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Jeff Bezos “can’t wait” to watch Squid Game
Squid Game has been garnering attention from millions of people around the world, including one of the wealthiest people on the planet.
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Child's play: A scene from South Korea's Netflix drama "Squid Game" showcasing one of the guard characters. (The Jakarta Post/Netflix)
T
he global phenomenon, anti-capitalist South Korean drama Squid Game, has been garnering attention from millions of people around the world, including one of the wealthiest people on the planet, Jeff Bezos.
Bezos, whose Amazon Prime Video streaming service is head-to-head with Netflix, praised the rival streamer for being able to turn several non-English shows into worldwide hits. The Amazon and Blue Origin founder also shared a Vulture article talking about the series’ immense popularity and how it came about.
"@ReedHastings and Ted Sarandos and the team at @Netflix get it right so often. Their internationalization strategy isn’t easy, and they’re making it work," he tweeted on Sunday, Oct. 3.
"Impressive and inspiring. (And I can't wait to watch the show.)" Bezos added.
The South Korean original series about cash-strapped contestants competing in deadly children's games designed by the rich has become a viral hit after just over two weeks of its release. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos even predicted that it was en route to dethrone Bridgerton and The Witcher as the platform's most sampled original series launch ever, entertainment publication Vulture reported.
Netflix, Amazon Studios and Apple TV+ have all put more focus on their expansion into local language originals. As Netflix’s effort in ramping up Korean originals has shown success in the United States viewership, Amazon Studios has also been gaining on Netflix in the Latin American market.
Bezos’ tweet set the social media platform abuzz, from people comparing Bezos to the show’s villains, to serious discussions about a possible link-up between Amazon and Netflix. But Bezos put all speculation to rest hours later, clarifying that it was just “simple admiration.”
Bezos has been trading the title of the world’s richest man back and forth with SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The Amazon chairman became the first person ever to be worth $200 billion in August last year. However, Musk has now reached that net worth, becoming the richest person in the world again and putting Bezos in the second spot.
