premieres ahead of the postponed, highly anticipated second season in executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk’s series about ordinary people forced to enter a secret competition, where they could either win a massive cash prize or lose their life. 

At the center of it is a divorced father and gambler, Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae, who won an Emmy for season 1), who unexpectedly outwits and outlasts his fellow competitors until he makes it to the end and discovers there is far more to the games than he originally thought. Season 1 also starred Park Hae-soo as Cho Sang-woo, Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho, Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok, O Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam, Heo Sung-tae as Jang Deok-su, Anupam Tripathi as Ali Abdul and Kim Joo-ryoung as Han Mi-nyeo.

When season 2 was first announced, it was revealed that in addition to Gi-hun coming back, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) will be back while audiences will be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend, Cheol-su.  

Squid Game: The Challenge debuts Nov. 22 on Netflix.

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