Netflix’s Strange and Bloody New Show Might be the Next ‘Squid Game’

Just weeks after Squid Game cemented its place as the streamer’s biggest original series of all time, another South Korean original series is taking Netflix by storm. Hellbound, from director Yeon Sang-ho, premiered on the streaming platform back on Friday, No. 19 and followed in Squid Game‘s footsteps by immediately shooting to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts not only in the U.S., but across the globe.

The South Korean horror series is set in an alternate universe where supernatural creatures materialize to drag humans to Hell. The first few episodes follow “Jin Kyeong-hoon , a detective investigating the happenings, and Jeong Jin-soo , the chairman of the New Truth.” The final episodes “take place 5 years later” and focus on Bae Young-jae, “a PD who has to struggle with the fact that his newborn baby is bound for hell.” The series stars Yang Ik-june, Yoo Ah-in, Park Jeong-min, Kim Hyun-joo, and Won Jin-ah.

In the U.S., Hellbound is proving to be a major title, currently ranking No. 3 among all shows on Netflix behind Tiger King and Cowboy Bebop, with Squid Game placing ninth. The series ranks No. 4 among all titles on the U.S. platform. Although exact streaming figures have yet to be released for the show, analytics company FlixPatrol showed that Hellbound is giving Squid Game some stiff competition. The show became the No. 1 most popular TV series globally on Netflix on Nov. 20, just a day after the series was released, effectively knocking Squid Game, which had topped the chart for 46 non-consecutive days, to second place. At the time, fellow K-drama The King’s Affection ranked No. 9. As of this posting, Hellbound still ranks No. 1 globally, with Squid Game sitting at No. 4.

As if its Netflix rankings weren’t enough, Hellbound has reached an impressive feat that not even Squid Game managed to achieve: a perfect, 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the score aggregated from 14 critic ratings. The critical consensus reads: “Summoned by the devilish imagination of writer-director Yeon Sang-ho, Hellbound leverages its terrifying concept to thoughtfully explore human fallibility.” Meanwhile, Squid Game currently has a 94% tomatometer score aggregated from 64 critic scores.

At this time, Hellbound has not been renewed for a second season. The first season is available for streaming on Netflix. Squid Game, meanwhile, appears to have been picked up for a sophomore run, with creator Hwang Dong-hyuk having confirmed earlier this month, “there will definitely be a second season” and that he is “in the planning process currently.”