‘Squid Game’ is unlikely to be adapted for the Chinese market because it’s too dark, says an industry executive

• A Chinese adaptation of “Squid Game” is unlikely as the show is too dark, said iQiyi’s chief content officer.
• Content production must follow ideology and social trends like “the enthusiasm and unity” of the Chinese people.
• Netflix’s “Squid Game” is a hit in China, where the streaming service and the show are not even available.

Netflix’s “Squid Game” is unlikely to be adapted for the Chinese market because it’s too dark, according to an industry executive.

The South Korean dystopian series about people competing for prize money in brutal survival games is a hit in China even though it’s not even officially available in the country.

But the show’s “relatively dark subject matter reflecting particularly dark side of human nature would definitely not be produced in China,” Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer at iQiyi, told local media outlet TMTPost. iQiyi is a Chinese video streaming platform backed by tech giant Baidu.

China wants content that puts “truth, goodness and beauty” in the top spot, said Wang, per TMTPost.

“We are different from other countries,” Wang told TMTPost. “We have our own mainstream values, which are very different from Western countries.”

“In terms of content production, we must follow ideology and social trends, including the enthusiasm and unity of the Chinese people,” he told TMTPost.

Playing to nationalism has done well in China. A state-backed propaganda epic depicting the defeat of US troops to Chinese soldiers during the Korean War is currently on track to become China’s highest-grossing film ever. The film, “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” has made $769 million since it was released on September 30.

The Chinese media and entertainment industry is one of the world’s top markets, with multinationals vying for a slice of the pie.

Last year, China’s box office surpassed America’s to become the world’s largest box office.

But the US is still the world’s top over-the-top (OTT) streaming market, raking in $22.8 billion last year, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. China is a distant second, bringing in $9.5 billion in 2020.