Hellbound: South Korean horror ousts Squid Game as Netflix’s current most popular series globally

‘Hellbound’ debuted on the streaming service on 19 November

Netflix’s new fantasy horror series Hellbound has surpassed Squid Game as the streaming platform’s current most popular series on a global level.

The new South Korean series follows the story of unearthly beings who deliver condemnations, sending individuals to hell and giving rise to a religious group founded on the idea of divine justice.

According to data by analytics company FlixPatrol, Hellbound was the most popular series on Netflix on 20 November, surpassing Squid Game in more than 80 countries within 24 hours of the show’s release.

Hellbound is directed by Train to Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho. It premiered at the 2021 Toronto international film festival in September.

Earlier this year, other K-Dramas such as the romantic-comedy series Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and thriller show My Name also ranked highly on the charts.

Squid Game, on the other hand, spent 46 non-consecutive days in the top spot after its release on 17 September, becoming Netflix’s most-watched original series of all time.

On 12 October, Netflix announced that Squid Game broke all records after 111 million people tuned into the dystopian drama.

The show surpassed the British romance series Bridgerton, which previously set the record after being watched 82 million times in its first 28 days.

Squid Game was also on Netflix’s top 10 list in approximately 94 countries and is the platform’s first-ever Korean series to reach the No 1 spot in the US.

The series explores a dystopian reality, in which a mysterious organisation recruits people in debt to compete in a series of deadly childhood games for the chance to win a life-changing amount of money.

Hellbound is available to stream on Netflix now.