LOS ANGELES — It's been more than three years since college student Justin Lin binge-watched the first season of Netflix's "Squid Game" in two days. Now, he can't wait until Season 2 launches on Netflix on Dec. 26.

Lin was so excited that he drove from the San Gabriel Valley to Hollywood to don a green tracksuit and compete against other fans for a seat at the U.S. premiere.

"It was really exciting — we were all on our heels. We were all on our toes," Lin said after he watched the first episode of the new season.

The show, about debt-ridden people so desperate for money that they compete in deadly games, remains the most popular program on Netflix with more than 330 million views to date of its first season. In the Korean drama's first 91 days on Netflix, "Squid Game" Season 1 captured 265.2 million views — the largest amount ever on the platform for any program.

Tom Nunan, a former network and studio executive who teaches at UCLA, thinks the second season could be even bigger.

"The first season was so beloved," Nunan said. "Now you have something that's an established title. People don't have to rely on word of mouth. You're going to deal with the existing fan base worldwide, along with everybody who wants to check it out for the first time."

Netflix's audience is also bigger compared to when "Squid Game" launched in September 2021. Back then, Netflix's subscribers were nearly 214 million members in the third quarter of 2021. It has since grown 32% to more than 282 million globally.

"I have a lot of confidence that our members who watched Season 1 will definitely love Season 2, and those who actually have not been introduced will find Season 2 will also resonate with them as well," said Minyoung Kim, Netflix's vice president of content for Asia Pacific (not including India) in an interview last month.

The second season, a Golden Globe nominee, starts where "Squid Game" left off, with the main character on a mission to end the deadly games.

Netflix has leaned into its international programming, taking big bets on local stories that resonate in specific countries and regions. Sometimes those narratives become global hits, like "Squid Game."

"Squid Game broke records and became our most popular show ever, proving that great stories can come from anywhere," said Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, on stage at the "Squid Game" U.S. premiere earlier this month at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. "The cultural impact was massive globally."

The first season had a budget of $21.4 million or about $2.4 million an episode, according to Bloomberg. Netflix declined to comment on the budgets for either season, but it's clear the filmmakers had more resources for the new one. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told the Hollywood Reporter: "This time, I was able to fully realize my creative vision, whether it was the set building or CGI. We didn't have to compromise."

Netflix has put significant marketing dollars behind the show, hosting fan events in cities that included Sydney and Paris. The streamer also has partnerships with major brands, including Puma, which created the tracksuits the contestants wear in Season 2 and are selling a version of it to fans. Other items include "Squid Game"-themed Crocs and a limited edition "Red Light: Green Light" beef jerky from Jack Link's.

The company also rolled out a multiplayer game, "Squid Game: Unleashed," which is available to non-Netflix subscribers for a limited period of time. Netflix announced Monday that it will reward gamers who also tune in to the show, giving them cash or wild tokens in the game based on the number of episodes they watch of Season 2.

And of course, there are the legions of "Squid Game" fans sharing the hype.

"They've built a lot of anticipation for it and everyone's ready for it," said Jacqueline Yang, a 28-year-old content creator based in downtown L.A. who watched all of Season 1 in one day.

Earlier this month, 1,700 fans, including Yang, participated in a 4.56K run (a reference to Season 1's main character, Player 456) that started at L.A. City College. They were given tracksuits similar to the ones on the show.

During the event, fans were asked to choose to run through one of three large shapes — a circle, a triangle or a square (the symbols that cover the faces of the masked guards overseeing the show's games). Participants who chose the correct symbol could attend the screening.

Lin and a friend chose the triangle — the right choice, it turned out.

Yang also chose the triangle, but her mother was not so lucky. The family was separated as Yang's mother competed in two subsequent games — "Red Light, Green Light" and the scratching of a lottery ticket — but failed.

And even though her mother left the premiere early (Yang's boyfriend picked her up), she didn't leave empty-handed; she took home the tracksuit.

"My mom is like, 'I guess we have our Halloween costumes for this next year,'" Yang said.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.