'Squid Game' wins best drama series actor, director at Emmy's

SEOUL: The South Korean phenomenon survival drama "Squid Game" has become the first non-English TV series to win the best actor and director in a drama series at the prestigious Primetime Emmy Awards, Yonhap news agency reported.

Hwang Dong Hyuk, who produced, wrote and directed the global sensation survival drama, took home the prize of Outstanding Directing and Writing For a Drama Series for the Netflix series' first episode, "Red Light, Green Light", at the ceremony for the 74th edition at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Monday (US time),

He was competing with Mark Mylod, Cathy Yan and Lorene Scafaria of "Succession," Ben Stiller of "Severance," Jason Bateman of "Ozark" and Karyn Kusama of "Yellowjackets."

It is the first time that a non-English TV series has earned an Emmy, the most coveted honor in the United States TV industry, for its director.

Hwang thanked the global streaming platform Netflix for opening the door to his all-Korean show and giving him an unprecedented opportunity to access global audiences outside Korea.

"I believe I have to say we've all made history together," he said in his acceptance speech. "I truly hope 'Squid Game' won't be the last non-English series to be here at the Emmy's, and I also hope this won't be my last Emmy either."

He said he will return for the second season.

Lead actor Lee Jung Jae was named Outstanding Lead Actor In a Drama Series, beating Jason Bateman from "Ozark," Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong from "Succession," Bob Odenkirk from "Better Call Saul" and Adam Scott from "Severance."

Lee became the first non-English performer and South Korean actor to win an Emmy, one of the four major American awards for performing arts and entertainment.

In "Squid Game," Lee plays the role of Gi-hun, a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man drawn to a mysterious competition of traditional Korean kids' games that reward the only survivor with 45.6 billion won (US$33 million) in prize money.

In total, "Squid Game" has collected six Emmy titles: two majors at Monday's ceremony and four at the Creative Arts Emmys held last week.

The Netflix original garnered 14 nominations at this year's Emmy's.

It is Netflix's biggest hit original series ever, with a total of 1.65 billion hours of viewing in the first four weeks. Its second season is now in production.

-- BERNAMA