The Korea series "Squid Game" has risen to the top spot on Netflix global charts.
FlixPatrol, which tallies the ratings of streaming programs, last Friday said "Squid Game" beat the British teen comedy series "Sex Education" to the most-watched spot and held it for the next two days.
The show about a high-stakes survival competition ranked at the top in 66 countries including Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
The soaring popularity has inevitably generated a flood of memes, and the Tiktok hashtag also has drawn 8 billion views, while there are 550,000 Instagram posts about the series.
People have posted video clips of playing Korean children's games that are depicted in the series, and users are recreating them on the global gaming platform Roblox.
Netflix founder Reed Hastings and actor Simon Pegg have posted photos of themselves on Instagram wearing the track suits featured in the series, and Mnchester United star Jesse Lingard took a selfie watching the show on a giant TV at home.
Pop culture critic Jung Duk-hyun said, "A globally popular genre fused with a framework that is relatable for foreign viewers worked in its favor. The feeling of alienation in a highly competitive society appears to have struck a chord not only with young Koreans but young people around the world."
In "Squid Game," down-on-their-luck players are taken to a mysterious location where they must compete in one children's game after another to win a W45.6 billion prize or face death (US$1=W1,180).
