[HanCinema's News] "Squid Game - Season 2" Golden Globe Nomination Stirs Controversy

Earlier this week, the Golden Globe Awards in the United States announced its official nomination slate. Many were surprised to see "Squid Game - Season 2" among the nominees, despite the fact that the show won't be available to the public until December 26th. Strictly speaking, the rules of the Golden Globe Awards state that any series which premiers in 2024 is eligible for an award provided that voting members have access to screeners before November 4th.

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Apparently, Netflix managed to provide screeners to the voting body of the Golden Globe Awards by that time. The move appears to have been designed to stoke confidence and hype in the project. But with "Squid Game - Season 2" already delayed three years compared to its predecessor, questions have naturally been begged as to how such a delay could be expected for the Golden Globe Awards but not the general viewing public.

There's another wrinkle to the unexpected "Squid Game - Season 2" nomination as well. Back in 2021, "Squid Game" received three nominations at the Golden Globes. Oh Young-soo even won his award for Best Supporting Actor. However, this year "Squid Game - Season 2" has only received a single nomination for Best Series. "Squid Game - Season 2" is the only nominee of the six to have no other nominations to its credit, and is unlikely to win for this reason alone.

"Squid Game - Season 2" has had its fair share of other criticisms in South Korean media. The aforementioned Oh Young-soo was hit with #MeToo allegations in 2022. While Oh Young-soo was never going to appear in "Squid Game - Season 2" due to the fate of his character, "Squid Game - Season 2" chose to cast Choi Seung-hyun and Oh Dal-soo as well, despite their own checkered past in this regard.

It's unlikely that Golden Globe Award voters were even aware of these controversies, and in theory, this shouldn't affect their judgment as to which is truly the best series of the year anyway. But the Golden Globe Awards do not have a strong ethical reputation, and this certainly hasn't helped matters. The Golden Globe Awards Ceremony will be held on January 5th of next year.

Written by William Schwartz