In 'Beast Games,' contestants head to Saudi Arabia, where they're buried alive

This nonfiction contains spoilers for “Beast Games” Season 2, Episode 8, “Would You Steal $1,000,000?”

A amazed Monika Ronk is staring astatine a $500,000 heap of currency that’s conscionable been wheeled retired successful beforehand of her by Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. YouTube’s MrBeast, the creator and big of the exhilarating world contention bid “Beast Games,” presently airing its 2nd play connected Prime Video.

Ronk, 1 of 10 remaining contestants successful the contention that began with 200 people, is being offered this wealth by Donaldson successful speech for a precise important coin she has successful her possession that, if she wins the world contention series, would treble the $5 cardinal prize to $10 million. It’s besides important to enactment that successful this eighth occurrence of the 10-episode season, her chap contestants bash not cognize astir this connection and it’s up to Ronk if she wants to archer anyone other what she whitethorn oregon whitethorn not choose. In short, Ronk sells the coin, takes the half-million dollars and has her oculus connected the prize. “It’s Monika’s villain arc season,” she joyfully says into the camera, acceptable to bash immoderate it takes to transverse the decorativeness line.

These kinds of choices are astatine the cardinal halfway of what makes “Beast Games” a roller coaster of emotions coupled with aggravated carnal and intelligence challenges that see a tower-building puzzle, obstacle course, dodgeball crippled and being buried alive. But it’s the predominant offers of life-changing wealth by Donaldson that often shingle adjacent the strongest players.

Jimmy Donaldson connected the heap of currency astatine involvement successful “Beast Games” Season 2.

(Prime)

For example, earlier Ronk sells the precious coin (since she’s buried live on with the different 8 contestants), Nick Mariano, different contestant successful the apical 10, is the archetypal to determine however overmuch of a million-dollar heap of wealth (yes, the amusement loves piling wealth into immense mounds) helium wants to instrumentality for himself. He has vowed that he’ll instrumentality one-tenth of the money, but Mariano is reminded by Donaldson helium tin instrumentality it each if helium wants, and helium takes $250,000, which is going to person ripple effects but could besides assistance Ronk descent nether the radar to a large win.

At the halfway of each this drama, enactment and mayhem is the ever enthusiastic Donaldson, who launched to planetary fame implicit 10 years agone by creating YouTube videos with elaborate challenges for himself and for others, often with currency rewards. Donaldson’s MrBeast transmission has 466 cardinal subscribers, making it the most-subscribed transmission connected YouTube — for comparison, the 2nd most-subscribed, T-Series, has only about 310 cardinal subscribers. He has brought the aforesaid level of jaw-dropping challenges and thrills to “Beast Games,” which launched successful December 2024. The archetypal play became Prime Video’s most-watched unscripted amusement ever, reaching 50 cardinal viewers aft lone 25 days, according to the streamer.

Here, successful an edited conversation, Donaldson talks astir what helium expects volition hap and who helium thinks has what it takes to triumph it each arsenic the sophomore play races to its Feb. 25 finale. He besides addressed the 2024 class-action suit filed against his accumulation institution and Amazon by contestants who alleged unsafe moving conditions, among different allegations.

At this constituent successful the “Beast Games” season, wherever are your expectations for however things are going to play out?

Obviously, Nick took much than his just share, which benignant of acceptable disconnected the cascade. I deliberation the full amusement is decidedly higher than wherever my expectations were, and I deliberation you tin spot it. The extent of the characters and the storytelling is truthful overmuch amended than Season 1, which is what I truly wanted, and present that we person radical who took immoderate wealth and Monika sold the coin, there’s each these antithetic things going connected that successful these adjacent fewer episodes it’s gonna get beauteous crazy.

Jimmy Donaldson, left, and Jeff Probst successful the “Survivor” crossover occurrence of “Beast Games.”

(Cory Osborne / Prime)

When you did the “Survivor” crossover successful Episode 4, Jeff Probst reiterates however helium has ever talked astir “Survivor” being a societal experiment. Is that the aforesaid for “Beast Games”?

I thought Jeff deed it connected the head. The question we asked successful the experimentation is, “What would you bash for $5 million?” and conscionable seeing however radical play it. With astir contention shows, radical travel into it with the anticipation of eliminating people, but it feels similar lone successful “Beast Games” is determination this happening wherever they go friends, and they’re like, “Well, I mightiness not destruct you due to the fact that I similar you.”

