"Squid Game" (2021) and its star Lee Jung-jae each won prizes during this year's Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) TV Awards, according to the association on Tuesday.

"Squid Game" was named Best International Series during the awards ceremony. It competed against series including "Pachinko," "Acapulco," "Lupin," "Money Heist" and "Narcos: Mexico."

Lee Jung-jae was named Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama. He had been nominated for the award alongside Adam Scott from "Severance," Jason Bateman from "Ozar," Tom Ellis from "Lucifer," Tom Hiddleston from "Loki," Gary Oldman from "Slow Horses," Henry Cavill from "The Witcher" and Penn Badgley from "You".

"'Squid Game' brought me so much good luck," said the actor during his videotaped acceptance speech. "I am truly grateful for all the love and support that I have received. I am personally also excited because I feel that 'Squid Game' allowed me to open another chapter of my acting career. Please look forward to season two of the series as well."

The series' director Hwang Dong-hyuk said that he has begun working on season two of "Squid Game" during his videotaped acceptance speech after "Squid Game" won Best International Series.

"I believe the series has since overcome the limits of a non-English series to create many historical moments and breakthroughs," he said. "I do hope to create a better second season and share it with all the fans and critics around the world."

"Squid Game" is Netflix’s dystopian record-breaking hit series about a man named Gi-hun and 455 other players who take on a series of deadly children’s games. They battle to be the sole survivor and win prize money of 45.6 billion won ($34.8 million). "Squid Game" is Netflix’s most-watched series, surpassing 1 billion views in just 28 days after its release last September.

Lee shot to global stardom for his role as Gi-hun in the series. He was recently nominated for an Emmy Award in the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards' category of best lead actor in a drama for his role in the series. Including Lee's nomination, the series picked up 14 Emmy nominations across 13 categories. Lee, along with other cast and crew, are scheduled to attend the award ceremony on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles.




BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]