How Squid Game Season 2 Earned a Golden Globe Nomination… Even Though No One Saw It
If you want to know who got a first look at Squid Game’s highly anticipated second season, it looks like streaming the giant Netflix gave the green light to Golden Globes voters… and the red light to everyone else.
When the nominations for the 82nd edition of the awards ceremony were revealed Monday morning, season 2 of the hit Korean-language series was a surprise among the six nominees for best television drama series alongside fellow Netflix hit, The Diplomat. Other shows in the mix are Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal, Mr. & Mrs. Smith from Prime Video, Shogun from FX/Hulu and Slow Horses from Apple TV+.
But here’s the billion-won difference between these shows and Squid Game: They’ve all been available to stream for weeks, if not months. The second season of Squid Game will not be broadcast live on Netflix so that the general public can binge until December 26, which is still two and a half weeks away. Advanced screens were also not made available to the entire press corps, suggesting that only journalists affiliated with the Globes were able to see it earlier.
According to Official Globes scheduleAll film and television entries had to be submitted by November 4, with November 24 set as the final date for television screenings and press conferences. That’s the period during which the more than 300 voting members who make up the Golden Globes Foundation — the successor to the controversial Hollywood Foreign Press Association that previously oversaw the Globes — would likely have seen episodes of Squid Game’s second year. The show notably had its world premiere in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, in the presence of star Lee Jung-jae and designer Hwang Dong-hyuk.
Although it is not uncommon for films to receive Globe nominations before their general release (for example, Searchlight’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown received multiple nominations despite not being released until on Christmas Day), it’s rare to see a TV series still airing. recognized. Besides Squid Game, Globes Voters Apparently Sampled Jamie Foxx What happened was ahead of its December 10 premiere on Netflix. The actor received a nomination in the Best Comedy Performance on Television category for the comedy special, which reveals details behind the medical emergency he would have suffered last year.
Yang Dong-geun and Kang Ae-sim in season 2 of Squid Game. Courtesy of Ju-han/Netflix
Squid Game’s surprise appearance on the ballot speaks to the general anticipation surrounding the series’ return after the first season became a pop culture phenomenon when it launched in 2021. That first year was also nominated for three Golden Globes and six Emmy Awards, with Jung-jae. winner of the Outstanding Actor Award at the latter ceremony.
Interestingly, the second season of Squid Game did not receive any other Globe nominations outside of Best Drama Television Series. But the show added to Netflix’s total of 36 nominations across its film and TV offerings, the most of any streamer, studio or network. And season 2 will almost certainly still top Netflix’s ratings charts when the Golden Globes air on CBS on Jan. 5, potentially giving the ceremony a ratings boost as it seeks to re-establish itself as a broadcast show. unmissable prize giving. after years of controversy and declining audiences. (Last year, the show attracted an average of 9.4 million viewersan increase of 50% compared to 2023.)
Of course, it’s possible that critics and audiences will react less positively to Squid Game’s second season once they see it. But making an early bet like this is one way to win all the marbles.