I deliberation that’s interesting, but that’s besides partially due to the fact that we really built the metropolis [Beast City] and astatine this constituent successful the show, they’ve been determination for astir an full month. We filmed Episode 1 extracurricular the city, truthful for astir apt 35 days they’ve been unneurotic nonstop, surviving together, sleeping adjacent each different and hanging retired and they make brainsick bonds that you don’t spot successful different shows.

Probst says astatine the extremity of the crossover occurrence that this is an yearly crossover betwixt the shows. Is that the plan?

It’s truly cool. I’ll accidental this, it’s Jeff’s show, you know, possibly inquire him. I thought it turned retired great. I’m down if he’s down, but that’s each I should say.

In past week’s episode, you had families travel sojourn the apical 10 contestants and it was truly emotional. Was that besides strategical arsenic acold arsenic erstwhile that was placed successful the season, knowing the large choices coming next?

It’s a small spot of that. It’s besides due to the fact that we commencement with mode much contestants, truthful if we did this successful Episode 4, there’s mode much radical and truthful this is the close moment. Episodes 8, 9, 10 is virtually conscionable these 10 people. And adjacent occurrence 7, for the astir part. It’s truly letting you cognize who these radical are, showing their beingness extracurricular of the crippled and giving you the extent earlier they commencement stealing money. It’s besides earlier things get cutthroat and they truly person to destruct each other. I privation each elimination successful the apical 10 to consciousness similar a dagger hitting you successful the heart, oregon thing you’re truly excited astir if you hatred the person, but I privation you to person an affectional precocious each time.

Regarding the coffins that astir everyone but Nick is buried successful in Episode 8, were they aerial conditioned? Were determination provisions? What if Mother Nature came calling?

Obviously, earlier they went in, we were like, “Please, delight usage the bathroom!” Then we gave them immoderate methods successful determination and we gave them tons of nutrient down there. Luckily, it was astatine night, truthful a batch of them conscionable ended up falling dormant due to the fact that I thought it’d beryllium beauteous speedy for radical to conscionable spell prime wealth and travel back, but immoderate of them ended up reasoning for 2 hours. It was a overmuch harder determination than I thought it would beryllium for them. The contestants successful the ungraded conscionable ended up sleeping done astir of it. I’ve been buried live aggregate times connected the [YouTube] transmission and erstwhile I hide myself alive, we bash 10 feet of dirt. With them, I deliberation we lone did 2 feet oregon 3 feet, truthful if we ever needed to, we could propulsion them out, but it’s inactive the feeling of being successful a coffin and sealed there.

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1. The contestant graveyard. (David Scott Holloway / Prime) 2. Co-host Karl Jacobs speaking to Jack McKenna, who was buried successful a coffin. (David Scott Holloway / Prime)

As you were filming Episode 8 with the apical 10, did you person an thought who would go each the way?

If I enactment myself backmost successful Episode 8, Monika conscionable sold the coin and you person nary idea. “Is she gonna archer them? How’s she gonna play it off? Are they gonna find out?” There are immoderate alliances, but present the alliances were conscionable shattered due to the fact that the money’s taken. It could plaything anyway. It’s anyone’s crippled close now.

The large cliffhanger to the occurrence is Monika being told by Auguste that Jim told him she sold the coin erstwhile she told Jim successful confidence. What tin we expect for the Monika-Jim relationship?

Well, archetypal off, isn’t it brainsick that some of them made the apical 10? What’s adjacent funnier is I don’t deliberation Monika mislaid a situation and I don’t deliberation Jim won a challenge. She conscionable carried him done everything. Let’s conscionable accidental it gets interesting, determination is simply a batch of play successful the past 2 episodes and it gets beauteous cutthroat due to the fact that adjacent successful their case, lone 1 of them tin win, truthful astatine a definite point, they person to destruct each other.

Also successful this episode, you each permission Beast City and spell to Saudi Arabia, of each places. Why Saudi Arabia?

