• Hwang Dong-Hyuk, director of “Squid Game,” said the Emmy-winning series caused a lot of stress.

• While Hwang initially swore against creating another season, he said he changed his mind because of money.

• Netflix will release the second season on December 26.

Hwang Dong-Hyuk, director of “Squid Game“, says he was so stressed while making the first season of the Emmy-winning show that he lost “eight or nine” teeth.

In an interview with bbc Posted on Monday, Hwang reflected on his decision to do a second season. Initially, I was not interested because of the stress that caused. When asked what changed his mind, Hwang responded, “Money.”

“Although the first series was a huge global hit, honestly, I didn’t earn much,” he explained in Korean. “So I had to do the second season to help me make up for the first season as well.”

He South Korean thriller revolves around a competition to the death in which financially challenged players play a series of games to try to win the prize money of $32.4 million, at the cost of their lives. The first season ended with most of the cast killed off. Seong Gi-Hun, played by Lee Jung HaeHe turned out to be the only survivor who took the prize money.

The second season of “The squid game” will be released on December 26 and its third installment will be released next year, according to Netflix.

Hwang initially came up with the idea for “The Squid Game” in 2008, but shelved it for a decade when people thought it was “too complex and uncommercial,” he said. netflix in 2021. At one point, he even had to stop writing and sell your laptop to make some money.

Upon its release in September 2021, “Squid Game” became a world sensation. The first season generated almost 900 million dollars for Netflix even though it cost $21 million to manufacture, Bloomberg reported. That year, “The Squid Game” also earned a spot as most viewed program, with 1.65 billion hours broadcast in the first four weeks. In 2023, Netflix created a reality show based on drama.

Despite the success of the program, Hwang says he did not earn any additional income. In 2021, he he told the guard that he wasn’t “so rich.”

“But I have enough. I have enough to put food on the table. And it’s not like Netflix is ​​paying me a bonus. Netflix paid me according to the original contract,” he said.

In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, a Netflix representative said its compensation for partners is at a “competitive level.”

They added that they provide flexible compensation, including subsequent seasons and creating new shows with partners when their shows are successful.

In the same interview with the BBC, Hwang said that the stress he felt creating the second season of “The Squid Game” was “much higher” due to the audience’s high expectations.

“I haven’t seen my dentist yet, but I’ll probably have to get some more done soon,” he said.

A representative for Hwang did not immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.

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