After weeks of rumors, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson and Amazon have announced that they are partnering for a new streaming competition series titled Beast Games. The YouTuber will host and executive produce the Prime Video series, as players compete for the largest payout that has ever been awarded in a TV series: $5 million. At this time, we don’t know what the show’s challenges will include, or what contestants will be put through to earn that amount of money. However, with MrBeast in charge, it’s likely that we’ll see a big influence from his videos on YouTube. In a press release, MrBeast spoke enthusiastically about the control he’ll have in the series.ย
“My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms,” said MrBeast. “Amazon gave me the creative control I need to try and make it happen. I hope to make the YouTube community proud.”
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Creative Control on Beast Games
While MrBeast seems excited to prove himself in a new field, it will be interesting to see how he’s able to transition from YouTube to the world of streaming television. The content creator is known for making tightly produced videos that target YouTube’s algorithms to maximize clicks, and TV is a much different format, with a different audience. There’s a major difference between creating a viral video and getting viewers to watch a multi-episode competition series on a streaming platform. Despite this, Amazon seems to have a lot of confidence in his abilities, and that’s highlighted by the fact that he’ll have a significant amount of creative control. According to Vernon Sanders, the head of television for Amazon MGM Studios, MrBeast also came up with the original idea for Beast Games.ย
“When MrBeast first told us about his concept for the show, we were blown away by his ambition to make ‘Beast Games’ the biggest reality competition series ever,” Sanders said in the press release. “We’d like to thank Aaron DeBevoise, Nic Paul and the Spotter team for the introduction and kickstarting this journey for us.”
From Content Creator to Household Name
Since starting his career on YouTube, MrBeast has become one of the best known content creators on the internet. MrBeast has become a household name, and has won several awards, including Favorite Male Creator at the Kids Choice Awards in 2022 and 2023. His fame has resulted in appearances in video games like Stumble Guys, voice work in movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and outside endeavors like the MrBeast Burger chain. That latter project was something of a mess resulting in lawsuits between MrBeast and partner Virtual Dining Concepts, but hopefully things will turn out a lot better with Amazon and Beast Games!
Are you excited to see how Beast Games turns out? Is this the kind of series you’d be interested in watching? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachampย or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: The Wrap]
