Netflix Sets ‘Squid Game: The VIP Challenge’ With Dylan Efron, Tristan Thompson, Mel B and More
“Squid Game” is giving celebrities the green light with a new installment of the reality competition spinoff, titled “The VIP Challenge.”
In the new iteration, “eight VIPs will step into the high stakes game and put their wit, strategy and skillset to the ultimate test,” according to Netflix.
The contestants include Dylan Efron (“The Traitors”), Hannah Godwin (“The Bachelor”), Kim Zolciak (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”), content creator Kristy Sarah, Spice Girls singer Mel B, Ryan Serhant (“Owning Manhattan”), NBA champion Tristan Thompson and Viper (“Squid Game: The Challenge” fan vote winner).
“Squid Game: The Challenge” debuted in November 2023 after the blockbuster success of “Squid Game,” the Korean drama about people who are down on their luck and recruited into a deathly competition for money that puts a sinister spin on children’s games. The reality spinoff featured 456 real competitors facing off for $4.56 million. The second season debuted in 2025, and the show has been renewed for a third season.
Additional information about “Squid Game: The VIP Challenge” has yet to be revealed by Netflix. Viper said in a statement that he plans to cause “total chaos” when he returns to the game. “I did learn that every single decision should be considered in great detail,” he said. “I will surely use a microscope with every choice I make.”
Reviewing the first season of “The Challenge,” Variety chief TV critic Alison Herman wrote, “Like ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ before it, the point of ‘Squid Game’ is that in a deeply unequal society, entertainment comes at a steep moral price. The point of ‘The Challenge’ is that, if you don’t think too hard about it, that entertainment is still pretty fun to watch.”
In the new iteration, “eight VIPs will step into the high stakes game and put their wit, strategy and skillset to the ultimate test,” according to Netflix.
The contestants include Dylan Efron (“The Traitors”), Hannah Godwin (“The Bachelor”), Kim Zolciak (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”), content creator Kristy Sarah, Spice Girls singer Mel B, Ryan Serhant (“Owning Manhattan”), NBA champion Tristan Thompson and Viper (“Squid Game: The Challenge” fan vote winner).
“Squid Game: The Challenge” debuted in November 2023 after the blockbuster success of “Squid Game,” the Korean drama about people who are down on their luck and recruited into a deathly competition for money that puts a sinister spin on children’s games. The reality spinoff featured 456 real competitors facing off for $4.56 million. The second season debuted in 2025, and the show has been renewed for a third season.
Additional information about “Squid Game: The VIP Challenge” has yet to be revealed by Netflix. Viper said in a statement that he plans to cause “total chaos” when he returns to the game. “I did learn that every single decision should be considered in great detail,” he said. “I will surely use a microscope with every choice I make.”
Reviewing the first season of “The Challenge,” Variety chief TV critic Alison Herman wrote, “Like ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ before it, the point of ‘Squid Game’ is that in a deeply unequal society, entertainment comes at a steep moral price. The point of ‘The Challenge’ is that, if you don’t think too hard about it, that entertainment is still pretty fun to watch.”