‘Squid Game’ gets two nominations at Gotham Awards

South Korea’s sensational survival drama “Squid Game” has been nominated in two categories at an annual U.S. awards ceremony for lower-budget indie movies and TV series.

According to the nominations of the 2021 Gotham Awards released Thursday (U.S. time), “Squid Game,” a Netflix original, was listed in the section of Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes), along with five other TV series, including Amazon Studios’ “Small Axe” and HBO Max’s “It’s A Sin.”

Its lead actor Lee Jung-jae was also one of 10 candidates for Outstanding Performance in a New Series, including Ethan Hawke in “The Good Lord Bird” and Anya Taylor-Joy in “The Queen’s Gambit.”

The nine-part series about contestants competing in deadly Korean children’s playground games to win 45.6 billion won (US$38.5 million) in prize money became the most successful TV show in Netflix history with more than 142 million viewers in the first four weeks after its release on Sept. 17.

Organized by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the Gotham Awards is one of the major film awards ceremonies in the United States in the runup to the Oscars slated for March next year. Films budgeted under $35 million are eligible to be nominated at the Gothams.

Last year, South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung was nominated for best actress for her performance in the immigration film “Minari.”

At this year’s event, two Netflix films, “Passing” and “The Lost Daughter,” led the pack with five nominations apiece.

The 31st annual Gotham Awards ceremony will take place Nov. 29.