For generations, there has been one invitation almost impossible to turn down.
A Golden Ticket.
Now Netflix is taking one of the most famous fantasies in children’s literature and bringing it into the real world with “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket,” a new competition series that quite literally opens the doors to the chocolate factory.
The first trailer has arrived, giving viewers their first real look inside a world built around Roald Dahl’s iconic creation, complete with elaborate challenges, familiar locations and, naturally, plenty of wonderfully strange surprises.
Premiering September 23, the nine-episode series will follow 12 Golden Ticket winners, each joined by a partner, as they compete through challenges inspired by the world of Willy Wonka.
And yes, there is a prize at the end.
Exactly how much remains under wraps, though the trailer rather dramatically promises what it calls a “lifetime supply of money.”
Not exactly an Everlasting Gobstopper, but we imagine contestants will manage.
What really makes “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” stand out, however, is just how deeply the competition seems willing to embrace the wonderfully bizarre nature of the original chocolate factory.
Lickable wallpaper makes an appearance, alongside a massive Wonkavision-inspired challenge and plenty of colorful environments seemingly designed to make contestants question exactly what they signed up for when they found that ticket.
As players move deeper into the factory, eliminations narrow the field while an unseen Wonka-like presence watches over the competition and guides contestants through each new challenge.
The series is particularly rooted in the legacy of 1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” with the production even recreating the familiar sound of Gene Wilder’s Wonka for the unseen host. Wilder’s estate worked with ElevenLabs on the recreation, with his widow, Karen B. Wilder, saying the project celebrates the warmth and imagination he brought to the character while introducing that magic to another generation.
It is certainly an interesting way to continue extending a world that has survived across books, movies, musicals and generations of children wondering exactly what they would do if they ever found a Golden Ticket of their own.
Now some people actually get to find out.
“Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” arrives on Netflix September 23.
Just remember the most important rule when entering a chocolate factory.
Never assume anything is simply candy.