Viewers may gasp, cringe or scream as they watch characters die in Netflix’s Squid Game, but these simulated deaths have a different effect on the creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk is happy to see her go.

The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was “really difficult” to balance everyone on set.

When characters died, Hwang remembers saying to the actors on their last day, “Oh no! How sad! “I won’t see you tomorrow,” but inside I was always smiling.”

The second season of “Squid Game” starts on Thursday. It stars Lee Jung-jae again and is about a secret competition in South Korea aimed at people in debt, where the winner receives a large cash prize. What they don’t know is that defeat is fatal.

Hwang originally conceived the show as a two-hour film 15 years ago, but it failed to gain traction with either financiers or interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. Then he had the idea of ​​turning it into a TV series instead and brought the project to Netflix. There it was able to reach a wide audience.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be this huge,” said Hwang, who spoke to the AP about the show and its future. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

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AP: What did you learn from “Squid Game”?

HWANG: I learned not to give up. If you love something and want to create something, it may not work now, but the time for it may come later. Or this idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.

AP: You have already finished filming the third season of “Squid Game.” Have you thought about what your next project will be?

HWANG: I’m afraid to talk about it, but it’s a feature film set 10 to 20 years in the future. It’s darker than “Squid Game.” It will be quite cruel, quite sad, but at the same time quite bizarre and humorous.

AP: What movies and TV shows do you enjoy?

HWANG: I used to think that you had to have a certain taste to be cool, but I actually think I’m an omnivore. I like to look at everything. When I sit on the couch and watch TV, I sometimes watch CNN or Fox News. And then I watch National Geographic and nature documentaries, and I also watch some very soapy Korean shows or reality TV. I jump around and watch everything that’s happening in the world. I often don’t stick with a series the whole time. There are only about five shows that I watched to the end, like Breaking Bad and Why Women Kill.

AP: Would you ever want to direct a US production or Hollywood actors?

HWANG: Of course. I studied film at the University of Southern California and there are so many people I would love to work with. I’ve been getting these offers since Squid Game, but because I’m a writer and director, I think I’m at my best when working with Korean actors and directing in Korean with my Korean script. But if I come across a great script, why not? I would love to work with Jake Gyllenhaal.

AP: There are even more characters in the second season of “Squid Game.” Why is that?

HWANG: With seasons two and three I had more time for more characters. This time we have a lot of younger characters. When I was filming the first season, I thought that it’s very hard for you to be up to your eyeballs in debt when you’re in your 20s or 30s. I thought you had to be at least middle-aged to need money and want to play the Squid Game. But the world has changed. Now I feel like there are fewer decent jobs for young people and they feel like hard work won’t even get them into the middle class. They want to hit the jackpot and therefore invest in cryptocurrencies. In Korea, there are many young people in their early 20s and 30s who are turning to online gambling. I wanted to show what society is really like today.

AP: The second season of “Squid Game” has already been nominated for a Golden Globe, which is a good sign. Can you say something about the third season of “Squid Game”?

HWANG: It’s better than season two.