‘Squid Game’ Series, Lead Actor Nominated At 31st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards

South Korea’s breakout survival drama series "Squid Game" has snatched two nominations for the 31^st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. The Netflix drama is nominated in the Breakthrough Series category and its lead actor Lee Jung-Jae is in the running for a trophy for outstanding performance in a new series.

This year, “Squid Game” lead actor Lee is facing both male and female competitors in the category of outstanding performance in a new series category after Gotham Awards switched to gender-neutral acting categories for the first time, as per Soompi.

Lee is up against Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”), Michael Greyeyes (“Rutherford Falls”), Ethan Hawke (“The Good Lord Bird”), Devery Jacobs (“Reservation Dogs”), Thuso Mbedu (“The Underground Railroad”), Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Omar Sy (“Lupin”), Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”), and Anjana Vasan (“We Are Lady Parts”).

While “Squid Game” is the only foreign language show in the breakthrough TV series category, Lee is one of the two non-English performers in the outstanding performance in a new series category along with French actor Omar Sy from Netflix's “Lupin,” as per The Korea Times.

The nine-episode series “Squid Game” is the only non-English show competing for the best Breakthrough series - Long Format (over 40 minutes) along with five other TV series. These are “The Good Lord Bird,” HBO Max’s “It’s A Sin,” and “The White Lotus" and Amazon Studios’ “Small Axe,” and “The Underground Railroad."

“Squid Game” is Netflix’s biggest hit amassing about 111 million viewers worldwide since its release in Sept. 17.

The popular drama, characterized by gory scenes, tells the story of cash-strapped individuals who participate in children’s games in exchange for a hefty cash prize. Losers of the game are killed by masked guards in distinct red overall jumpsuits.

The Television Academy earlier confirmed to Variety that "Squid Game" is eligible for an Emmy award as it was produced with the intent of being distributed in the U.S.

However, makers of the series should choose whether they want the show to compete for the Primetime Emmys or the International Emmys as the TV academy does not allow double-dipping.

The 31st annual Gotham Awards ceremony will be held in New York on Nov. 29.