Could ‘The Silent Sea’ Become The Next ‘Squid Game?'

When “Squid Game” first hit Netflix, it immediately spawned into an overnight success. The show’s premise earned rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Fans of “Squid Game” will be happy to know that a second season of the show has been given the green light, but a release date has yet to be announced.

While that project is still in the works, Netflix has released another Korean science-fiction dystopian thriller to tide fans over called “The Silent Sea.” While “Squid Game” has earned the distinction of being the most popular original show on Netflix, will “The Silent Sea” be able to steal that title?

The premise of “The Silent Sea” is a little bit more hard sci-fi than “Squid Game.” The show involves a team of astronauts traveling to space in order to retrieve an important sample from a moon base. Although they’re told that the moon base was shuttered after a radiation leak, they soon realize that not all is what it appears to be. The crew soon comes to learn that their real mission might end up saving the entire planet from its severe water crisis… if the cure doesn’t kill them first.

The show’s official synopsis reads: “Set in a future Earth that has undergone desertification, ‘The Silent Sea’ is the story of the members of a special team sent to secure a mysterious sample from an abandoned research facility on the moon.”

Two of the cast members are actually alums from “Squid Game.” Gong Yoo had a brief but important role in “Squid Game” as the salesman who approaches Gi-hun to play the paper flipping game ddakji in the first episode. Heo Sung-tae, who played Jang Deok-su in “Squid Game” also has a small part in “The Silent Sea” as well.

Fans of the canceled Netflix series “Sense8” will recognize actress Bae Doona, who played Sun Bak on the show, as the lead scientist.

So far, “The Silent Sea” has a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show, which was released on December 24, 2021, does not yet have enough critic ratings to calculate a Tomatometer score. However, there are plenty of audience reviews to help fans make a decision whether or not the show is worth their time.

One user wrote, “As someone who already watched many Korean series, the silent sea is the most remarkable depiction in terms of space science fiction genre. I really love the details in any aspects for example the clothes or even the lunar station's interior itself.”

“Good scifi!” another user wrote. “Very strong scenario, interesting plot twists and story development, good pace, thrilling moments, realistic characters and character development. I bingewatched the whole series.”

Still, not all fans were in love with the show. “Seriously flat script, dull characters,” another wrote. “Bae totally overplays the doctor character and becomes intensely annoying. Some of the sets are laughable.”

“Pretty good show for Netflix. Intriguing plot that kept my interest throughout,” another shared. “If you like movies about space with a bit of mystery and suspense you will like this series.”

Season 1 of “The Silent Sea” is currently streaming on Netflix. Fans can check out the trailer below.