Whether you came to Squid Game Season 2 for the death game, the take on classism and capitalism, or the cast, we got you covered. These titles on Netflix are ones to watch after Squid Game Season 2. From movies to films and a wide breadth of international media, answering the question: “What to watch after Squid Game?” has never been easier.
From South Korea to Brazil, the US, and Japan, jumping into any of these films or TV series after your Squid Game Season 2 binge is a good call. There really weren’t any hard and fast rules for our what to watch after Squid Game list. A game could be at the center, and the consequences of capitalism, as well as actor spotlights, can all make the list. But whether it’s a death game or class critique, these titles are all in one place: Netflix. So bookmark this, add the titles to your queue, and spin up your After Squid Game watchlist.
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So make the wait for Squid Game Season 3 go by even faster with these films and series.
Director: Han Jae-rim
Writers: Bae Jin-soo (webcomic), Han Jae-rim
The 8 Show is one of the best limited series on Netflix—yes, even compared to Squid Game. The premise is simple enough: Eight individuals are trapped in an eight-story building where they are participating in a dangerous game. The more time passes, the more money they earn.
For those looking for one and done kind of storytelling, The 8 Show ends with finality. Every narrative choice made along the way pays off. This isn’t about action or even the actual violence we see; it’s about people breaking and tearing down each other because of the ways capitalism and archaic ideas of success and worthiness have been ingrained in them. It’s humanity unmasked. Which, if you have watched Squid Game, is something that the series touches upon as well.
If you still want to capture that feeling, The 8 Show is one to add to your list!
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Writers: Haro Aso (manga), Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, Shinsuke Sato
With two seasons available on Netflix, Alice in Borderland offers a twist on the games, pitting strangers against each other. Adapted from the manga that was loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland, both seasons feature characters that you can’t help but love, though don’t get too attached. Survival in the Borderlands is hard to come by, as each game completed merely buys a little more time for each character to live.
Season 1 is brutal in its execution, but also is successful with its world-building as we watch characters figure out the rules. Season 2 is bloodier, more drama-filled, and more action-forward than the first. So, you won’t be disappointed when you get swept up in a binge-watch fest of both seasons.
3%
Directors: César Charlone, Daina Giannecchini, Dani Libardi, Jotagá Crema, Philippe Barcinski
Writers: Pedro Aguilera (showrunner), Cássio Koshikumo, Denis Nielsen, Ivan Nakamura, Jotagá Crema, André Sirangelo, Juliana Rojas, Guilherme Freitas, Teodoro Poppovic, Carol Rodrigues, Andréa Midori Simão, Ricardo Gonçalves
The Brazilian dystopian thriller series 3% has four seasons, giving viewers plenty to dive into if they are looking for a new series to fill the void post-Squid Game. This series came out before Squid Game even dropped on Netflix, setting the stage for what was to come to the streaming service in the dystopian genre.
Set in an unknown future, individuals from “Inland,” an impoverished area that will remind of favelas, have one chance to complete “The Process.” The prize? A chance to be moved to the upper-class “Offshore” society. The survival rate is dismal. Only 3% of candidates have succeeded in beating “The Process.” How 3% tackles the issues of inequality, particularly among the players, is well done, and there’s a range of diversity that often feels lacking in similar media.
It’s a longer show, but 3% is fully wrapped. You can fully commit to it.
The Trunk
Director: Kim Kyu-tae
Writers: Kim Ryeo-ryeong (novel), Park Eun-young
Listen. This is a slight stretch, considering the lack of an actual physical game factor. However, if you are in need of more Gong Yoo, this recently released psychological thriller on Netflix will deliver on the head games between the trio of main characters. Viewers will be taken on a journey that proves addicting and messy. It’s a different kind of intensity level than what Squid Game might bring, but it is all the more fascinating for its many twists and turns.
High-Rise Invasion
Director: Masahiro Takata
Writers: Tsuina Miura (manga), Touko Machida
If you want a slightly different medium, High-Rise Invasion is a typical survival game thriller in anime form. The series is all about a game to get the players closer to god—in the simplest of terms. In it, high school student Yuri Honjô finds herself lost in an “abnormal space” where countless skyscrapers are connected by suspension bridges and “masked figures” mercilessly slaughter their confused and fleeing victims based on a set of conditions tied to their unique masks.
