Netflix Greenlights ‘Monopoly’ Reality Series With Casting Now Open

Reality television has increasingly tapped into board games, mobile apps, and childhood nostalgia to create exciting competition formats, with streaming platforms eager to transform these familiar concepts into must-watch content.

Netflix has been particularly proactive in this arena, following the success of ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ with a growing lineup of unscripted projects based on popular intellectual properties. The latest development in this trend has been in the works for over a year.

Netflix secured the rights to create a reality competition based on Monopoly back in 2025, framing it as a large-scale social experiment that captures the classic game’s themes of alliances and betrayal. This deal initiated a highly competitive bidding process, with around 50 production companies vying for the opportunity before Netflix selected three finalists. Studio Lambert, known for ‘The Traitors,’ ultimately won the project earlier this year, outpacing Wheelhouse and Endemol Shine North America.

The project has officially entered production. According to Tudum, Netflix has greenlit the ‘Monopoly’ series and opened casting, announcing that the show will feature 12 contestants competing in a life-sized, fully realized Monopoly Town Square. As per the official logline, players start on equal footing, but that balance quickly shifts as they must accumulate wealth or risk losing everything, with each negotiation and dice roll carrying the potential for either empire-building or landing in jail.

The format entails eliminating bankrupt players one by one until a single winner emerges to claim the grand prize. Reports indicate that the prize is set at $2 million, aligning it with other high-stakes competition formats Netflix has recently backed. Casting is now open to the public, but details regarding the premiere date, host, or additional format specifics remain unconfirmed.

Studio Lambert’s involvement is significant, given the studio’s impressive track record, including back-to-back Emmy Awards for ‘The Traitors’ and its previous production of ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ for Netflix. The studio is also developing a civilian version of ‘The Traitors’ for NBC, solidifying its status as a leading unscripted producer. This reputation likely influenced Netflix’s decision, as the streamer was reportedly impressed by Lambert’s innovative pitch during the selection process.

Netflix’s VP of Unscripted Series, Jeff Gaspin, has noted the success of Scopely’s mobile game Monopoly Go, which has generated billions in revenue since its launch in 2023, as a key factor in recognizing the potential of this IP in the unscripted realm. The gameplay mechanics of the mobile game, which emphasize quick decision-making and competitive collection, seem to have directly inspired Netflix’s vision for adapting the classic board game into a live-action format.

This new ‘Monopoly’ project is distinct from the feature film adaptation currently in development at Lionsgate and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap, which is being penned by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Netflix continues to expand its unscripted IP lineup alongside this announcement, with ‘The Golden Ticket,’ a competition series set in the world of Willy Wonka, also in the works.

With casting now in progress and a premiere scheduled for next year, the ‘Monopoly’ series joins a wave of reality competitions inspired by board games and apps, all vying to replicate the viral success of ‘Squid Game: The Challenge.’ Whether this transformation of one of the world’s most recognizable board games into a full-scale physical competition can achieve similar energy remains to be seen, but Netflix is clearly confident in the concept as it moves forward.

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