To Squid Game fans near and far, a heartfelt welcome to you all. You’re probably here because you’ve just finished the final season of creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s high-stakes thriller, which has become the most popular show on Netflix since Season 1 premiered in 2021. Over the course of three seasons, you’ve followed Player 456’s journey through the terrifying competition in which he and his fellow contestants played their favorite childhood games hoping to win a life-changing amount of money, as each elimination round added a deadly twist. You’ve watched the carefree and naive Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) evolve into a man determined to take down the game’s creators, by any means necessary.  

Now that the competition has officially concluded with a stunning Season 3 finale, you may be looking to give the green light to a new series — something that will scratch the itch of the suspense-filled K-drama that had your heart pounding out of your chest with every step. 

Luckily, you don’t have to look too far. Read on for five thrilling shows that will help fill the Squid Game–shaped hole in your heart — whether it’s the shape of a circle, a square, or a triangle. 

Alice in Borderland

Even though Squid Game has concluded, there are still more life-or-death games to play in Alice in Borderland. Based on the manga by Haro Aso, this Japanese thriller follows Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), an obsessive video gamer who becomes trapped in a dystopian Tokyo where he is forced to compete in a series of deadly games if he hopes to survive. While stranded there, Arisu teams up with other players who fight together in order to stay alive while also trying to uncover the mystery of the games — how did they get here and why, and how can they get back home? You can stream the first two seasons right now to get up to speed with Arisu and his friends before the series returns with Season 3 on September 25. 

Alice in Borderland

3 Seasons   TV-MA   2020

My List

Watch

Explore

All of Us Are Dead

All of Us Are Dead is a survival K-drama about a group of students who are trapped inside their high school while fighting to survive a zombie outbreak. Based on the manhwa Webtoon comic of the same name,  All of Us Are Dead, the series follows teens from different backgrounds who are suddenly cut off from communication with the outside world and left to fend for themselves after a failed experiment unleashes a deadly virus, with swarms of undead on the loose. But given that this zombie horror series is also a coming-of-age drama, the thriller also tackles some familiar themes of high school drama, from first loves to bullies, along with plenty of teen angst. 

All of Us Are Dead

1 Season   TV-MA   2022

My List

Watch

Black Mirror

Given its dark tone and focus on surviving modern life — whether it’s the oppressive grip of technology or financial debt — some might argue that Squid Game would fit nicely into the Black Mirror universe. Each episode of the Emmy-winning darkly satirical anthology series features a stand-alone story that explores technology’s impact on human nature, relationships, and society as a whole. Black Mirror incorporates a mix of genres, from horror and sci-fi to romance, with stories that will leave you on the edge of your seat hoping for a positive outcome, while anticipating the worst-case scenario. Sound familiar? 

Black Mirror

7 Seasons   TV-MA   2011

My List

Watch

Explore

The 8 Show

Another scripted K-drama, based on the webtoon by Bae Jin-soo, The 8 Show, might just become your next favorite watch. The social satire follows eight strangers who are trapped together in a mysterious building where they are forced to participate in a game show. The amount of time spent in the building adds up to a bigger cash prize, but the rules are a mystery. With a countdown clock ticking, the players have to figure out how to remain in the game as long as possible, while being pushed to navigate a series of social disparities designed to pin them against one another. Of course, the most important rule of the game is that if anyone dies, nobody wins. 

The 8 Show

8 Episodes   TV-MA   2024

My List

Watch

Explore

3%

In 3%, a post-apocalyptic Brazil is divided along class lines into two different worlds. The impoverished Inland is where most people live with limited access to resources and basic needs, while the Offshore is a technologically advanced and elite society that Inlanders can only dream of. Technically, there is a way into the Offshore known as The Process, an annual competition that offers a chance at a better life for a select few Inlanders who manage to pass a series of intense and morally questionable tests. But by accepting just 3% of candidates, the competition only serves to uphold existing social inequalities. That is, until an Inland resident with a revolutionary spirit makes it through. 

3%

4 Seasons   TV-MA   2016

My List

Watch