Most radical don’t recognize this, but 70% of our assemblage is really extracurricular of North America, and we person a immense assemblage successful the Middle East due to the fact that we dub our contented successful Arabic. I’ve been wanting to bash thing international, and Saudi Arabia felt large due to the fact that it’s successful the mediate of the Middle East. They besides person an insane magnitude of workplace abstraction and I don’t deliberation it’s a spoiler to accidental that successful Episode 9 and 10 there’s immoderate monolithic sets. We request truly precocious ceilings, we request studios with nary beams successful them, and we request a batch of them broadside by broadside truthful we tin spell from acceptable to set. They conscionable truthful hap to person immoderate of the largest workplace spaces successful the satellite that we could really rent for a period straight, truthful we could physique things and movie connected them. It was a cleanable place, and I got to correspond our Middle Eastern audience. It ended up being a truly bully decision.

Moving guardant with these past 2 episodes of Season 2, however would you picture the challenges?

I’m conscionable gonna say, Episode 10 is astir apt the top contented I’ve ever filmed successful my life. I don’t cognize however I’m ever going to apical Episode 10. We decidedly did not inexpensive retired astatine the end. … And it gets beauteous crazy. One of them wins $5 million, and I can’t accidental thing else. It’s bully and it’s amended than everything you’ve seen truthful far.

A presumption of Beast City, wherever astir of the contention takes spot connected the show.

(Prime)

There was a suit filed by respective contestants successful 2024. What were the differences successful making definite the contestants were harmless for Season 2 arsenic compared with Season 1?

The large happening is successful Season 1, we had 2,000 contestants; this clip we person 200, and, conscionable to beryllium frank, not everyone takes losing well, and with little radical we tin assistance them, talk with them and marque definite they recognize everything going on. But successful some seasons we had information experts connected set, information coordinators [and] we tested everything earlier to the champion of our ability.

In Season 1, there’d beryllium radical who were moving to drawback a emblem and they’d travel implicit their ain ft and scrape their arm. Any clip there’s immoderate benignant of movement, I can’t warrant that nary one’s ever gonna get wounded successful immoderate mode particularly if there’s thing somewhat physical. I tin guarantee you, information is my apical priority. It breaks my bosom if radical ever get wounded and that’s not the goal. The extremity for “Beast Games” is for it to beryllium a utopia wherever you tin triumph a ton of money, you compete, and you play your bosom retired and not get hurt.

Both seasons, we spent millions of dollars connected information and investigating to guarantee these things [are safe] and that’s wherefore connected this season, we’ve been putting retired tons of behind-the-scenes [videos] conscionable truthful radical tin spot the lengths we spell done with our information coordinators to marque definite everything is harmless for the contestants.

Going disconnected that, for “Beast Games” and everything other we’ve seen you bash successful your career, however hard is it to support topping yourself?

Here’s the thing, the mode I look astatine it is simply a batch of radical spot topping yourself as, “Oh, walk much money, bigger set.” It’s precise granular. The mode I spot topping yourselves is, if there’s 2 dials you tin slide, I spot 500 dials. You tin amended the editing, you tin amended the music, you tin amended the coating connected the set, you tin amended the camera you sprout with. This year, we changeable with the aforesaid cameras [Alexa 265] that Marvel shoots with. The camera my 1 camera feline was holding was a $500,000 camera and there’s lone 20 of them successful the world. So that’s a lever that we summation that gives much depth.

You’ve been connected this thrust for astir 10 years since you truly blew up connected YouTube. Have you been capable to bask it adjacent erstwhile you’re successful the mediate of it all?

I’ll beryllium honest, I’m ever grinding and doing stuff. The information is, I get a batch of enjoyment retired of the fans and seeing radical bask it.

Today I slept beauteous bully but usually I’m beauteous sleep-deprived, overworked, and we’ve got a batch going on. But “Beast Games” Season 1, implicit 100 cardinal antithetic radical watched. If I look backmost connected my beingness and I’m like, determination are 2 paths: A way wherever I instrumentality much clip disconnected and I’m much rested, but the amusement that 100 cardinal radical ticker is worse. Or there’s a way wherever the show’s better, and I conscionable propulsion done and I grind; 99.9% of the time, erstwhile I look back, I’m ever like, “Yeah, I’m gladsome I chose the way wherever we prioritize making bully content.”

There’s nary warrant that 10 years from present radical volition inactive ticker maine truthful I conscionable privation to marque definite we’re pouring everything we person into everything we marque and marque an interaction portion we can.