The now critically acclaimed television series Squid Game has taken the world by storm, with its popularity rising immensely ever since its breakout on TikTok.

Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama series on Netflix created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The series revolves around 456 players, chosen specifically because of their financial situation, that put their lives at risk playing children’s games for the prize of $38 million, with the prize fund increasing every time someone dies.

Hwang, the creator, based this show on the class disparity in South Korea and his own economic struggles in his earlier life. He originally wrote the show in 2009 but could not get a production company to fund the idea until 2019.

Squid Games was released worldwide on September 17, 2021. Within its first four weeks, the series attracted more than 142 million member households. It is Netflix’s most-watched series to date.

The premise is quite simple. Seong Gi-hun (the main character) is invited to play a series of children’s games for a chance at a large cash prize, and, not knowing the life-risking decision he’s about to make, he accepts. He is taken to an unknown location where he finds himself among 456 players who are all deeply in debt. The players are made to wear green tracksuits while the guards are in pink jumpsuits with different shapes on their masks. The entire game is overseen by the Front Man, who wears a black mask and black uniform. The players soon discover that losing in these children’s games results in death. Seong Gi-hun teams up with others in order to survive the game.

This show packs a punch, with several intertwined storylines going on inside and outside the game. There is a reason the ratings are so high: if you are looking for a show that combines survival with drama, Squid Game is right for you.