The word of the year is "authentic": "Squid Game: The Challenge" tests its definition in 2023

For my money, the image that defines the tragedy of Netflix breakout k-drama “Squid Game” occurs in its second episode after the deadly stakes of its competition game show have been revealed and the remaining contestants have been given the option to vote on whether to terminate the contest or to stay. Its corollary in the reality competition series “Squid Game: The Challenge” occurs in the fourth episode and holds lower stakes merely by taking the possibility of violent murder off the table. Nobody should be stunned to see the first five episodes of “Squid Game: The Challenge” perched atop the streamer's most-watched titles right now given the worldwide popularity of “Squid Game” after its late 2021 release, along with the comical shock that met Netflix’s announcement of “The Challenge. Executive producer Tim Harcourt claims differently in his interview with TV Guide; for him and the other EPs, he explains, “the anti-capitalist allegory is only one very small part of ‘Squid Game,’” much in the way “Star Wars” isn’t just about “swashbuckling rebels overtaking an empire.” One undeniable aspect of reality television is that its most successful versions thrive on fakery tightly tailored to seem genuine. In that framework “Squid Game: The Challenge” is still by no means an honest game show, but the shared emotional experience of absorbing it may certainly be one of the more authentic vicarious thrills going.