In an era of streaming, Netflix tries harder and harder again to lift its nose above the competitive waters. In a relentless rush to deliver the best, revolutionary, and never-before-seen content, the streaming giant leaves no holds barred on splurging in excess. However, curiosity killed the cat and no success comes without its aches. In an ambitious quest to turn fiction into reality, the streamer went ahead with Squid Game: The Challenge, a real-life reality show adaptation of its pandemic mass-hit, Squid Game.

The layout stood simple in theory. Contestants were to come in, compete, and take away a grand prize. Except, that the current story is a wee bit off from it and embroiled in legality.

Squid Game: The Challenge producers clash with words on threats of legal action

Stephen Lambert, Stephen Yemoh, John Hay, and Toni Ireland are the brains behind the real-life challenge that brought the acclaimed fictional show to reality minus the lethal threat to life. However, mere days after the first batch of five episodes dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, the producers were faced with a barrage of lawsuits claiming injuries and literal risk to life. Responding to questions over safety, the producers responded to The Hollywood Reporter claiming “Welfare and safety are obviously paramount for us.”

The show pitted 456 contestants against one another for a cash pool of $4.56 million and spread across ten episodes. While several games from the hit show played out, reports of hypothermia and induced stress emerged after many deficiencies and shortcomings in shooting. Moreover, the producers also justified the injuries as collateral in one of their statements. “It wasn’t going to be a walk in the park to win $4.56 million,” said executive producer Stephen Lambert.

In the meantime, the show has already aired and eliminated more than half of its original contestants. And here is where the problems started to branch.

How ‘Red Light, Green Light’ turned into life and death for the contestants

The original show by Hwang Dong-hyuk was an interpretation of how the modern capitalist society was failing at its roots. Yet, ironically, the reality show version of it is putting a massive dampener on the theme along with some confusion. The ten-episode show saw filming stretch for days mostly at Wharf Studios in London, and other places including an airbase in the UK. The contestants were then driven across the locations.

The casualties popped up with the ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game where players evaded the giant robotic doll. While mere minutes on air, the filming of it began at 3 am and took nearly six hours. The contestants were in frigid conditions even prior to the shoot, and hence the extensive exposure resulted in nerve damage and hypothermia. All in all, thanks to its discrepancies, the production company, Studio Lambert, now finds itself in hot waters.

What are your reactions to the producer’s remarks about the injuries? Let us know in the comments below.