Netflix executives praise ‘the system’ that led to the development of South Korean drama ‘Squid Game,’ now its most-watched original series.
Netflix’s content team in Korea was pretty sure they had a local hit on their hands in “Squid Game.” But no one at the streaming giant saw a global phenomenon coming when the thriller bowed on Sept.17, soon to become Netflix’s most-watched original series ever. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer, said the series that has been sampled by some 142 million Netflix households was ordered a few years ago by executives Minyoung Kim and Don Kang on the content team serving South Korea. “They did recognize they thought it would be their biggest title this year,” Sarandos said Tuesday during Netflix’s quarterly earnings video interview released as part of the company’s third-quarter earnings. “I can’t say we had the eye on it that it would be the biggest title in our history and around the world.” The success of “Squid Game” is a testament to “the system that Ted built,” aka content development operations in dozens of countries around the world, co-CEO Reed Hastings added. Sarandos praised the South Korea team for “creating a great environment for (‘Squid Game’ producers) to make a great show,” he said. Hastings offered a sartorial nod to “Squid Game” by donning a green track suit for the video interview. From the day it premiered, “Squid Game” took off at lightning speed.