With all exits blocked, doors leading to a 26-story drop, and complete unfamiliarity with the world, Yuri tries to survive the game and ultimately aims to be reunited with her brother, Rika Honjô, in order to escape. While a pretty standard story, it will fill in that sweet spot if you desire more survival thrillers!
The Platform (El Hoyo)
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Writers: David Desola, Pedro Rivero
The systemic division between the privileged and the not-so-privileged manifests itself in an entirely unique way in The Platform. This slow-burn psychological experience peels back the layers of a system that supposedly aims to make things equal, but human nature and the design of the multi-layered prison its occupants live in makes for a damning example of how humanity devolves when starvation and desperation kick into overdrive.
Like many of the examples on this list, The Platform reflects the growing inequality of our times. It is a harbinger of what may come, and that is terrifying. While Netflix did release a prequel to the film, The Platform has a dark magic and mystery to it that the prequel lacks.
While it doesn’t feature a game, the characters volunteer to enter the prison for a number of reasons, providing a clear enough connection between Squid Game and The Platform for those who want a break from TV and would rather opt for a film instead.
The Hunger Games Collection
Directors: Gary Ross, Francis Lawrence
Writers: Suzanne Collins (novels), Gary Ross, Billy Ray, Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt, Peter Craig, Danny Strong
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention The Hunger Games franchise. It did launch a dystopian YA craze that still continues to this day. At the heart of the series is Katniss Everdeen, a girl who volunteers to compete in the annual Hunger Games on behalf of her sister, Primrose, who was selected at random for this sacrificial bloodfest. The games are used to keep all the remaining districts in check, with survival proving cold comfort in later entries. As spectators, we are complicit. But not participating in the system is to sign your own death sentence in the world of Panem.
The Hunger Games Collection on Netflix features the first four films in the franchise. Unfortunately, the more recent prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is not included. However, the franchise’s draw is not in Panem’s past. Instead, it is found in Katniss, a reluctant hero.
Ready or Not
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Writers: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy
Ready or Not stands out from our film list due to its lack of a dystopian setting. That said, it is a fight between the haves and have-nots not directly employed by the Le Domas family. Even those employed, though, are not spared; their bodies are cannon fodder in pursuit of the family’s ultimate goal—killing the bride in a messed-up game of hide-and-seek. It is a race against time for both sides, with the threat of death hanging over their heads.
As a film that embraces its us versus them sensibilities, Ready or Not knocks it out of the park. With the murderous game as the hook, viewers will be lured in with the promise of violence. But ultimately, they will stay for the scrappy bride who just wants to survive at all costs.
Circle
Directors: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione
Writers: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione
A death game all about psychology, Circle is ominous and oppressive in its approach to the social game. While Squid Game is focused on the death game of it all, Circle is focused on social connections. A Simple film set in one location, the contestants need to work together quickly and trust each other. But when you don’t know the purpose of the red and black room or the orb in the center, that’s not an easy task.
The simplest entry on this list, Circle, is something to watch after Squid Game Season 2 because of just how much it makes you question people, the truth, and what you would do in a situation where you get to choose who lives and who dies. What criteria do you make where the only thing fueling you isn’t money but staying alive?
Choose or Die
Director: Toby Meakins
Writers: Toby Meakins, Simon Allen, Matthew James Wilkinson
Is it a great movie? No. Is it a fun one? Hell yeah. Choose Or Die is a film all based around a killer video game with graphic violence. It’s also a film that’s name tells you the whole plot. Do heinous things to others (and sometimes yourself) or just die. The film’s inspirations are loud and clear, but its grimy approach to cinematography and solid acting, it’s a good follow-up to any death game.
Choose or Die is a film that knows where it is in its genre, embraces it, and tries to push it as far as it can without breaking the toybox its playing in. This results in a fairly paint-by-numbers plot with tropes that tend to go where you expect, but the delivery of these elements is what makes it a thrilling watch.
It’ll be some time before the arrival of Squid Game Season 3, though it is likely to arrive in 2025. With our list of recommendations, you can prep your After Squid Game watchlist to fill in the time until what is sure to be an epic release from Netflix.
Did we miss anything on our list? Let us know on social media!
