The counterattack of the sequels has begun. In 2025, the broadcasting industry will be flooded with ‘sequels’ regardless of the field, including dramas and entertainment programs.

The global hit ‘Squid Game’, including the final season 3, ‘Weak Hero’, ‘Now at Our School’, are releasing sequels one after another, and popular entertainment programs such as ‘Black and White Chef’ are also releasing follow-up series to take the lead.

The drama that is garnering the most anticipation among the sequels is ‘Squid Game’ season 3, which is scheduled to be released on June 27th.

Although the recently released season 2 is receiving mixed reviews at home and abroad, attention is focused on the ending of season 3, also known as the ‘End of the Game’, as it was tallied as the most-watched content among Netflix TV programs worldwide within a day of its release.

Director Hwang Dong-hyeok, who is currently in the middle of post-production, said, “Season 2 and Season 3 were written in the same breath. There is a big turning point after 7 episodes, and I thought it would be fun to show it as a new season by cutting it off once. Above all, Season 3 will be a completely different story”.

‘Weak Hero’, ‘Hunting Dogs’, and ‘Now at Our School’, which have secured solid fan bases, are scheduled to be released in the first and second half of the year, respectively.

The newly returning ‘Weak Hero Class 2’ is a story about model student Yeon Si-eun, who transfers to Eunjang High School with the trauma of standing up to violence for her friend but failing to do so, and confronts even greater violence with a pledge not to lose her friend again.

Season 1, which was released in 2022, was a huge success both domestically and internationally despite the fact that all of the cast were new and it was ‘not suitable for minors’.

Variety shows are also returning with sequels. ‘Black and White Chef: Culinary Class War’ made official production for Season 2 as soon as it ended in October of last year and is currently busy recruiting chefs.

The specific release date has not been decided, but considering the three-month filming period, it is expected to be released around the end of the year. Baek Jong-won and Ahn Sung-jae, who were judges for Season 1, will also appear in Season 2.

‘Transfer Love’, which created various modifiers such as ‘Transfer Love’ ‘Transfer Love Affair’, will be released on the 22nd. Season 4 is a concept in which cast members who have been in transfer relationships meet again and start anew.

‘Solo Hell’, which brought about a whirlwind of dating variety shows along with ‘Transfer Love’, will return for Season 4, and ‘Great Escape’, which captivated viewers with its vivid adventures, will be released anew under the name ‘Great Escape Reboot’.


Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com