Unlike the original ultra-violent fictional show from South Korea, which became one of the biggest-ever hits on Netflix last year, losing contestants would not be killed.

“With the largest cast in reality TV history, 456 real players will enter the game in pursuit of a life-changing cash prize of $4.56 million,” the streaming platform said on a site set up to look for candidates.

“Squid Game: The Challenge” is looking for English speakers from around the globe, aged at least 21 and free to travel for up to a month in early 2023.

“The stakes are high, but in this game, the worst fate is going home empty-handed,” the platform promises.

Describing the new reality show as its “biggest-ever social experiment,” Netflix says players will compete “in a series of heart-stopping games.”

The original fictional series was seen as a biting satire on modern capitalism, with contestants drawn from the fringes of society to play children’s games for the chance to win big sums of money, with the threat of being killed if they lose.

The new announcement came shortly after Netflix confirmed that a second season of the “Squid Game” was on the way.

In April, its creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, said the follow-up would not be ready until 2024.

In an email sent to parents and guardians, the Central Bedfordshire council’s education safeguarding team advised them to ‘be vigilant after hearing reports that children and young people are copying games and violence’ from the show. 

Reports have said children as young as six are copying the show’s traditional children’s games in the school playground which, in the show, come with deadly consequences for the losers.

The South Korean series centres around a fictional game show in which poverty-stricken characters compete in a series of death games to win a £27million cash prize. 

The survival drama, which features gruesome scenes of characters being shot in the head and organ harvesting, sees contestants take part in versions of traditional children’s games, with the winners progressing to the next stage.

Those failing the tasks are executed by a masked death squad standing by with machine guns.  

The Central Bedfordshire council email, which was first reported in The Guardian, said: ‘There have been some concerning reports recently about children and young people ‘playing’ Squid Game whilst at school.

‘We strongly advise that children should not watch Squid Game. The show is quite graphic with a lot of violent content.’ 

 The council is the latest in a string of schools to issue advice to parents about the show.

 Gareth Nichols, from Sir Francis Hill primary in Lincoln, said a small group of pupils within the school, aged around six’ were discussing the show and ‘re-enacting some scenes’.

Mr Nichols said the class teacher ‘immediately contacted parents to make them aware’, the BBC reported. 

Sandown School in Deal, Kent, said Key Stage 2 teachers had given their pupils extra lessons on online safety and the dangers of watching content that is ‘not age appropriate as a response to the show’s popularity.

A spokeswoman for the school said: ‘We are always updating our advice to the parents and children, it’s something we are constantly updating. As a response to this show and others, we have put on extra lessons about violence and online harms.’

Goodwin Academy, another school in Deal, confirmed its safeguarding team had sent a letter to parents regarding age concerns over the content in the series.

A parent who lives in Deal wrote on social media: ‘We’ve received 2 school letters (primary/secondary) warning parents about letting kids watch ‘Squid Game’.

‘I’m starting to think a more general letter about parental responsibility might be more useful. Keep an eye on your kids’ media consumption people.’

The creepy hyper-violent Korean series premiered on the platform last month and sees 456 desperate contestants compete with each other in a mysterious and deadly survival game. The multiple rounds of games have a top prize of almost £30 million.

The characters take on a traditional children’s game such as Red Light and Green Light, and losing out has an ultimate consequence of death.

Though viewers have been left sickened by the gory scenes in the horror-thriller series, it has become a global sensation and topped the charts as the number one show in many countries, including the UK and the US.

Said to be a horrifying version of Takeshi’s Castle, some fans have repeatedly asked if the dystopian show which sheds light on staggering wealth inequalities, was in fact real.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos who said the series will “definitely be their biggest non-English-language show in the world”,  added that there was “a very good chance it’s going to be their biggest show ever”.

If this stands, the show will overtake Bridgerton which is Netflix’s current number one original show of all time. Bridgerton had 82 million subscribers tuning in to watch at least two minutes of the show in its first 28 days on the service, and a whopping 625 million total hours viewed within its first four weeks of release on the service.

As a relatively new title, Squid Game has been on the platform for few days and its popularity seems to be stretching across different mediums. In recent days, fan-made games based on the deadly challenges found in the show have started to crop up all over Roblox. Several Squid Game remakes have also made their way onto the platform’s most popular lists, with many more showing up after a quick search of the buzzworthy title.

The streaming giant has had huge success with international series, with the likes of Germany’s Dark and Spain’s Money Heist proving popular with viewers.