You can’t watch the Squid Game: The Challenge finale until tonight

It’s Wednesday, December 6, 2023. That means you should be able to watch the season finale of Squid Game: The Challenge, right? Well, not just yet. If you opened Netflix this morning hoping to watch the finale, you might have been disappointed.

Netflix is doing something different with this series. The finale didn’t drop at the usual time of 12:00 a.m. PT/3:00 a.m. ET. Instead, the finale will air tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET. The good news is that viewers who can’t watch until after work or school no longer have to worry about getting spoiled because no one is watching until tonight at the earliest.

How to watch the Squid Game: The Challenge finale tonight

Netflix is giving the reality show finale a more traditional viewing by making people wait until a time when most are relaxing in front of the TV anyway.  With a primetime slot, there is a better chance that more subscribers will choose to watch together, creating a communal viewing experience similar to cable.

• Pacific Time: 6:00 p.m.
• Eastern Time: 9:00 p.m.

This isn’t the first time Netflix has chosen a unique time to premiere something, as they have also aired finales for shows like Love is Blind and Selling Sunset during primetime instead of dropping them in the middle of the night like they do with most shows.

But no need to worry if you’re busy tonight. You’ll still be able to watch the finale any time you want like normal after the episode becomes available at 9 p.m. ET.

The final three contestants

For those who need a reminder of where things stand heading into the finale, the 456 contestants have been whittled down to the final three: Sam (Player 016), Mai (Player 287), and Phill (Player 451).

In the penultimate episode, Sam, Mai, and Phill emerged victorious from the tensest game of musical chairs ever. Now they’ll face off for the whopping $4.56 million prize. (We’re rooting for Mai, over here.)