‘Squid Game’ Wins Breakthrough Series at the Gotham Awards 2021 + Lee Jung Jae and Jung Ho Yeon Dazzle in Red Carpet
Netflix's "Squid Game" is carving another milestone with their first-ever trophy at the Gotham Awards 2021.
Held in New York, USA, lead stars Lee Jung Jae and Jung Ho Yeon graced the red carpet with their stunning looks alongside director Hwang Dong Hyuk.
To recall, the award-winning actor took on the role of the debt-ridden player no 456 Seong Gi Hoon while the model and newcomer actress portrayed the North Korean Kang sang Byeok, a.k.a player no. 067.
'Squid Game' Snag their First Win at Gotham Awards 2021
The trio attended the annual event after being nominated for Breakthrough Series - Long Format and Outstanding Performance in a New Series for Lee Jung Jae.
Interestingly, they bring home the bacon by scoring an award for Breakthrough Series - Long Format and beating Ethan Hawke's "The Good Lord Bird," British drama "It's a Sin," "Small Axe," "The Underground Railroad," and HBO's satirical comedy-drama "The White Lotus."
During the acceptance speech, PD Hwang Dong Hyuk and "Squid Game" producer Kim Ji Yeon went on stage with the two lead stars.
The producers began her speech by expressing how overwhelmed they are for the support of the viewers, saying that they "experienced so many miracles" since the show was released.
"The biggest of them is how much love and support you all have shown to a foreign language series with a very strange title," she said.
The Kdrama director shared the same stance and pointed out how he started to write the script in 2009 and took him 12 years to finish and now they are on stage accepting an award.
"It took 12 years to make this show and show it to the people. And it took less than 12 days to become the number one show on the planet. What can I say? It's a miracle. If there are miracles, this is a miracle. It happened to me," he said, expressing his heartfelt thank you to the viewers and fans of the thriller series.
Unfortunately, Lee Jung Jae didn't take home the Outstanding Performance in a New Series; instead, Ethan Hawke won the award for his portrayal in "The Good Lord Bird."
The four-time Academy Awards winner surpassed his fellow nominees Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus,) Michael Greyeyes (Rutherford Falls,) Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) and Lee Jung Jae for "Squid Games."
READ MORE: Netflix's 'Squid Game' Beats HBO's 'Game of Thrones' with 17 Billion Views on YouTube
From Top Rating Netflix Series to Winning their First Major U.S. Award
The Gotham Awards 2021 is "Squid Game's" latest achievement after launching on September 17.
The nine-part episode series immediately catapulted to fame after reigning Netflix's top chart for tv series and achieving first place in 82 countries.
In addition, the streaming giant also dubbed the South Korean series as their "biggest show ever" after being watched 82 million times in its first 28 days, ousting the period drama "Bridgerton."
Due to the massive success, PD Hwang Dong Hyuk confirmed that "Squid Game" is set to return with a sequel.
