Amazon’s big bet on one of YouTube’s most popular — and increasingly contentious — personalities is here.
Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson’s reality series, “Beast Games,” debuted Thursday on Amazon Prime, months after several contestants alleged that they faced poor working conditions on set.
Greenlighted by Amazon Prime Video in March, the reality competition show promised to deliver the highest cash prize in television history, with a reward of $5 million. Donaldson, YouTube’s top creator, with more than 337 million subscribers, was reportedly paid $100 million and given what he described as full creative control. The show reportedly began casting and filming in the summer, with contestants performing physical tasks akin to challenges staged on Donaldson’s YouTube channel.
But Amazon’s investment in Donaldson and the initial hype around the show’s announcement have been overshadowed in recent months as he has faced the most intense scrutiny of his career.
Donaldson, 26, is one of the internet’s most recognizable creators, having grown a multimillion-dollar company, which employs hundreds of people in North Carolina and pumps out videos featuring competitions and stunts that regularly attract tens of millions of views. His most-viewed video on YouTube is his re-enactment of the Netflix show “Squid Game,” in which contestants faced elimination challenges similar to those on the show (without the death element) to win the $456,000 prize.
While some of his past video challenges have raised eyebrows, he had largely averted public fallout — until August, when The New York Times reported that some contestants said they sustained injuries and had inadequate access to food and medical care while they were filming the show in Las Vegas.
A spokesperson for Donaldson said at the time that the shoot “was unfortunately complicated” by a variety of factors, including “extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.” The spokesperson added that “virtually all” participants who were invited to proceed to the upcoming Toronto shoot “enthusiastically accepted.”
Around the same time, online commentators accused former longtime MrBeast channel collaborator Ava Kris Tyson of “grooming.” Tyson denied the allegations and announced her departure from the channel in July. A third-party legal probe, commissioned by Donaldson, found that allegations of sexual misconduct directed at his company were baseless.
Concerns over safety on set followed “Beast Games” after it continued production in Toronto. And in September, a handful of contestants filed a lawsuit in California alleging they were “shamelessly exploited” and subjected to “unreasonable, unsafe” working conditions.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names Donaldson’s production company and Amazon Prime as defendants. Representatives for Donaldson and Amazon did not comment on the lawsuit at the time. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said in an email Wednesday that “as this is an ongoing legal matter, the attorneys and related parties are not conducting interviews.” Representatives for Amazon and Donaldson declined to comment.
In a recent appearance on “This Past Weekend with Theo Von,” Von asked Donaldson about whether issues around his production were “overblown.” In response, Donaldson said it was “impossible for there never to be anything negative” with such a large production.
He also responded to an X user who asked whether the “Beast Games” show was “the same one where a lot of contestants complained of terrible conditions.”
“We have tons of behind the scenes dropping when the show does to show how blown out of proportion these claims were,” Donaldson wrote Nov. 25. “Just can’t release it now because it would spoil the games.”
But the first two episodes, which dropped at noon ET Thursday, do not address any backlash.
The show appears to be inspired by "Squid Game," with the contestants all seen wearing blue jumpsuits with numbers on them. The challenges require participants to partake in high-stakes games while facing moral dilemmas.
“I will die for this. I will die for $5 million,” a contestant says to the camera in the opening minutes of the show, which kicked off with 1,000 contestants.
So far, the games have prompted participants to cheer or sob, as they are forced between choices such as taking "bribes" to forfeit the chance of bigger winnings or sacrificing themselves for other players to move on. Throughout the challenges, Donaldson walks around the arena and interacts with contestants.
By the start of episode two, the remaining 493 players have entered “Beast City” — a town constructed specifically for the contestants. At the center of the city stands a four-story building, with each floor serving as an arena for a different game.
“I spent over a year creating this 10 episode competition series, breaking 40 world records, building the craziest sets in entertainment history, featuring 1,000 players, and a $5,000,000 grand prize!” Donaldson wrote in a recent post on X. “I poured everything I have into this show, I’ll see you December 19th on @PrimeVideo.”
The show teases what appears to be some of the future challenges, including one that involves monster trucks and another that is on a ship.
The first trailer showed some contestants holding their hands on their faces, appearing stressed, or applaud in excitement. One person dives out of a helicopter. Donaldson high-fives some contestants in the trailer. People in all-black, face-covering suits also hold bags labeled with dollar signs and drop money into piles.
Donaldson said on Von’s podcast, “It’s fun to create environments that have never been created before and almost just see what people do.”
Amazon did not provide any screeners to NBC News before the show’s launch, saying in an email that the studio wants to preserve “the MrBeast fashion of a ‘surprise and delight’ moment for fans, and to protect the integrity of the competition series and spoilers.”
There are a total of 10 episodes, with new episodes rolling out weekly.
