Some reality shows are great, and I normally like them, but one show on Netflix grinds my gears in a way I can’t describe. I have always considered myself the kind of person who watches any TV, whether it's shows like Love is Blind or maybe shows like Temptation Island, and I still enjoy every second of them.
But the one show I can’t get behind in the reality world of Netflix is Squid Game: The Challenge. And I have to talk about it now because it’s driving me up the wall.
I’ve never fully loved Squid Game to begin with
Let me be frank and start by saying that I’ve never been the biggest fan of Squid Game in general. Did I cover it when it released? Of course. It was one of the biggest shows on Netflix. The third season alone broke ratings records. This is obviously a popular show.
That being said, it didn’t mean I enjoyed it much. The story was entertaining enough, but the characters' developments were flat, and there’s still the whole “money equals living” of it all. I can’t quite get behind competing to win this life-changing amount of money, and if you don’t succeed, you die. Of course, that makes for good television, but it’s the meaning behind it that bothers me.
The world itself is already bleak enough, with the state of things regarding the economy, the cost of living, and so much more. I didn’t need one of the biggest shows in the world leaning hard into that, even if it was trying to give us a good message towards the end. To me, Squid Game is pretty overrated. But even so, the ratings gave Netflix ideas — and that led to Squid Game: The Challenge.
The way Squid Game: The Challenge plays into people’s emotions disgusts me
I am not naive enough to think that reality TV is real because obviously it’s not. I’m sure some moments are played up for drama to make more people watch the show and laugh about silly things. But to me, it just doesn’t feel right.
The big issue has always been the amount of money. Almost $5 million ($4.56 million to be exact) is a lot of freaking money, and of course that brings out a different side of people. But because of that, we really see people’s true horror in their lives and how much they try to do to survive. What this money would mean and how it would change everything.
I think when it comes to the original series, it’s palatable because it’s just fictional characters, but when it involves real people? That’s when it feels a little too close to home. It almost feels like I’m watching my brother compete, or my friends, or even my mother. And it plays with the viewers' emotions that way. I’m not a huge fan.
It’s not even the fun kind of “playing with emotions” that most shows do with, say, dating shows on Netflix. The drama isn’t just there to inflate small situations. This is real people’s lives, and that, in and of itself, feels like it’s too intimate and too real. And I can’t get behind it.
Even so, there’s still a season 3 planned, so who knows what other fresh torture this is going to bring in. But if you want better reality TV shows, check out these six great reality TV shows from 2026. You’ll spend plenty of time enjoying these!
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