Squid Game Season 2 wastes no time pulling the Netflix hit’s reluctant hero Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae) back into the business of playing twisted games of life and death. In fact, our boy Gi-hun, aka Player 456,

The globally hit Korean show Squid Game has returned much to the anticipation of its mega fanbase. Lee-Jung jae has returned as Gi-hun after winning an Emmy for the role in 2022, becoming the first Asian actor to win the lead actor in a drama series award.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae opened up about how he prepared for the highly anticipated second season and why it made "my heart heavy"

Our TV Columnist Sara Wallis reviews the new series of Squid Game, which brings more tension and terror with scary new games

"Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, as well as the Netflix show's creator and his co-stars, discuss the greater stakes that audiences should expect in the new second season.

Upon its release on Netflix in September 2021 ... including acting honours for Lee Jung-jae and Lee You-mi. With the second season of Squid Game dropping on the streamer today, fans are all set to witness the return of Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), now ...

Choi Woo-seok is a new addition to the Squid Game season 2 roster who helps Seong Gi-hun investigate the games from the outside. Initially an indifferent contractor, Woo-seok takes a personal interest in the games when someone close to him is killed.

Season 2 of Squid Game will be released on Thursday, Dec. 26, at 3 a.m. ET / midnight PT on Netflix. Unlike the first season, which had nine episodes, Season 2 consists of only seven episodes. The shorter length is intentional, as the series has been renewed for a third and final season, slated for release in 2025.

Except it's not, because three years later, the world in which "Squid Game 2" (streaming now, ★★ out of four) returns is drastically different than it was in 2021. And part of that difference is the effect of "Squid" itself: What was once a deeply shocking satire and critique of capitalism has become so popular and ubiquitous that it's too easily reduced to punchlines and memes.

Squid Game season two premiered on Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don’t know is that losing the game is deadly.

The trailer for season two started with a new set of players being recruited for the twisted game before the winner of the last Squid Game Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, appears on screen ... 2 premieres globally on Netflix on December 26.