Netflix makes a bold move to find the next ‘Squid Game’ | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Netflix (NFLX) is one of those rare businesses that has survived the transition from the ’90s when it originally launched to today, managing to pivot and reinvent itself several times along the way.

First it revolutionized the DVD rental industry with its rental-by-mail system. Then it changed yet again in 2007, when it introduced its streaming service, which eventually gained such popularity it eliminated the need for rental-by-mail.

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Today Netflix is the king of the streaming services, ending 2024 with 302 million global subscribers and an annual operating income of more than $10 billion.

While the entertainment company is still on top, that doesn’t mean it can slow down. Keeping a position like that requires constant planning and pivoting — something Netflix already has proven it knows how to do.

As for its content, it’s had some massive global hits in recent years with series such as “Wednesday,””Adolescence,” and “Stranger Things,” all which rank in its most-watched shows of all time.

It saw another enormous success with the premiere of the Korean-made “Squid Game” in 2021, leading to two more seasons and an explosion in interest around Korean content.

“Squid Game” debuted its final season on June 27, 2025, and drew a record 106.3 million viewers in its first two weeks. Now Netflix is hoping to continue to nourish the interest its audience has shown with a new show based on a popular Korean web novel.

Award-winning story gets a live-action adaptation

Netflix announced on July 9 that it would debut a live-action version of Korean web novel “Solo Leveling” starring popular actor and model Byeon Woo-seok.

Originally released in 2016 on a Korean app called KakaoPage that allows users to share free content, “Solo Leveling” has remained ranked number one on that app and drawn the attention of 14.3 billion readers globally.

Thanks to its impact, it’s also been adapted into an anime series that won nine awards at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year, Best Action, and Best Character.

The story follows the adventures of Sung Jin-woo, a human with supernatural abilities known as a “Hunter” who survives a near-death experience and gains powerful abilities because of it.

Netflix has brought on board co-directors Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, who have worked on live-action films “Ashfall,””Like a Virgin,””Castaway on the Moon,””My Dictator,” and “Cold Eyes.”

Netflix continues to ride the hallyu wave

Netflix also recently had great success harnessing another aspect of South Korea: its passionate Korean pop fandom.

That hit came in the form of “Kpop Demon Hunters,” an animated musical film about a group of female warriors disguised as a popular K-pop band.

After its June 20 debut, the film raked in 22.7 million views and rocketed to #2 on Netflix’s English films list by its third week, while the songs from the movie’s fictional bands also cracked into the Billboard Global 200 — ahead of real-life K-pop bands BTS and Blackpink.

To further embrace this devoted sector of its audience, Netflix also launched Netflix Golden in 2022, a social media channel solely dedicated to Asian content. Golden has more than one million followers across all social platforms.

It’s a wise move on Netflix’s part to harness these audiences. K-pop fans are known for being both dedicated and willing to spend on the fandoms they care about, easily shelling out north of $1,000 for a concert ticket to see their favorite band.

They’re clearly showing a hunger for more Korean media, so Netflix is wisely continuing to give them what they want.