Netflix has defended freezing cold conditions on an outdoor U.K. set where its real-life Squid Game unscripted series saw contestants sustain injuries while competing as winter temperatures plunged below zero.
On Wednesday, the streamer and its co-producers pushed back on claims in The Sun tabloid newspaper that players had been severely injured during production on a former air force base near Bedford, in England’s eastern region, during a rare cold snap.
“We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew, and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures. While it was very cold on set — and participants were prepared for that — any claims of serious injury are untrue,” Netflix and Studio Lambert, which is co-producing Squid Game: The Challenge along with The Garden, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
The unspecified freezing weather injuries on set took place during filming of the memorable Red Light, Green Light game, which appeared in the first episode of the original Squid Game series. Netflix defended the on-set conditions, with producers insisting no one was stretchered off, as The Sun claimed in its original report.
The reality TV version of Squid Game, the original popular Netflix survival series out of South Korea, has 456 players from around the world competing in a series of games for the chance to win $4.65 million. Netflix casted contestants from around the world who speak English to ensure they can follow gameplay directions issued on set via a loud-speaker, similar to the series.
The original Squid Game series told the story of a divorced father and gambler (Lee Jung-jae) who enters a secret competition where 456 players compete in a series of playground games such as tug of war. The losers of each round are executed until just one victor remains. The series was a global hit and has been renewed for a second season at Netflix.
Squid Game: The Challenge is a co-production between Studio Lambert (The Circle) and The Garden (24 Hours in A&E), part of ITV Studios, and is being filmed in the U.K. Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt and Toni Ireland from Studio Lambert; and John Hay, Nicola Hill and Nicola Brown from The Garden are executive producers.
