Netflix’s hit show ‘Squid Game‘ recently ended with season 3 on June 27. The South Korean series became a huge success around the world. It tells the story of people deep in debt who join a deadly competition to win money. They play children’s games, but these games can kill you.
The show was Netflix’s biggest hit ever. Over 2.2 billion hours of the series were watched. If you loved ‘Squid Game’ and want to watch something similar, here are 5 shows you should try next.
1. Alice in Borderland
This Netflix show is very similar to ‘Squid Game’. Players are forced to join deadly games to survive. The series has been so successful that Netflix has already wrapped shooting on Alice in Borderland’s second season, promising even more intense gameplay. The main character is a gamer named Ryohei Arisu. He finds himself in an empty version of Tokyo with a girl from his school.
They must play different competitions to stay alive. Unlike ‘Squid Game’, many of the games focus on solving problems rather than physical challenges. Players need to keep extending their “visas” to survive. These visas represent their lives in the game.
2. 3%
This Brazilian show also follows people who are poor and enter a competition to make their lives better. In this world, 20-year-olds live under a harsh government. They can try to join the 3% of people who get to live on a wealthy island.
To get there, they must go through a “process” with many tests. The person running these tests is mysterious. Like ‘Squid Game’, this show has complex characters with deep stories. The main character is Michele Santana, who fights to change her life.
3. The 8 Show
Check "the 8 show" if you liked squid game the idea is pretty similar to sq but they focus on the psychological and philosophical side more pic.twitter.com/4v4eFnU0gE
—(@died_lemon) June 28, 2025
This South Korean series puts players in an eight-story building. They are being filmed for a game show while they compete to earn money. Players must buy the basic things they need with their winnings.
The twist is that people on higher floors earn more money. When the players learn this, the game becomes chaotic and violent. Like ‘Squid Game’, the characters are known by numbers instead of names. The show even has colorful halls and stairs that look similar to Squid Game.
4. Black Mirror
This popular show is different because each episode tells a new story. Many episodes explore how people try to make money in morally wrong ways. Sometimes these attempts can be deadly, just like in’Squid Game’.
The show has been running since 2011 and features many famous actors. Some episodes show how technology and greed can lead people to make terrible choices. The dark themes and moral questions are similar to what you see in ‘Squid Game’.
5. All of Us Are Dead
This South Korean show mixes zombie horror with high school drama. Instead of competing for money like in ‘Squid Game’, students must fight to survive when a virus turns their classmates into zombies.
The show explores how power can corrupt people, which is a theme you also see in ‘Squid Game’. It even stars Lee Yoo-Mi, who played Player 240 in ‘Squid Game’. If you want to learn more about the talented cast behind the global phenomenon, there’s much to discover about their backgrounds. The students must work together and make hard choices to stay alive.
Why should you watch these shows?
All of these shows share similar themes with ‘Squid Game’. They show people in desperate situations who must make tough choices. You’ll find deadly games, zombie attacks, or corrupt systems, and these characters face impossible odds.
These shows also explore what happens when people are pushed to their limits. They ask hard questions about money, power, and survival. If you enjoyed the tension and moral complexity of ‘Squid Game’, these 5 shows will keep you entertained and thinking long after each episode ends.
