TV Talk: Western Pa. doctor competes on ‘Squid Game;’ Tamburitzans back on WQED-TV
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The success of 2021’s scripted South Korean drama series “Squid Game” naturally made Netflix pursue a reality show version, “Squid Game: The Challenge,” now streaming.
The production values are huge and magnificent – the show, featuring 456 contestants at its outset, boasts a $4.56 million prize – and when “The Challenge” works, it’s because of its characters, particularly Rick Mercurio of Kittanning.
Mercurio, a beekeeper who turned 69 while filming “Squid Game: The Challenge” on enormous soundstages outside London in January 2023, gets a hero’s edit where he’s shown to be a likable, down-to-earth guy and one of the show’s oldest competitors.
With 456 players at the start, it seems it would be impossible to get to know any of the contestants well, but when the first game is Red Light, Green Light, led by the same creepy doll statue seen in the scripted show, the winnowing of contestants happens fast (more than 250 players are eliminated in that first game).
After that, characters start to come into focus, including a son and his mother, who is a retired New York Times editor; the arrogant and widely disliked jock Brynton and Mercurio and his alliance in the Gganbu Gang (“gganbu” is Korean for “old and close friends”).
Mercurio, a physician who practices geriatric medicine, including at Kittanning Care Center, said he was a fan of the scripted “Squid Game.” When searching the internet in June 2022 for information on the show’s second season, he saw producers were seeking contestants for the 10-episode “Squid Game” reality show.
“It took me three seconds to say, ‘I’m doing this,’” Mercurio said of his decision to apply. “I didn’t tell nobody. I didn’t want anyone saying, ‘Dad lost his marbles.’”
Mercurio checked his email multiple times each day hoping to get a response to his submission. On Sept. 17, 2022, he received a text at work saying producers loved his application.
“I actually floated home from work that day,” he said.
From there, Mercurio ran a pre-game gauntlet of interviews before getting selected in December 2022.
“I just never expected a man like me — you know, an older person – to be [someone] who gets these kinds of opportunities,” he said.
To prepare for the series, Mercurio played all the games seen in the scripted “Squid Game” over and over.
“I practiced marbles with my wife, played Red Light, Green Light with the grandchildren,” Mercurio said. “I was floored how many people there never practiced anything. For $4.56 million, prepare!”
In the series, Mercurio says he will get a tattoo of his player number, 232, and he’s done that and more, adding the “Squid Game” logo and “gganbu” to his left arm.
Mercurio said he told stories during downtime and it’s clear he became a father-figure to a mullet-sporting contestant from Kansas City. Mercurio also says in the series if he can’t win, it would be an honor to help one of his new friends win.
Mercurio said the crying/wailing by some contestants when others get eliminated was not a put-on response.
“It felt like we were dying,” he said of contestants who were shot with paintballs when eliminated. “On the [scripted] show when the characters die, after the cameras stopped rolling, people high five and congratulated them on what a great showing and they went home to their family and they got a paycheck. We were eliminated and there were no congratulations, no high-fives, no paycheck. We lost an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Mercurio said he’s not looking to get on another reality show, but he’s such a winning character in “Squid Game: The Challenge” one could imagine reality show casting producers might come calling. He’s open to future opportunities.
Mercurio’s family owns Mercurio’s restaurants in Shadyside and Fox Chapel. They’ll celebrate the premiere of “Squid Game: The Challenge” tonight with a private viewing for family and friends at the Fox Chapel location.
Chad Van Horn, a Gateway High and Robert Morris University grad who’s now a bankruptcy attorney in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is also among “The Challenge” contestants.
More Tammies
“Tamburitzans Presents Phoenix” (8 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday, WQED-TV) marks the latest labor of love from WQED producer Frank Caloiero, himself a former Tamburitzan.
A 90-minute production, “Phoenix” highlights music and dance cultural traditions from Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania and Ukraine. The show filmed over two performances at the Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University in June, including one show where there was no audience present, allowing cameras to get on-stage close-ups.
This third Tammies TV show in recent years differs from its predecessors, Caloiero said, because of that approach to filming.
“It’s an immersive experience. The cameras are there in the middle of the circle, they’re spinning around the performers,” Caloiero said. “In the [end] credits at one point, I’m holding the camera and I get kicked. We also used cranes we call jibs that really give the ability to fly over certain lines and circles. … My goal was to not make you feel like you’re an audience member, but to make you feel like you’re a performer.”
“Phoenix” goes behind the scenes for a show meeting and visits towns in Michigan and Wisconsin where the troupe performs annually.
While this is the third Tamburitzans show on WQED in recent years, Caloiero said the first collaboration he found was a half-hour WQED special from 1967. Portions of that show will air during pledge breaks in “Phoenix” hosted by Rick Sebak and Liz Kostandinu.
Kept/canceled
Max renewed animated “Harley Quinn” for a fifth season.
CBS’s “Blue Bloods” will end with its upcoming 14th season; 10 episodes will air beginning Feb. 16 with the final eight episodes airing in Fall 2024.
Channel surfing
On Thanksgiving Day KDKA-TV will air a “Hey Ray!” special with Ray Petelin at noon on Channel 2 and again at 12:30 and 8 p.m. on Channel 19. … CBS will carry “The Golden Globe Awards” at 8 p.m. Jan. 7. … Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni, writer-director-creator of “Ahsoka,” has been promoted to chief creative officer at Lucasfilm, where he’ll be involved in “Star Wars” projects from inception going forward.