Netflix’s next Squid Game puts $2 million on the line

Netflix is at it again, mining your childhood for its next big reality competition, and this time they’ve landed on Monopoly. That’s right, the beloved (or absolutely infuriating, depending who you ask) board game best known for shattering family harmony is getting the game show treatment – courtesy of the same folks who brought you Squid Game: The Challenge.

Monopoly, But Make It Competitive TV

Let’s step back a second. After Squid Game landed on Netflix in autumn 2021 and absolutely broke viewing records with its frankly disturbing premise – ordinary people risking everything for a life-changing cash prize – the streamer leaned in hard. The result: Squid Game: The Challenge, where real-life players (mercifully) didn’t die, but did have their pride and dignity very much on the chopping block. That show proved that millions will tune in to watch regular people squirm for money, given the right concept.

Turns out, Netflix wants more. Monopoly is just the latest move. If risking it all on dice rolls and dodgy deals sounds like your idea of entertainment, you’re in luck.

How Does the Game Show Actually Work?

Here’s the basic premise: 12 contestants will stomp around a 'life-size Monopoly Town Square', all in the hopes of pocketing a $2 million prize. The full details of how much of the traditional rules they’ll keep are slightly murky (I can only hope someone gets into a heated argument over Free Parking, because the rules there are a national controversy), but Netflix say that players will be booted from the competition when they’re bankrupted – just like in the board game – until one remains to hoover up all the prize money. Actual property deals and alliances in high definition, then. That’ll be friendly viewing.

Production Team & Netflix’s IP Obsession

On the production side, it’s Studio Lambert running the show, the company responsible for both Squid Game: The Challenge and The Circle, alongside Hasbro Entertainment heavyweights Gabriel Marano and Zachary Edwin. Monopoly is currently slated to hit Netflix in 2027, which suggests they’re going all in on the IP-minted competition format for the foreseeable future.

This comes alongside another upcoming show that's plonking beloved stories into the game show blender – The Golden Ticket, which is adapted from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and should kick off in September.

What Makes Monopoly TV-Worthy?

If you ask me, Monopoly is one of the most unapologetically cut-throat games you can play under the guise of family fun. Anyone who’s survived a four-hour round with their relatives knows exactly what I mean. Arguments, gloating, the occasional quiet vendetta – all par for the course. On telly? That's practically ready-made drama. It’s basically The Traitors with hotels and rent due.

• Monopoly the show will feature:
  • 12 contestants duking it out over property in a giant Monopoly-themed set
  • Elimination by bankruptcy, just like in the game (but with a lot more cameras and irritatingly upbeat music, presumably)
  • A massive $2 million up for grabs for whoever rains supreme
  • Produced by Studio Lambert and Hasbro Entertainment's Gabriel Marano & Zachary Edwin
  • Streaming on Netflix in 2027

  There's also a cheeky nod in Netflix’s announcement to the fact that the infamous beauty pageant card might have to be rethought for TV, and that some diehard viewers (and contestants) might be in for a shock when the exact rules about Free Parking are finally enforced on-screen. About time, if you ask me.

  Aspiring property moguls can already apply for a place on the show through Netflix's casting website.