MrBeast’s ambitious reality competition show, “Beast Games,” premiered on Amazon Prime Video this week, and clips of the game show circulating on social media illustrate how intense the controversial, “largest game show in history” turned out to be.
In one clip, contestants’ screams are heard echoing as they plummet through trapdoors which opened at random. Contestants awaiting their turn to fall wear uneasy expressions as they anticipate the imminent drop.
At one point, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, prompts an 80-person row of contestants to drop at the same time.
“The production on ‘Beast Games’ is crazy,” Dexerto, which covers gaming and entertainment news, wrote about the clip in an X post.
Backstory of ‘Beast Games’
In March, Donaldson announced he had joined forces with Amazon Studios to make “the largest game show in history.”
The reality competition series would feature 1,000 contestants, a $5 million reward and be “an insane show,” he said on X.
During an appearance on “The Colin and Samir Show,” Donaldson, who helms the most-followed channel on YouTube, said the series would be “mind-blowing.”
“Each one of these episodes will be bigger than the biggest YouTube video I’ve ever made,” he said. “It’s like our normal videos just 20 times better.”
Based off early reactions to “Beast Games,” the game show is every bit as intense as Donaldson intended it to be.
“Seeing everyone’s reaction to Beast Games is awesome,” Donaldson wrote on X Thursday.
Reviews of ‘Beast Games’
Some viewers of “Beast Games” have expressed appreciation for the “insane” show and Donaldson, while others have criticized him and compared the series to “The Hunger Games.”
- “The end of episode 2 is the most INSANE cliffhanger on any competition show,” one fan wrote on X. “This is waaaay better than Netflix’s squid game show.”
- “Beast Games is not a game show — it’s a psychological thriller. Very uncomfortable watch,” another viewer wrote.
- Another viewer said, “Please get this right. Mr Beast is a (villain.) I have seen this story before and it was called The Hunger Games.”
- “Say what you want about Mr. Beast, he knows how to host a game show,” one fan said.
- “Is it just me or does ‘Beast Games’ seem insanely sick and twisted?” one viewer asked. “Half the ‘challenges’ are just psychological social experiments. The ‘entertainment’ is watching poor people suffering in desperation.”
- Another said, “#MrBeast’s new Amazon game show #BeastGames is next-level crazy.”
‘Beast Games’ controversy
During production, “Beast Games” faced allegations of poor conditions on set, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
A few contestants and crew members claimed there was a lack of food and water, safety issues and unfair games during filming in Las Vegas, Vital Vegas reported in July. They alleged that some contestants were injured during filming.
A MrBeast representative called those allegations “inaccurate,” per Vital Vegas.
More allegations surfaced in September.
Crew members claimed Donaldson bit off more than he could chew with the “Beast Games” project, per a report from Rolling Stone.
Crew members alleged there was not enough food and raised other safety concerns.
“It’s a Fyre Fest kind of feeling,” one crew member who worked in Toronto and left the production early said to Rolling Stone. “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.”
Where to watch ‘Beast Games’
“Beast Games” is exclusively available on Amazon Prime Video.
The first two episodes premiered on Thursday and are now available for streaming.
New episodes will be released every Thursday at 10 a.m. MST through Feb. 13, per Amazon Prime. The series has 10 episodes.
“Beast Games” is not available to watch on YouTube.