Netflix’s hit K-drama Squid Game may have concluded in 2025, but for fans missing the show, the streaming platform is about to launch a new spin-off – full of A-listers and internet personalities.
The new unscripted series, titled Squid Game: The VIP Challenge, will see eight celebrities “step into the high stakes game and put their wit, strategy and skillset to the ultimate test.”
Unlike the original dramatisation, however, no one will be brutally killed for messing up in a challenge – they will simply be eliminated from the competition.
Following on from the civilian series, these episodes will also feature Viper, the fan-voted winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2.
Although little info is available on the celebrity version, it’s safe to assume that the format will be pretty similar: there will be various children’s games the contestants have to master in order to make it to the end of the show in one piece.
Seemingly mirroring the original series, too, the celebrities in this new spin-off are playing the role of the VIPs – who, if you recall, are watching the bloody battle from above and betting on human life, all while wearing animal masks, of course.
Watch a trailer for Squid Game: The VIP Challenge
Without further ado, here’s the full star-studded line-up.
Squid Game: The VIP Challenge line-upMel B
Mel B is joining the line-up.
(Amanda Edwards via Getty Images)
I tell you what I want, what I really, really want… and that’s for former Spice Girl Mel B to show viewers at home what girl power really looks like.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Scary Spice wrote: “Squid games are about to get REALLY Scary !! Yes that’s right it’s gonna ME behind the mask and out to ink everyone in Squid Games VIP challenge – watch it if you dare!!”
No stranger to reality shows (she’s judged America’s Got Talent, The X Factor and more), fans have already expressed their excitement over her next TV gig, with one user writing: “What? When? So excited” and another declaring, “I’ll be watching just to see you!”
Dylan Efron
Dylan Efron won the 2023 series of US Traitors.
(2026GG via Getty Images)
Dylan Efron, you say? Consider us tuned in.
After making a name for himself as the winner of the US version of Traitors in 2023, Zac’s younger brother has not only stepped out from the shadow of his actor sibling, he’s also won scores of fans in his own right.
He may have been a Faithful previously, but will he turn to the dark side in Squid Games? Only time will tell.
Hannah Godwin
Hannah Godwin has been on The Bachelor.
(Kristina Bumphrey via Getty Images)
YouTuber and model Hannah Godwin is also no stranger to reality TV, having starred in Season 23 of The Bachelor.
Although she didn’t win that series, she did end up finding her husband, Dylan Barbour, on the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise. The pair got hitched later that year, in 2023, in a lavish ceremony in France.
Kim Zolciak
Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kim Zolciak is also joining the Squid Game spin-off.
(Paras Griffin via Getty Images)
Of Real Housewives of Atlanta fame, Kim Zolciak is no stranger to reality TV either.
“Power. Pressure. And a front-row seat to chaos,” the mum-of-six told fans on social media of her new role. “I’m excited to share that I’m joining Squid Game: The VIP Challenge as a VIP, coming soon to Netflix.”
Kristy Sarah
Influencer Kristy Sarah is also in the mix.
(John Shearer via Getty Images)
Recently in the news after her breakup with husband of 12 years, Desmond Scott, influencer Kristy Sarah has already noted how she’s “building my social life from scratch.” And part of her new chapter is facing the deathly Squid Games.
Ryan Serhant
You may recognise Ryan Serhant from another Netflix series.
(Manoli Figetakis via Getty Images)
You may recognise Ryan from another Netflix series – Owning Manhattan (or his random appearance in HBO’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…).
Because when he’s not shifting multi-million-dollar properties in New York, the real estate mogul is dabbling in the world of acting.
Tristan Thompson
Former NBA star Tristan Thompson also joins the star-studded line-up.
(Alex Goodlett via Getty Images)
The Canadian NBA star may have played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in 2024he was suspended for 25 games without pay after testing positive for ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033, both used for muscle growth.
It’s not the only time he’s cheated, either. After several rumours circulating, in 2019, news broke that the basketball player had cheated on his girlfriend and baby mama, Khloe Kardashian, with her sister Kylie’s best friend, Jordyn Woods.
After a very public breakup, the pair then got back together in 2020, before Tristan’s paternity scandal surfaced a year later.
Let’s hope he can play by the rules in Squid Game: The VIP Challenge…
Viper
As mentioned, Viper is the only non-celebrity participant in the show. He previously appeared in Season 2 of Squid Game: The Challenge, which saw 456 players tested until the number whittled down to the final player.
Sadly, he was eliminated during a game of catch.
Although eliminations are final, viewers at home were granted a “second chance” vote to save one player – and they chose Viper (AKA, Player 152).
The vote secured him a spot in Season 3, which is currently being filmed, he’ll also be appearing in this celeb special.
When is Squid Game: The VIP Challenge on Netflix?
Although we don’t have a set date for Squid Game: The VIP Challenge yet, the streaming platform has confirmed the series will be landing “very soon” – so watch this space!