In a recent interview with Steven Bartlett on “The Diary of a CEO” YouTube channel, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) opened up about the making of his record-breaking reality show “Beast Games”. The show, which debuted on Prime Video, drew in an impressive 50 million viewers in its first month, making it Amazon’s most-watched unscripted series to date.
MrBeast said in the interview with “The Dairy of a CEO” on Youtube:
“It was not a good financial decision to make Beast Games, I lost money. I would have more money if I didn’t film it”.
The show’s concept was simple yet ambitious: 1,000 contestants competed in a series of challenges for a record-breaking $10 million cash prize. But what’s even more astonishing is that MrBeast doubled the initial prize money of $5 million with a coin flip during the series.
However, MrBeast revealed that the show’s massive success came at a significant personal cost. Despite Amazon providing a budget of $100 million, MrBeast claimed that he still lost “tens of millions” of dollars on the project. The production costs for individual episodes were staggering, with some exceeding $15 million. MrBeast attributed the high costs to the construction of massive sets, including one that was reportedly the largest ever built.
“I lost money. I would have more money if I didn’t film it,” MrBeast candidly admitted in the interview. “It was not a good financial decision to make Beast Games.”
But the show’s success was also marred by reports of poor treatment of contestants. Over a dozen contestants anonymously shared their experiences with the New York Times, alleging that they were only fed small meals twice a day, weren’t able to access their own prescription medications in a timely manner, and witnessed other contestants vomiting, passing out, and being rushed to the hospital.
“We signed up for the show, but we didn’t sign up for not being fed or watered or treated like human beings,” one contestant told the Times.
MrBeast has since initiated a formal review of the matter and taken steps to address the concerns. A spokesman for MrBeast stated that the show had “taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience.”
As for a potential second season, MrBeast expressed enthusiasm but could not confirm any plans. “Amazon! Let’s get Season 2 in the books already! Come on, let’s sign a contract,” he jokingly urged.
Despite the controversy surrounding the show, MrBeast’s “Beast Games” has undoubtedly left a mark on the world of entertainment. It’s record-breaking success and ambitious production values have raised the bar for reality TV shows. But as MrBeast himself acknowledged, the true cost of that success may be higher than initially thought.
