On Nov. 20, Amazon and 330-million subscriber YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson announced that the first two episodes of their “Beast Games” reality show will premiere on Dec. 19. The show, which was first announced in March 2024 and finished filming in September 2024, is one of, if not the largest, reality shows ever filmed.
“A staggering 1,000 contestants compete in nail-biting, physical, mental, and social challenges, for a chance to win a whopping 5 million dollar cash prize,” the press release said.
The show’s scope has been its main advertising point over its incredibly short production cycle. In an October 2024 episode of the “Impaulsive” podcast, hosted by Donaldson’s business partner Logan Paul, Donaldson said that he “had over 1,500 people on set working on it, over 100 people editing it.”
“We use four times more cameras than any other production in history,” he said. “There’s never been 1,400 cameras simultaneously recording.”
On Nov. 19, the 26-year-old Donaldson claimed in an Instagram Story that the show broke “50 Guinness World Records while filming” and the show will make his “YouTube videos look like child’s play because [he] had so much more time and [was] on a budget.”
According to multiple contestants I spoke with while working on a story about the Games for Rolling Stone, 2,000 contestants gathered in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to film the series, but poor working conditions caused angst among some contestents and crew members.
As confirmed by the New York Times, contestants were underfed, had medication withheld, were forced to sleep on the floor of the stadium, and had to compete in arduous physical challenges. A MrBeast spokesperson blamed “the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues” for these problems.
In September 2024, multiple contestants who competed in Vegas filed a class action lawsuit against Donaldson’s production companies and Amazon for unpaid wages and hostile work conditions. (A source close to production told Passionfruit that the lawsuit has still not been served to any of the parties.)
Most of the workforce of over 1,000 crew members were non-union employees, with only a handful being a part of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).
There were serious injuries on set — on the last day of filming, part of a tower fell off and hit a crew member, injuring them and leading them to the hospital. Crew members and contestants signed strict NDAs, which prevented them from speaking out with their names about their experiences.
“There’s a reason why this level of production hasn’t been attempted before, and it certainly should never have been attempted without people that know what they are doing,” one contestant said to Rolling Stone.
Public opinion of the Beast Games seems to be lukewarm right now, with comments on social media like, “We won’t be watching” and “What about everyone that got hurt?”
Since the show started production, Donaldson has been embroiled in multiple scandals, from having to fire his best friend for inappropriate behavior to claims that his new food kit has a mold problem. Donaldson has allegedly started contacting commentary channels in an attempt to try to sway public opinion in his favor.
Unanswered questions remain about the Games. How did their team edit hundreds of thousands of hours of footage of thousands of contestents in just a few months? What will happen with the class action lawsuit? Will anyone watch this show?
For me, the Beast Games is a cautionary tale of what happens when you push the human cost aside in the search for content. Amazon spent a reported $100 million on this show, and the industry will notice if it performs or flops.
If it does well, other studios might think that they can get away with non-union workforces and iffy working conditions. If it bombs, companies might think twice about giving nine figures to a 26-year-old with unlimited creative control.
