Some creatives get their best ideas after dark. Squid Game creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk was already up past midnight writing the Season 2 script when the news came in: His Korean thriller series — which became the most-streamed show on Netflix — was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards.
“It was all the more joyful because this happened while I was preparing for the next season after closing one chapter,” Hwang tells Tudum. “It was an utter surprise to see the show got nominated in so many categories. I was, of course, happy about myself and the series itself being nominated, but what was the most exciting was that many staff members who worked so hard on the show were nominated together.” The series not only received acting nods but also nominations for visual effects, stunt performance, cinematography and more. These never-before-seen photos from the set show just how much work went into capturing Squid Game’s intensity.
Since its premiere last fall, Squid Game has made history with all of its award wins, and the series shows no sign of stopping just yet. As the first non-English-language drama ever nominated for the Television Academy’s most prestigious honor, Hwang still finds the achievement hard to believe. “Squid Game is considered something like a pioneer that is opening up a new era, not just for itself but also as a representative face of Korean content, Asian content or even non-English-language content in general,” he says. “Which is a tremendous honor but is overwhelming, too. I feel the weight on my shoulders from all the expectations given to my next work from people around the world.”
As Hwang develops Season 2, he’s looking back on the emotional process of bringing the first season to screen. “Looking at the reaction from the viewers around the world to Season 1, I learned slightly more about what characters or scenes they liked and what kinds of feelings conveyed on screen touched their hearts.”
Because — spoiler alert — it wasn’t easy for viewers to watch fan favorites like Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) meet their demise, and it was just as difficult for Hwang to kill off his own characters, too. After all, he spent a decade bringing their stories to life. “When there were only three characters left at the end, I could not help but to empathize with each of them ever more deeply,” he adds. “I felt especially attached to Sae-byeok’s death, and I wanted to deliver this sense of loss that I felt really well to the viewers.” Even though he spent years carefully fine-tuning his script, her death moved Hwang so much that he added unplanned cuts of Sae-byeok’s coffin burning in fire.
With all of its success and accolades, it’s difficult to begin imagining the pressure Hwang currently feels as he’s writing Season 2 — on top of another awards season. He’s already teased the return of a few characters and some new additions, but for the most part, the director is trusting in himself first to deliver an even bigger season. “I keep telling myself that I should focus on creating a story that I trust, love and care [about],” he says. “And I should carry on with what I think is right, not what would please others.”
