The second season of Squid Game is finally here after three years, the sequel to Netflix’s most-watched series of all time that has become a full-fledged brand for the service. There was never supposed to be a second season, but as successful as it was, there seemed to be no other choice.

However, with very early reviews coming in, these initial results are, at least so far, below those of the first season. While it shouldn’t come as a surprise in the end, a sequel won’t quite capture the viral magic of the original. Here is the current score difference, but I will update it over time as more reviews come in:

• Squid Game Season 1 – 95% Critic Rating, 84% Audience Rating
• Squid Game Season 2 – 83% Critic Rating, 77% Audience Rating

So not bad Absolutely, but lower than Season 1. Some of the negative reviews criticize that the series was shortened from 9 to just 7 episodes, a symptom of streaming culture in which… seven episodes of a new season can take three years to complete produce a show.

The main question with Squid Game Season 2 is not the critic reviews but the viewership. Again, Squid Game is by far the most watched series in Netflix history. Here is the top 10 list for total viewership:

1. Squid Game Season – 2.2 billion hours watched, 265.2 million views
2. Stranger Things Season 4 – 1.83 billion hours watched, 140.7 million views
3. Wednesday Season 1 – 1.72 billion hours watched, 252.1 million views
4. Dahmer – 1.03 billion hours viewed, 115.6 million views
5. Bridgerton Season 1 – 929.3 million hours watched, 113.3 million views
6. Bridgerton Season 3 – 846.5 million hours watched, 106 million views
7. The Night Agent Season 1 – 803.2 million hours watched, 98 million views
8. The Queen’s Gambit – 746.4 million hours watched, 112.8 million views
9. Money Heist: Part 4 – 710.2 million hours viewed, 106 million views
10. Fool Me Once – 629 million hours watched, 98.2 million views

So here you can see that later seasons of shows like Stranger Things sometimes see big jumps in viewership. Others, like “Bridgerton,” peak in Season 1, even though other seasons also do well. What will Squid Game do? I suspect it can’t reach the same heights as the original such A viral sensation. I just don’t think it will be possible to repeat that. It feels less necessary than going through the entire arc of Stranger Things and more like something Netflix had to make, regardless of whether it was what people actually really wanted to see, no pun intended.

That means, of course, it will work well. It may even be a safe bet for the top 10 or top 5 list based on the original alone. But #1 or #2? I doubt that very much.

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